Exploring Centralia, Washington

Centralia is a city in western Washington in Lewis County, about 25 miles south of Olympia. It was founded in 1850 by J. G. and Anna Cochran, who came via the Oregon Trail with their adopted son, George Washington, a free African-American. The town boomed in the early 1880s with the Northern Pacific Railroad building a rail line through the valley. From Wikipedia,

Founded as a railroad town, Centralia's economy was originally dependent on such industries as railroads and timber as well as coal and agriculture. At one time, five railroad lines crossed in Centralia, including the Union Pacific Railroad, Northern Pacific Railway, Milwaukee Road, Great Northern Railroad and a short line.

BNSF Rail Yard

Today, the BNSF's mainline tracks run just east of downtown Centralia. The switching yard was not too active on a sunny day in June (2024), but I stopped for a few photographs.

Better not stand here. Centralia BNSF rail yard (100mm ƒ/3.5 Planar lens) 

Centralia BNSF rail yard view south (100mm Planar lens)

Warehouse, East Hansen Street, Centralia

Alley off East Hansen Street

A Few Around Town

Time for lunch at Aceituno's, Harrison Avenue

Track off West First Street

Bowling parlor, now apartments, North Tower Avenue

Christmas was fun, North Pearl Street

Centralia is interesting, and there is plenty worthy of more exploring. I recall visiting my roommate's family somewhere in town in 1974 or 1975, but have no idea where they lived. Centralia was a worker/logging/mining town then (it looked rather rough), but I was young and not inspired by urban decay. 

The black and white photographs above are Kodak Panatomic-X film via my Hasselblad 501CM camera. The color frames are expired Kodak Gold 100 film, exposed at EI=64 in my Leica M2. The Gold was much grainier and less vibrant than when fresh. But the 35-year-old Panatomic-X film is perfect. Amazing!

At the BNSF Rail Yard, Tacoma, Washington

 Railroad photography is always interesting if you like industrial/infrastructure/machinery topics. There are so many shapes, patterns, and details to record. Your eye can wander around the scene and seldom run out of new details. 

Most rail yards today are off limits to casual visitors. This is true for the large BNSF rail and off Puyallup Avenue in the Port of Tacoma. However, East D Street, just east of the Foss Waterway, has an overpass with a pedestrian sidewalk! That was too good to resist. On a May day with interesting clouds, I parked nearby and walked along the overpass with my camera and a tripod. The roadway vibrated when a truck rumbled by, so I waited for a quiet period. These frames are 2400 pixels wide, so click to see more details.

Turntable, BNSF rail yard, Tacoma

Years ago, there was probably a roundhouse here, where steam locomotives would have been repaired and readied for duty. Turntables were necessary to spin steam locomotives because they did not run in reverse efficiently. Modern diesel locomotives can run in either direction.

Buildings in background are Tacoma Dome parking garages (Panatomic-X film, med. yellow filter)

Signal equipment

South side of rail yard from East E Street (Tri-X 400 film)

Train moving around south end of Foss Waterway en route somewhere south

Tracks below downtown Tacoma parallel to Dock Street (Kodak T400CN film, Leica IIIC, 5cm ƒ/2 Summitar lens, med yellow filter)

I took most of these pictures on Kodak Panatomic-X or Tri-X 400 film with my Fuji GW690II camera (the "Texas Leica"), with its EBC Fujinon 90mm ƒ/3.5 lens. This 5-element lens has amazing resolution. I bought the camera in 1992 and have used it irregularly over the decades. It is a big package to take on an air trip but is fine for car travel. I expose the Panatomic-X at EI=25, which normally requires a tripod. Praus Productions in Rochester, New York, developed the film.

Mississippi Railroad Towns: Crystal Springs and Hazelhurst

Crystal Springs

The City of Crystal Springs is about 20 minutes south of Jackson along Interstate 55. Most people rush by on the interstate, but it is a pleasant community and worth a stop. It looks more prosperous than many other Mississippi towns that I have visited. The city was formed in 1858 when the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad built facilities in the area. Copiah county was known as the "Tomato Capital of the World" because in the late 1930s, the county canned and shipped via rail car more tomatoes than any other county (anywhere in the USA?). You can even attend the Tomato Festival in June.

Former Wolf Hotel, 1854 West Railroad Ave., Hazelhurst (Kodak Royal Gold 25 film, Leica camera)

Crystal Springs in 1920 (from Mississippi Dep. of Archives and History)

Wolf Hotel (Kodak Panatomic-X film, Fuji GW690II, 90mm lens)

I am not sure exactly where the 1920 photograph was taken, but a traveler getting off the train in Crystal Springs may have stayed in the Wolf Hotel. Most towns had a businessman's hotel of this type convenient to the depot. Many (most?) European towns also have Bahnhof hotels, many of which are still in use. I have stayed in many of them over the years.

I talked to some old-timers at the Pawn Shop in the ground floor. They said the upstairs was a mess and they were slowly restoring it. I would have enjoyed exploring, but possibly the floors are not sound. Next trip...

Warehouse, 501 E. Railroad Ave. (Kodak Royal Gold 25 film, 50mm Summicron-DR, 1/8 ƒ/8)

Shop, 345 West Railroad Ave. (Royal Gold 25, 50mm Summicron-DR, 1/8 ƒ/5.6

I saw an old corrugated steel warehouse on East Railroad Avenue. Was it once for tomatoes or lumber? Most of it was not photogenic, but I liked the door and steps. An abandoned car repair shop on East Railroad Avenue was also had an interesting door.

Obviously, this has been a cursory look at Crystal Springs. I will revisit soon.

Hazelhurst

Continue south a few miles and you reach the small town of Hazelhurst. This is another Copiah County  town whose development was stimulated by construction of the railroad in the 1860s. Again, a bridge across the tracks provided a good viewpoint for a photograph. Some of the commercial buildings in town have been converted into apartments and stores. 

Gallatin Street overpass, Hazelhurst (Moto G5 photograph)

View south from Gallatin Street (4×5" Kodak Super-XX film)

Lumber warehouse from South Ragsdale Ave. (4×5" Super-XX film, 240mm G-Claron lens, 1/4 ƒ/64, yellow filter)

Hazelhurst is also a cheerful little town. The big lumber (or tomato?) warehouse next to the tracks was empty, but the commercial stores in town were mostly in use. 

A block of old stores on Georgetown Street faces the railroad tracks. These buildings ones have definitely seen better days. The stucco facade is unusual, possibly a renovation some decades ago?

A cow cornerstone! You see some interesting features in small towns.

We will explore some more Mississippi towns in future updates. Thank you for riding along.

Pearl Street Houses, Vicksburg, Mississippi (Fairground to Klein Street)

Pearl Street view north during rare snowfall. Note that no houses stand on the west (left) side of the tracks. Kodak Verichrome Pan film, Hasselblad 501CM camera, 80mm lens.

We will continue our review of historic Pearl Street in Vicksburg, Mississippi. This covers the houses north of Fairground Street. This is not a comprehensive inventory because I did not photograph every house. Please see the previous article for the area south of Fairground Street. The color photographs are scans of Kodachrome 25 film. Click any frame to see a larger view. We will proceed from south to north, with house numbers decreasing.

I previously wrote about Pearl Street in 2010 and 2014. Below I have repeated a few of the photographs from the earlier articles, but I reprocessed the scans to improve the color or exposure.

Fairground Street to Speed Street east side (odd number houses)

2529 Pearl Street (Leica 90mm ƒ/2.8 Tele-Elmarit lens)

2529 and 2531 Pearl Street (Leica IIIC, 5cm ƒ/3.5 Elmar lens)

2529 and 2531 Pearl Street at sunset

2531 Pearl Street (note the sealed doorway)

2521 Pearl Street

2521 Pearl Street

This venerable duplex has been perched on this hill forever. The brick front steps are impressive. The house has been in poor condition for decades, but I think it is occupied.

2515 Pearl Street

2509 Pearl Street

2423 Pearl Street (no longer extant)

2421 Pearl Street (Leitz 50mm ƒ/2.8 Elmar lens)

2421 Pearl Street

A wide grassy lot is just north of 2421. I do not know how many houses once occupied that strip. 

Undated post card from Tuminello's Restaurant

The building in which Tuminello's Kitchen was located is still standing at the corner of Pearl and Speed Streets, but the restaurant has been closed since the late-1980s or early-1990s. It was highly regarded in its day as one of Vicksburg's best restaurants. I ate there several times.

Pearl Street view south (Rolleiflex camera)

The brick-faced building on the left (north) side of the street is the former Tuminello's Kitchen.

Some handsome tour houses, including Annabelle Bed and Breakfast, occupy the east side of the block between Speed and Klein Streets. They are obscured by thick hedges and I do not have photographs of them.  

Fairground to Speed Street west side (even number houses)

2508 Pearl Street (no longer extant)

2430 Pearl Street (no longer extant)

2430 Pearl Street (no longer extant; 50mm ƒ/2.8 Leitz Elmar-M lens)

2428 Pearl Street (no longer extant)

2426 Pearl Street (no longer extant)

2426 Pearl Street

2420 Pearl Street

2418 Pearl Street (Leitz 50mm ƒ/2.8 Elmar lens)

2414 Pearl Street

2410 Pearl Street (house and store?)

Speed Street to Klein Street west side (even number addresses)

The old-fashioned store at 2328 Pearl Street was decorated with some nicely-done portraits of civil rights icons in the 2002-2005 era. The building now is a dingy uniform tan color and is closed. It is made of cinderblock, which suggests it was built post-WWII.

2304 Klein Street (no longer extant; Ektar 25 film, Rolleiflex camera)

2302 Klein Street (no longer extant)

North of the store, no houses are standing as of 2021. The level crossings at Speed and Klein Streets have been closed and blocked. This way, the trains do not need to sound their deafening horns. 

Railroad Avenue view downhill to the west (Fuji X-E1 digital image)

Railroad Avenue must have once been lined houses, but most are now gone. I am sure at one time, men from these houses worked at the railroad yard at the base of the hill. My friend said soot from steam locomotives soiled laundry.  

This ends our brief review of the central section of Pearl Street. The next article will cover the zone north of Klein Street.