Pine Bluff

Saturday was a typical Arkansas summer day – hot and muggy. Well I take that back, it was actually a bit cooler than normal, it was only 97 degrees outside. I had a big plan set for Saturday, a long drive that would take me down in the swamps and farms in the very bottom edge of southeastern Arkansas. As I stepped outside into the heat, I began to question it. Then as I drove farther and farther away from home, I decided to postpone that trip and try again later. No big deal really, it just meant that the insects, snakes and alligators at the swamps will just have to wait a little bit longer for the chance to eat me.

By the time I decided to turn around, I was in Pine Bluff. So I pulled off the freeway and took the opportunity to explore that city’s old downtown. Pine Bluff is an old river town (incorporated in 1839), built along the banks of the Arkansas River. In recent times, the town has fallen on hard times. And by fallen on hard times, I mean really it tumbled of the cliff of hard times. Several of the downtown buildings are abandoned, and parking lots are scattered with the broken glass remains of beer bottles. Several of the buildings are boarded up, but there was some life along Main Street. There was a big crowd at a clothing store called Super Bad, which I’m not sure if it was named after the film or just a comment on the quality of the clothes there. But beyond that stretch, the streets were quiet.


There was one other car in the parking lot at the old train station, which is now a museum. I walked around to the platform, just as a train was coming into the station. It was a freight train, so it didn’t bother to stop here. It just made its way on past, the whistle echoing across downtown.



I did not loaf.

Across the street from the train station sat a fine old building, which was once a Masonic Temple. It didn’t appear to be in use now, which is a shame.


Next to the old Masonic Lodge was a jewelry store that was still open. There were two clocks on the front, including this huge old and weathered one hanging over the sidewalk.

I like the sign for the business in the background – if it was open I’d have gone in to get some fashion with an attitude!

I got back in the car and headed back down Main Street towards the old courthouse. The Jefferson County Courthouse was built in 1856 and is an interesting old building. Across from the courthouse was another neat old building, which helped in getting some other shots of the courthouse.




There wasn’t much traffic around here. I felt pretty safe enough to rush into the street to get this view of the front of the courthouse from the middle of the road.


From the courthouse I walked around a bit more, past empty parking lots and more abandoned buildings. Several buildings were being slowly devoured by nature, adding a small touch of life to the empty buildings.


I drove around a bit more, before eventually giving up and heading back home. This is the last shot of the day that actually turned out. I just got a picture and didn't stop to buy anything.

To the East

From Carlisle, I drove south on a random road, seeking out something interesting to get a picture of. I went past miles and miles of farmland, and past a lot of debris from the storm that passed through earlier that day. I tried to stop at any old building I could, and found this one along the side of the road. It was an old gas station, which still included an old Exxon sigh. The old gas station looked to be long-closed, there probably haven't been too many customers at this old vending machine.

There was a shiny Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper box there, which is still in use. It had a few editions of that day's paper still for sale.

There was an incredible amount of dragonflies zooming about along the road, though unfortunately a good number of them are still plastered on the front of my car. I don't think I've ever seen that many dragonflies out and about. But I drove on south into the town of Stuttgart, which is a big farming town. As you drive into Stuttgart, you see a bunch of looming buildings that look like the skyline of a far-off big city. It isn't skyscrapers you're seeing, instead it's a good collection of silos and grain elevators. I drove around in Stuttgart for a bit, but didn't get any good pictures, so let's move on...

I headed back towards Little Rock, passing through several little towns. On the road, just outside one of those small towns, was a huge swamp. The brackish water was covered in a sheet of green, with cypress trees popping out of the murk. I turned around and parked on the median, and took some shots out of the passenger side window of the car.


A few minutes later I stopped at this old house along the road, and carefully checked to make sure that no one actually lived there still. I hoped that it was empty, and got out to take a few quick pictures. I added a texture to this shot, which I hope goes well with the subject matter.


I drove closer to Little Rock, going by the towns of England, Keo and Scott. Now this area is ripe with old buildings and barns. Looking back now I wish I had just driven out there first. I drove down a dirt road and came along an interesting stretch of old buildings being slowly taken over by nature, which were surrounded by farmland. It was starting to get a bit dark, and this was the last shot of the day, but I think it might be my favorite. Again it has a texture added to it, I tried not to go too overboard on the processing here.

Well, duh

I took a drive out the other night, cruising through the flat lands east of Little Rock. I drove up north past Carlisle, past rolling farmland. It had stormed earlier that day, and the farms were a bit flooded. Muddy water pooled and flowed along the road, occasionally breaking over the banks.

This helpful sign was posted along the side of the road. I thought it was a bit obvious to put up a sign saying this. Kinda like having a sign that says, "Bungee jumping is dangerous if you jump without the bungee cord."


Just down the road from here the road was a bit underwater. The ditches were overflowing, cascading water down along the pavement. So of course I disregarded the sign and drove through. Luckily it was only an inch-deep or so, and the new car got past without any problems...

Roundtop

The old Roundtop gas station looks like something that would sit along Route 66. It's a neat old building, a throwback to a long-lost era. The old gas station was built in 1936, and "reflects the Mimetic/Programmatic style of architecture."

Like those old relics of buildings along Route 66, the Roundtop station was built along what was then a major highway - the road from Little Rock to St. Louis. The station was closed down in 1958, but the building remains in somewhat decent condition. The front door now sprawls inside the main room, along with several empty beer cans and other random debris. There is hope for the building, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places last year.

An article about the building that ran in the Sherwood Voice last year says:
“In the 1920s, Gay Oil Company held a filling station design competition and the architect, John Parks Almand, won the competition with a ‘mushroom-shaped’ design,” according to the National Register nomination. “While a significant departure from the Almand design, the Roundtop Filling Station draws an architecture reference to the station designed of independent oil and gas companies from the prior decade.”

“Its defining characteristics, designed to provide visual interest to entice customers, include an octagonal main structure with a double-hipped turret roof, stucco walls, and arched window openings and entries,” according to the application.

“The Roundtop Filling Station is an example of the free flowing architecture used by smaller independent gas and oil companies between the 1920s and the 1970s to highlight their distinctiveness,” according to the application. “The distinctive double-hipped turret roof provided a visual attraction for automobile travelers on the road to and from Little Rock and St. Louis. The site also has two historic features relating to its historic use, a lamp/sign post and a concrete gas island.”

I went out to the station with John Blakney, trying to get some shots of the building at night. I was a bit worried about heading out there at night, since the station is now surrounded by houses. I figured that someone might call the cops on us, since we might have looked a bit suspicious. Luckily no one called 911 on us, although a police car did drive by. It was a Pulaski County Sheriff's car, who just sped on past us (and didn't stop at a nearby stop sign, I might add).

But here is the best shot of the night:


It is a 40 second exposure, with three pops from an external flash hitting the building. There is a flashlight inside the station, trying to light up the area in the main room.

Pansas City

Here are a few more pictures from the recent road trip to Kansas City. These were taken from the top of the Liberty Memorial Tower, which is part of the National World War I Museum. The view from the top of the tower is awesome, and makes it worth the $4 it takes to go up to the top.

This is the a panoramic view from the top of the tower. It is a combination of six shots that were stitched together using Hug-In.

For a larger view, check out HERE

And a friend suggested making a tilt/shift shot with this view, so this is my clumsy attempt at one.