Heading west in Jackson: Woodrow Wilson Ave. and Medgar Evers Blvd. (B&W film)

Construction at Children's Hospital, Jackson, from Woodrow Wilson Ave. (Leica IIIC, 5cm ƒ/2.0 Summitar lens)

1968 aerial photograph of the original University Medical Center building (from Preservation Mississippi). Woodrow Wilson Ave. is on the right. 

Woodrow Wilson Avenue is another major east-west arterial that crosses Jackson. Near North State Street, it passes by a cluster of hospitals and medical facilities, part of the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Preservation Mississippi recently wrote about the 1960s construction of the first part of this huge hospital complex.

Canadian National rail yard, 2018, Leica IIIC camera

CN rail yard, 2017, Fuji GW690, Kodak Tri-X 400 film

A long overpass crosses the Canadian National railroad yard. There is always activity there. Jackson has been an important rail junction since before the civil war.

Peace Street runs south from the viaduct. It did not look too camera-friendly, so I did not venture down there.

This bayou, just west of the CN rail yard, is one of the many creeks and drainage ditches that have been channelized in the past. I wonder when they will start un-channelizing them to allow plants and riparian habitat to be reestablished?

Medgar Evers Boulevard diverges from Woodrow Wilson and runs northwest-southeast, eventually becoming US 49 after it passes I-220 in northwest Jackson. Much of the infrastructure and commercial activity along Medgar Evers in west Jackson looks beat-up and dilapidated. The Delta Mart at 3133 Medgar Evers is an example. Many of the stores were closed. The sign had a 1960s vibe to it.

Continuing northwest, I came across some closed stores and empty brick house at the junction of US 49 and Forest Avenue Extension. A gent came to talk. He was Mr. Stevie Rose, as he showed me on his hospital identification wrist band. I could not tell if he was homeless or traveling somewhere, but he had a big bag of ramen noodles and other items.

This ends our short tour. A future article will have some pictures from Flora, which is a short distance north on US 49.

Most of these photographs are from Kodak BW400CN film, exposed in my dad's 1949 Leica IIIC rangefinder camera and a 5cm ƒ/2.0 Summitar lens. I scanned the negatives with a Plustek 7600i film scanner.

Wandering around east Jackson, Mississippi (B&W film)

South Commerce Street, Jackson, view south. The tracks are no longer in service

When in Jackson, I often go to Jackson Ice, at the corner of South Jefferson and East South Streets, to fill up with 100% ethanol-free gasoline. The area near South Jefferson is semi-industrial, with warehouses and various businesses. I have never been able to do much photographically there, but one early morning in December, the weather was suitably gloomy to lend a certain air to the scenery.

Several ice companies were clustered near or along South Commerce Street because they had access to the railroad. Jackson Ice, where I buy the 100% gasoline, is still in business. The Morris Ice Company on South Commerce closed in 1988.

High Street runs east-west from the Pearl River levee past the fairgrounds and then ascends a hill to State Street and downtown Jackson proper. A modern but unused building sits at the very east end of High Street, just below the levee and just beyond the driveway that leads into the Herrin-Gear automobile dealer complex. I had never paid any attention to the empty building and drove in one morning. It was the abandoned Junior Achievement of Mississippi building. According to the Mississippi Business Journal, Achievement closed in November of 2009:

JACKSON — The recession has claimed one of Mississippi’s most respected charities. After nearly a half-century of bringing work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy programs to the state’s school children, Junior Achievement of Mississippi Inc. is shutting the doors. 

“This decision is not one with which anyone associated with Junior Achievement of Mississippi was happy to make,” said David Barrentine, chairman of the board of directors, Junior Achievement of Mississippi. “This organization has a 40-year history of educating young people about economics and the marketplace. Accordingly, it is with sincere regret, but with a prudent view of its financial condition and prospects, that this decision was made.”

This was a nice-looking modern building. No one could use it? This type of inability to recycle a structure always baffles me.

The 1927-vintage Hinds County Armory sits unused and only minimally repaired at the State Fairgrounds. In 2009, I took pictures inside, but now there is plywood over the door. In 2013, I photographed workers doing some stabilization and repair. This time, I was able to place my Leica on a small opening on a side door and take a 1-second exposure of the interior.

I have never been able to do much of interest photographically with South State Street. But this time, the old fire trucks caught my eye.

East Rankin Street is pretty dumpy, too (OK, it is horrifying). But at least there is a car shop that repairs old Volvos! What nice and practical cars compared to the lookalike bloated SUVs that pollute our highways now. Blaine's Upholstery Shop does excellent work. (These sepia frames are from a Moto G5 mobile phone.) Please see my 2020 article on East Rankin Street.

We will continue our exploration of Jackson in future articles.

Most of these photographs are from Kodak BW400CN film exposed with my dad's 1949 Leica IIIC camera and a 5cm ƒ/2.0 Summitar lens. This is a C-41 film (sadly, now discontinued), meaning it can be processed with the same chemicals as any color print film. I scanned the negatives with a Plustek 7600i film scanner using Silverfast Ai software.

UPDATE July 2022:  The tracks running in the center strip of South Commerce Street have been removed and it looks like the City will install sewer pipes under  the right-of-way. 

A few from the Rubber Reclaiming Factory in Black and White, Vicksburg, Mississippi

Dear Readers, I thought the Kodak Ektar 100 color frames in my previous article were effective at showing the old rubber reclaiming facility at Rubber Way, south of Vicksburg. But my black and white film came back from Praus Productions, and the rubber plant looked especially grungy. Maybe urban decay looks best (best? worst?) in monochrome. (Click any photograph to enlarge to 1600 pixels wide.)

As I wrote before, there is no shortage (tonnage) of rubber tire carcasses lying around at the site. I was surprised to see that some inner tubes were still inflated.

I looked for the Kingfisher again, but no sighting this time. Plenty of water - is it green in summer? I heard gurgling and pulsing - a plugged pipe or drain perhaps? Or Alligator-zilla?

This is the massive machine that once shredded old tires. I wonder when it was built? Might it be mid-20th century? Was it new when it was installed here or brought in as a used item from another company?

These photographs are from Fuji Acros black and white film, exposed at EI=80 in a Leica M2 camera. For the first 5 frames above, I used my 24mm ƒ/3.5 Super-Multi-Coated Pentax Takumar lens via an adapter. The photograph of the rubber machine is from my 35mm ƒ/2.0 Summicron lens. I scanned the negatives with a Plustek 7600i film scanner.

Abandoned Rubber Reclaiming Factory, Vicksburg, Mississippi

Last December, my daughter and I drove down a semi-abandoned road off US 61 south of Vicksburg. To the left was a field of abandoned and decomposing car bodies and trucks. To the right, a factory? What was it? It was empty, no one was about, and there were no "No Trespassing" signs. Ah, Mississippi is fun because you can walk into places like this. 

This is the remains of the former U.S. Rubber Reclaiming Company. According to Bloomberg:

U.S. Rubber Reclaiming, Inc. recycles and reclaims scrap rubbers in the United States. The company focuses on butyl rubber reclaiming; and supplies butyl rubber to the tire industry in the United States. The company manufactures high quality rubber mulch for playground surfacing, landscaping and other uses. Its customers include tire companies, inner tube manufacturers, and the vendors of tape used for gas/oil pipe line wrap. The company was founded in 1959 and is based in Vicksburg, Mississippi. U.S. Rubber Reclaiming, Inc. is a former subsidiary of Genstar Ltd.

The company may have ceased most of its operations around 2010. An article in Rubber and Plastics News states:

VICKSBURG, Miss. (March 26, 2010)—U.S. Rubber Reclaiming Inc., the oldest rubber recycling company in the U.S., has left the butyl reclaim business and is seeking a buyer for its rubber mulch operation.

A number of internet business sites still show the company as active at 2000 Rubber Way, but clearly this is not the case. As usual with the internet, be suspicious of information pages that use software/robots to consolidate data from various unfiltered sources.

This is not the only former rubber facility in Vicksburg. Another company somewhere south of town had a troubled history. Rouse Polymerics International had a fire that belched black smoke many years ago. At a later date, the factory suffered an explosion that killed five workers. I do not know where that site was located.

US Rubber Reclaiming, Dec. 2018, Fuji X-E1 digital file

US Rubber Reclaiming, Jan. 2019, Ektar 100 film, Voigtländer Vito BL camera

There are still piles of rubber debris and scrap on the site. Mosquito habitat after any rainstorm?

I saw a belted kingfisher land on a pole next to the pond. I suppose he eats fish that lives in that water. Yummy....

A big concrete-anchored rubber shredding machine is sitting out in the weather. This is impressive mid-20th century industrial equipment. I am surprised that this could not be sold when the company closed, but possibly dismounting and shipping would cost more than anyone else would pay for it. When some companies close, the managers simply walk away, leaving the former employees to close the doors and figure out how to feed their families. Then the creditors must decide what to do with the junk left behind.

Water is ponding in many areas on the site. OK, plenty of mosquito habitat in summer.

The steel sheds seem reasonably intact and the floors were mostly dry. But who would buy this place and deal with the rubber debris?

The company posted signs about safety issues. I like the logo in the last picture, "Any fool can be careless. "How about you". That definitely applies to many drivers I see regularly.

The 2018 digital images are from a Fujifilm X-E1 digital camera. I set the camera on the Asta film emulation. The day was sunny and too cheerful - not right. Therefore, when January 19, 2019, was gloomy and drizzly, I returned with Ektar 100 film loaded in my little Voigtländer Vito BL camera.  I wrote a review of the BL for the 35MMC blog. This camera has a fixed 50mm f/3.5 Color-Skopar lens. Having one lens makes you carefully consider how you can fit your subject into the frame. I mounted the camera on a tripod and took most exposures at f/5.6 or f/8. I scanned the negatives on a Plustek 7600i film scanner. I also took black and white film; material for a future article.

Major decline: Metrocenter Mall and Robinson Road, Jackson, Mississippi (B&W film)

Metrocenter Mall, Jackson, Leica M2, 50mm ƒ/2 Summicron-DR lens.

Metrocenter Mall and former Piccadilly Restaurant, Leica M2, 35mm ƒ/2 Summicron lens.

When I first moved to Vicksburg in the mid-1980s, Metrocenter Mall in Jackson was fresh, active, vibrant, and (I presume) prosperous. The mall opened in 1978, and Sears Roebuck anchored the west end, McRae's the east. The food court was busy, and numerous smaller companies occupied stores on two floors. The parking lot was crowded. Other companies occupied buildings nearby, such as Toys-R-Us on Hwy 80, and Service Merchandise in a nearby building.

But as the 1990s progressed, Metrocenter became seedy and merchants left. One by one, stores closed. The anchors lingered until the 2000s. McRae's became part of Belk, which continued at Metrocenter until 2009, and Sears closed in 2012. Sears had already abandoned its Vicksburg store and, as far as I know, there are no other full-line Sears stores anywhere near Jackson.

As of 2019, part of the complex is still occupied. I wanted to take some closer pictures, but odd cars lingering and other crapped-out cars meeting the first ones did not bode well for security.

Robinson Road view north

Robinson Road, west of Metrocenter, is pretty bleak. Buildings are empty, and crummy cars and dude-mobiles rattle along.

At least one former restaurant has been converted into a church. That is an effective use of space, but the city loses the property tax revenue.

Former Piccadilly restaurant, Robinson Road, Jackson

The former Piccadilly restaurant was secure but clearly no longer used.

Some businesses are still operating. We were well-served by the efficient employees at the Metro PCS mobile phone store. The parking lot had some interesting transportation machinery.

What can revive an area like this? Why was this area prosperous in the 1980s and, only 30 years later, has become a scummy backwater? Why is so much of west Jackson a wasteland?

I took these photographs on Fuji Acros 100 35mm black and white film with my 1967-vintage Leica M2 rangefinder camera. I used the 50mm ƒ/2.0 Summicron-DR and 35mm ƒ/2.0 Summicron (version 4) lenses. A medium yellow filter helped add texture in the clouds. Acros is a superb fine-grain film. I scanned the frames with a Plustek 7600i film scanner.

Older Jackson Articles

Jan 2010: Mississippi Basin Model
Jan 2010: Hawkins Field
Jan 2010: Naval reserve Center
Feb 2010: Hinds County Armory
Nov 2010: Jackson Municipal Library
Apr 2013: Hinds County Armory update
May 2013: Oil Mill
May 2013: Mill Street corner store
Apr 2015: Lock business, Pascagoula St.
May 2015: Mill Street
Jun 2015: West Capital Street
Jun 2015: Masonic Temple
Nov 2015: Mississippi Basin Model continuing decline
Dec 2015: West Porter Street
Jan 2016: Near the State Capital
Sep 2016: North Mill Street
Jul 2017: Grayson Court
Dec 2017: Old House Depot
Feb 2018: Basin Model update
May 2018:  Fortification Street
April 2019: Woodrow Wilson Ave.
Aug 2019: Bailey Ave. restaurant

Superb Alabama Folk Art: Snuffy Smith's of Wilmer

Snuffy Smith's, 1990, Kodachrome slide, Leica M3, 50mm lens

Snuffy Smith's gasoline station and antique emporium was a familiar sight on U.S. Highway 98 near the Mississippi-Alabama state line. Google gives the address as 14860 Moffett Rd, Wilmer, AL 36587, but I am not sure if that is correct. Regardless, it is an example of folk art magifique.

I found two 4×5" Fujichrome frames from 1990. The large negatives, of course, preserve a lot of detail (click the pictures to enlarge to 1600 pixels wide). There is surprisingly little information on the web about this site. A 2009-vintage blog states that "Snuffy's got its name from a previous owner, Arthur Drake Smith, who dipped snuff."

1995 Kodachrome slide, Leica M3, 50mm lens

Notice a few changes between 1990 and 1995. A new armored man is on patrol guarding the gasoline pumps. And an antique blue pump has been placed on the left of the island, replacing an overflowing trash can.

This amazing example of home-made art may be gone. I did not see it the last time I drove on U.S. 98, but maybe I simply missed it. If any readers have information, please advise.