From the archives: Country Stores, Roosters, and other Oddities

Dear Readers, I recently found in my too-many boxes a plastic slide holder with some slides that I sent as a submission to Leica Fotografie International. They never published my essay and returned my slides, but I never got around to filing them away. I decided to scan them first and show you some samples. Store fronts and home-made signs have always interested me. They demonstrate merchants advertising their wares and trying to attract customers, a form of folk-art. So here we go, in chronological order, but no specific geographical order.

Front Street, Morgan City, Louisiana (Leica IIIC, 5cm f/2.0 Summitar lens)

Front Street, Morgan City, Louisiana (Leica IIIC, 5cm ƒ/2 Summitar lens)

In the early 1980s, I worked for a marine geotechnical company. We had steamed (dieseled) in to Morgan City after a couple of weeks offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. I had never been to Morgan City before and found the floodwall a convenient viewpoint of the old downtown.

Jerry's, Corpus Christi, Texas (Rollei 35S, 40mm ƒ/2.8 Sonnar lens)

A relative lived in Corpus Christi. This pottery company offered a wealth of garden art. I should have bought that pink donkey, or maybe the leopard.

Galveston, Texas (Leica M3, 50mm ƒ/2.8 Elmar-M lens)

Hurricane Alicia was a powerful hurricane that caused major damage in coastal Texas in August of 1983. The eye passed directly over Houston. We drove to Galveston to see what had happened. Many cottages on the beaches had been damaged, but others, like this beach shop, were intact.

Bremond, Texas (Rollei 35S, 40mm ƒ/2.8 Sonnar lens)

Bremond was a typical agricultural/cattle town northwest of Houston. Even in the 1980s, many of these small towns were quiet, with closed stores along the main strips. That is when I first became interested in photographing urban decay. Bremond looked like it was doing a bit better than many other Texas towns, but I have no idea of its status now.

Mendenhall, Mississippi (Olympus OM1 camera, 35mm ƒ/2.8 shift lens)

In 1990, on my way to Mobile, I decided to stop in Mendenhall and look around. There was an old theater/cinema in reasonably sound condition near the courthouse. Do any readers know if the theater is still existent? (Update: the building burned down.)

Rooster-mobile, Mary Esther, Florida (Olympus OM1, 35mm ƒ/2.8 shift lens)

Mary Esther, Florida, had a rooster car, as well as some pig- and cow-mobiles. And the rooster was built onto an old Chevrolet El Camino. Maybe I should have offered to buy it and drive it home to Vicksburg. El Caminos now fetch serious prices (and a rooster may enhance the value).

Crossroads store, Reganton, Mississippi (Leica, 50mm ƒ/2.8 Elmar-M lens)

The venerable Crossroads store is on Old Port Gibson Road in Reganton, near the Big Black River, about 20 miles south of Vicksburg. I have visited on and off over the years, most recently in 2018.

Biloxi, Mississippi (Leica M3, 50mm lens)

Before Hurricane Katrina, US 90 along the Mississippi Gulf coast featured many beachy shops, including this pink palace. But I prefer the gorilla on Alberti's Italian Restaurant. I wonder if he swam to safety in Katrina?

Snuffy Smith's, Wilmer, Alabama (Leica M3, 50mm lens)

Snuffy Smith's antiques and gasoline was a famous landmark on Moffett Road in Wilmer, Alabama. Classic folk art - I stopped several times to photograph. But the last time I drove through Wilmer, I did not see Snuffy's. Is it gone, or did I just drive by too quickly?

Original Oyster House, Gulf Shores, Alabama (Leica 50mm lens)

The Original Oyster House, as I recall, had excellent seafood (and alligator, if you were interested), along with condiments from Greece. I assume the owners were Greek, which usually bodes well for a restaurant. Is this still existent?

Santa in Seminary (Nikon F3, 50mm ƒ/1.8 Nikkor lens)

Finally, the well-traveled Santa Claus comes to Seminary, Mississippi, via tractor. Good choice in a farming community.

Madison St. (Old Hwy 80), Bolton, Mississippi (Leica M3, Kodachrome film)

Well, Santa can relax with a brew or a Bud at Mack's Cafe in Bolton.

This is the end of our short random tour of southern stores, rooster-mobiles, and other oddities. All photographs were from Kodachrome film, mostly K25. Using Kodachrome was a bit clumsy because you needed to mail the exposed film to one of the few processing laboratories in the United States that could handle the highly specialized processing and dye chemicals. The ISO 25 emulsion was unsurpassed in grain size and resolution. Also, Kodachrome had excellent archival properties when stored in the dark in reasonable climate control. As you can see, the examples above scanned well and the colors are still vibrant.

Sadly, Kodachrome manufacture ended in 2009, after 7 (seven) decades of production. The last processing was in December of 2010 at Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas. The movie, "Kodachrome," is about this last processing and a road trip to Parsons. In the poster, you can see that Ed Harris is wearing a Leica.

Quincy Market, Boston, Massachusetts - Reuse of Historic Market Buildings

In my previous article, I related the sad news that the famous Durgin Park Restaurant in Boston closed in January, 2019. Durgin Park was located in the north-most granite building of the Quincy Market complex. The granite came from the famous Quincy Quarry, where my friends and I rock-climbed in the 1960s (but that is another story for a future article).

Quincy Market in the mid- to late-1800s, from Boston Public Library 

Faneuil Hall from the Custom House Tower, Nikkormat camera, 105mm lens

Government Center and Boston City Hall, 1970, from Custom House Tower, Nikkormat camera, 28mm lens

Boston's well-known Faneuil Hall is just to the west, and beyond that, Government Center, with its 1960s Brutalist-Moderne Boston City Hall ("the world's ugliest building"). Up through the 1950s, the area west of Faneuil Hall was known as Scollay Square, a formerly vibrant commercial and entertainment district. But by World War II, Scollay was grungy and run-down. My dad called it Squalid Square. In the late-1950s, the City of Boston razed more than 1000 buildings and redeveloped the area as Government Center. Unfortunately, we have no family photographs of Scollay Square.

Although the City developed Government Center in the the 1960s, Quincy Market retained its commercial tenants up through 1975 or 1976, continuing to be occupied by wholesale butchers, fish vendors, and green grocers. In the photographs above, you can see cars and trucks parked in front of well-used shop fronts (these are scans of Kodachrome and Agfachrome slides; click any picture to enlarge it). I remember buying a Christmas tree there one year and taking it home via the MBTA subway. A friend told me that her father, who worked on the family farm near the New Hampshire border in the mid-20th century, remembered taking vegetables by truck to the market.

Quincy Market reconstruction before the Bicentennial, view from Durgin Park Restaurant

Quincy Marker reconstruction, Kodachrome slide, Leica IIIC, 5cm ƒ/2 Summitar lens

In preparation for the nation's Bicentennial, the granite buildings of Quincy Market were completely renovated and leased to restaurant and retail space. 

Readers may recall that before the Bicentennial, historical preservation had minimal respect in the United States. Let developers condemn, pillage, and build new was the common approach to older "blighted" neighborhoods, especially if they were occupied by African Americans. Many books have been written on how corrupt mayors and city governments destroyed historical neighborhoods in the name of "progress" and payoff from developers (e.g., see Fullilove (2016) or O'Connor (1995)). Now we have mid-20th century parking garages and crappy blighted apartments

Quincy Market from Faneuil Hall, 1980

Quincy Market and Custom House tower, 1980

Winter evening, 1980, 28mm lens

By the 1970s, respect for our historical and architectural legacy was finally developing in the United States, and the Bicentennial was a catalyst for historic preservation in many east coast cities. The Boston project became a poster child for what could be done in older cities with a bit of imagination and respect for the past. The Quincy Market redevelopment was an outstanding success, and tourists flocked to the newly revived market district (Quincy 2003). It has remained popular for four decades.

No more butchers or wholesalers, just chocolate. © 2008 Paul Murphy (digital file)

Three cheers for the new Quincy Market - or was it for the pizza? Pentax Spotmatic, 28mm ƒ/3.5 SMC Takumar lens

Quincy Market from window in Faneuil Hall, Leica M3, 35mm ƒ/2 Summicron-RF lens

Readers who have not been to Boston: do go and enjoy a walk through history. Try the restaurants (but sadly, Durgin Park Restaurant closed in January 2019), have a craft beer, munch a bagel, and think about the sailing ships that once docked between these handsome buildings. 

References

Fullilove, M.T., 2016. Root Shock: How Tearing Up City Neighborhoods Hurts America, And What We Can Do About It, Second Edition. New Village Press; Second edition (November 1, 2016), 304 p.

O'Conner, T.H., 1995. Building A New Boston: Politics and Urban Renewal, 1950-1970. Northeastern University Press, 368 p.

Quincy, J. 2003. Quincy's Market: A Boston Landmark. Northeastern University Press, 256 p.

Hot Coffee Coming Through: Durgin Park Restaurant, Boston, Massachusetts

Introduction and Sad News

"Hot coffee coming through!" That translated to, "Come on, get out of the way, I have these huge plates of food to take to a table." And huge plates was right. But sadly, the plates will be no more. The venerable Durgin Park Restaurant, a Boston fixture for 192 years, closed for good on Saturday, January 12, 2019. The logo over the door stated, "Established before you were born." Definitely true. And I recall printed on the menus words to the effect, "Your father ate here and his father, too." True in my case, as well. As noted in Restaurant Business, "Durgin-Park was generally regarded as the nation’s second-oldest restaurant, behind Boston’s Union Oyster House, which was founded in 1826. Durgin-Park opened a year later, while favorite local son John Quincy Adams was president of the United States."

1970s or 1980s photograph at the ground floor entry to Durgin Park (from Forbes magazine). I recall the lady in the middle row with the puffy black hair.

Some Memories

I first ate at Durgin Park in 1965 or 1966 with my dad. He told me he was introduced to the restaurant by his dad. Grandpa died in 1919, so this may not be correct, but certainly is not out of the realm of possibility. But my father had definitely patronized Durgin Park on and off for decades because he recalled when whale steak was on the menu. I think bear steak predated him.

Typical 1976 lunch crowd at Durgin Park. You shared your table with politicians, workmen, tourists, gangsters - almost anyone, and everyone was cheerful.

The "Hot coffee coming through" ladies, 1976 (Leica IIIC camera, 5cm ƒ/2 Summitar lens, Kodachrome film)

By 2008, the starched white waiter outfits were gone

When I first moved to Massachusetts, the sales tax had just been enacted. The politicians promised that it would never exceed 3 percent. Well, you know how that turned out. But restaurant meals below $1.00 were exempt. Therefore, at midday, Durgin Park offered a 95 cent luncheon, which included a cup of soup, cornbread, a hearty entree, such as yankee pot roast, and a cup of coffee. During the summers, I taught sailing at Community Boating on the Charles River and often walked over to the Faneuil Hall area to lunch at Durgin Park. Even then, a Dollar was a reasonable price for a hearty meal. But as inflation ravaged our economy in the 1970s, the soup and coffee disappeared from the 95 cent lunch and the choice of entrees was reduced. Finally, the 95 cent lunch became a fond memory. Sigh....

Andy and Vico digging in to beans, Yankee pot roast, and scallops

In the 1960s and early-1970s, the lunch crowd was so large, the line for a seat often stretched out the door and along the side of the building. If you waited until about 12:30, the first group of diners, who had been seated at 11:30, were moving out, and you could get a seat in a reasonable time. Another trick in the old days was to buy a drink at the bar. Then you could ascend to the dining rooms on the second floor via a bar-only stair and bypass some of the crowd. But I do not remember patrons drinking spirits in the dining room. Maybe that was restricted to the bar area.

From the 1972-1974 television show, Banacek

The entry hallway and bar were on the ground floor. The dining rooms were on the second floor, accessed by a narrow stair on which the line would stand and wait (eventually they had to wait at the bottom of the stairs). The chief waiter, at the top of the stairs, would survey the dining room and wave groups of two or four to available places at the long, family-style tables. You shared a table with whomever was already there. The kitchens were on the third floor. In the 1970s, it was not uncommon to look out the window and see a quarter cow being hoisted via winch to the third floor.

Young Boston beauty awaiting her chowdah and Yankee pot roast

Parking in downtown Boston was always a problem, even in the 1960s. Back then, the Southeast Expressway was a gruesome elevated concrete roadway carrying I-93 through Boston. This route is now subterranean, thanks to the Central Artery/Tunnel Project or the Big Dig. Most Boston citizens despised the old Southeast Expressway because it cut the heart of the city in half and was a visual eyesore. However, it offered inexpensive parking underneath close to Quincy Market. It was a bit spooky, but we were never mugged, and it offered a short walk to Durgin Park.

Durgin Park Brochure

My wife found a brochure in her recipe box with the famous Boston baked bean recipe as well as a short history from Collier's Magazine (date not specified). Click the link above to see the .pdf file or see the pages individually below (click to expand each page).

The End

Before mid-1970s Bicentennial redevelopment of Quincy Market (see the next article), Durgin Park, Union Oyster House, and a few other establishments were the only lunch spots in this part of Boston. After redevelopment, there were many more choices. Durgin Park soldiered on, but by the mid-2000s, fewer customers came. It did not have a "theme" as is popular in restaurants today. Traditional hearty New England cuisine prepared from scratch ingredients was not trendy. I remember how the menu had changed by the mid-2000s, with vegetarian offerings. They even dropped smelts and mackerel from the menu. How can a true New England eatery not offer mackerel!! Or smelts? Modern Americans are too wimpy to eat mackerel? Finally, a 192-year tradition ended. In January, several New England friends sent me the sad news that "Hot coffee coming through" was no more.

The 1976 frames are from Kodachrome film exposed with my 1949 Leica IIIC camera with a 5cm ƒ/2 Summitar lens, which I am still using. I scanned the slides with a Plustek 7600i film scanner using Silverfast Ai software.

Update: Indian Pudding

Yankee Magazine published the recipe for Durgin Park's famous Indian Pudding.

For many, the recipe for Durgin–Park Indian pudding, served warm and topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, is the gold standard.

Yield:

8-10 servings 

Ingredients: 

1 cup granulated yellow cornmeal

1/2 cup black molasses

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup lard or unsalted butter, softened, plus more for baking dish

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 large eggs

6 cups (1 1/2 quarts) warmed whole milk, divided

Garnish: freshly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream 

Instructions: 

Preheat your oven to 450° and generously grease a 2-quart baking dish, preferably one made of porcelain or stone.

Whisk together the first seven ingredients and 3 cups of the warmed milk.

Bake until the mixture begins to bubble, about 10 minutes; then stir in the remaining 3 cups of milk. Reduce the heat to 275° and continue baking another 5 to 7 hours.

Serve warm with freshly whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

Yankee Magazine also published a last retrospective, "One Last Taste of Durgin-Park."

The Mississippi Delta 29: Baptist Town, Greenwood (B&W film)

Stevens Avenue, Baptist Town, Greenwood, Mississippi

Shotgun houses, Stevens Avenue, Greenwood, Mississippi

Baptist Town is a historically African-American neighborhood east of downtown Greenwood. According to the Mississippi Blues Trail:

Baptist Town, established in the 1800s in tandem with the growth of the local cotton industry, is one of Greenwood’s oldest African American neighborhoods. Known for its strong sense of community, it is anchored by the McKinney Chapel M.B. Church and a former cotton compress. In blues lore Baptist Town is best known through the reminiscences of David “Honeyboy” Edwards, who identified it as the final residence of Robert Johnson, who died just outside Greenwood in 1938.

I was unaware of this historic neighborhood until a faculty friend at Mississippi Valley State University showed me around.

Baptist Town, from MSBluestrail.org

West Pelican Street, Baptist Town (click any photograph to enlarge)

While my friend chatted with some shopkeeper friends, I wandered around with my Hasselblad and tripod. The residents seem comfortable with tourists, and most waved and said hi. Signs related to the Blues traditions have been erected, like this one about the great artist Robert Johnson, who died in 1938.

214 Young Street, Baptist Town

214 Young Street, Baptist Town, 80mm Planar lens

204 Young Street Baptist Town, 80mm Planar lens

The reception center on Young Street was closed, so I could not check inside.

Shotgun house, Stevens Avenue

Stevens Avenue is a major street through the neighborhood, lined with these little traditional shotgun houses. I have tried to document remaining ones in other towns in Mississippi. Many have disappeared in the last few decades from all around the United States.

301 McCain Street, Baptist Town

Mr. Chow's grocery store is just east of Baptist Town. It is no longer open.

Ditch off Pelican Street, Baptist Town

View west to downtown Greenwood, W. Pelican Street

Baptist Town is an interesting place and an architectural example of early 20th century housing in reasonably authentic condition. I will return some day when the light is softer, maybe with color film.

These photographs were taken on Kodak Panatomic-X film (expired in 1988), exposed at EI=20. I used a Hasselblad 501CM camera with 80mm and 50mm lenses, all tripod-mounted. I scanned the film with a Minolta Scan Multi medium format film scanner controlled by SilverFast Ai software.