Vacation, Day 5, 10/25/2009, Part 2

Across Duling from Fondren Place--Tangle Hair, a beauty salon, and Dream Beads, "Make It, Wear It, Love It!"


Next to Dream Beads, Fondren Art Gallery, with a Grand Opening sign--see more about the gallery's owner, Richard McKey tomorrow. On the corner, well actually from thos two windows to the right of the door and then around the corner, is the Orange Peel, a truly fun and fabulous used, consignment, and vintage store. I used to go there before we moved to Portland.


The front of the Orange Peel, facing North State Street.


Just south of the Orange Peel stands Walker's Drive In. Talk about a great place to eat a fantastic supper! Walker's is it because chef Derek Emerson makes it so!


The Pix Theater which I knew as the Capri. I have fond memories of seeing "Irma La Douce" and "Tom Jones" at the Capri. I couldn't believe movies so up front about the subject of sex were playing in Jackson, Mississippi, the heart of the Bible Belt. I loved both of them!

Found on the World Wide Web:Pix/Capri Theare is a former movie theatre in Jackson, Mississippi. Built in 1939 as the Pix Theatre, on the historic US Highway 51, known as North State Street in Jackson. While many Jackson movie theatres were going strong through the 1940s and into the 1950s, the Pix had winded down and ceased operations by 1957.

By 1965, however, the theatre was sold to Cinema Guild Inc and had reopened as the Capri Theatre. The Capri was highly successful and had a longer run than its predecessor, the Pix. The Capri, feeling the effects of the onslaught of the multiplex theatres, had switched to second run/bargain films by the late 1970s. By the early 1980s, viewed by many as a tool to survive the Capri had become a porn theatre showcasing X rated films. By 1985, the Capri was closed, although daily ads in the Clarion Ledger Newspaper had appeared two months after closing.

By 2005, after twenty years of sitting vacant, the Capri was used once again. It had reopened for live music, indie films and theatre performances. Various groups had surfaced trying to raise money for restoration, but that has never came to fruition.

By October 2008, Jackson lawyer and developer David Watkins announced plans to develop mixed use development behind the Capri Theatre and announced his intentions to restore the Capri as a music venue, specifically blues and jazz.

Vacation, Day 5, 10/25/2009, Part 1

Now that's what I call an eye-catchin' billboard! It's for Ro'Chez Restaurant, located in Ridgeland, a small city north of Jackson, Mississippi. I didn't get to go there, but I love this vintage car--a '50's Ford, I think. My brother H says they've not been there to eat yet, but some friends of theirs have and said it was good.

I saw it on my way to lunch at Pan Asia, another Ridgeland. I met three of my librarian buddies--Nancey, Sherry and Cheryl--and enjoyed good food and fine company. We four, along with our other librarian buddy Anne, successfully endured the National Board Certification process for school librarians several years ago. I know without a doubt that I couldn't have done it without their help and support; the process reminded me of being in labor for six months! We ended up what the National Board people call Accomplished Library Media Specialists--I shortened it to ALMS, as a sort of pun because we also ended up getting a substantial yearly stipend from the state of Mississippi--get it, alms for the poor, we teachers in Mississippi being among the lowest paid in the country.

After spending several super hours with the ALMS gals, I drove around Jackson a bit, looking here and there to see what had changed, what had stayed the same. I stopped now and then to take photos to share with you.

I found this about the neighborhood I photographed first. Fondren District is a culture center in Jackson and is one of Jackson's most sought after districts, featuring an array of antiques stores, galleries, and lots of entertainment options in the numerous pubs and restaurants.

First, in Fondren, I took a few photos of the refurbished Duling School, part of Fondren Place, which includes various businesses including The Auditorium, a restaurant that my brother and his wife have enjoyed a time or two. Here's some info I found about Duling School: The Lorena Duling School in Jackson was built in 1927 and served as the neighborhood elementary school for the developing community of Fondren. The school was designed by architect Claude H. Lindsley in the popular Tudor Revival style. Lindsley would go on to design Jackson's Central High School and Standard Life Building. The Duling School was used for educational purposes until 2005, at which time it was vacated.


This new building takes up what used to be a vacant lot just west of the school building. You can tell that I took this shot through the windshield--see the blue band along the top of the photo?


The same building, the back corner from the parking lot behind the building. Found this on the Internet, "The building will house BankPlus and have other office spaces, some retailers, and a restaurant. There are also loft apartments and rooftop decks." I imagine some of those are in this particular part of the development. In fact, I see a sign about the ATM near the dark brick section.