Photographs and stories by Jim Grey

Tag: downtowns

Nikon FA and 35-105mm f/3.5-4.5 Zoom Nikkor

I got a solid bargain on a Nikon FA with a Nikon zoom lens, so I bought it and shot it.

16 December 2019
The Michigan City Uptown Arts District

A quick look at the Michigan City Uptown Arts District, right at the end of the Michigan Road.

9 December 2019
Shooting Agfa APX 100, original emulsion

The film branded Agfa APX 100 today is not the same stuff as before 2004, when Agfa got out of the film business and licensed its name to other manufacturers. Here: some photos on the original APX 100.

2 May 2018
single frame: Cheveux

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22 March 2018
Photographs of things that aren’t there anymore

The Elbow Room Pub, an Indianapolis fixture since the end of Prohibition, closed recently. Because I walk around and photograph stuff with my old cameras, I have some photos — and thus a record that the joint existed.

12 June 2017
Remembering South Bend’s River Bend Plaza

Last month my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. My brother, my sons, and I drove to South Bend, our hometown, to celebrate. We chose downtown as our destination, where we enjoyed a first-rate dinner at a fine restaurant. Then we drove a few blocks west to take photographs on the steps of the church…

4 August 2014
A famous row of buildings on US 40 in Marshall, Illinois

In 1950 and 1951, George Stewart drove US 40 across the United States and photographed scenes all along the way. He wrote a book in which he shared his photographs from the journey: US 40: Cross Section of the United States of America. One of his photos is of this row of buildings in Marshall, Illinois, on…

26 May 2014
The Peanut Shop

It was a common scene in the mid-20th century: while shopping downtown, stopping at a peanut shop for a little bag of freshly roasted peanuts. Peanut shops started appearing in America’s downtowns in the 1930s, and most of them were built by the Planters Peanut Company. My hometown of South Bend, Indiana boasted one in…

22 January 2014
Is it crazy to think that downtowns and big-box stores can peacefully coexist?

As I’ve explored Indiana on its back highways, I’ve come to have a heart for historic preservation. While my first love is old bridges, I also really enjoy a restored historic building and I am always delighted to enter one of Indiana’s many small towns and find a vibrant, vital downtown. A real favorite is…

3 May 2012