Although I was in Louisiana for Grambling State University homecoming 2011, the nearest hotel I could get a room in was at Monroe, Louisiana, 30 miles away. When I got to Monroe, I came upon this old, seemingly-historic building at 10th and DeSiard. Signs indicated that it once housed the 10th Street Social Club, the Standard Life Insurance Company of Louisiana, the Monroe Free Press (an African-American newspaper), Eddie’s Place and Hilliard’s Cafe. A sign at the entrance to the 10th Street Social Club stated that any women with weapons would be turned over to the police! The 1965 Monroe City Directory indicated that the building was the Roy-Miller Building, and that it was the site of a number of important businesses, clubs and professional offices for the African-American community in Monroe. It is a tragedy that it has been allowed to deteriorate.
Abandoned
Abandoned McNeil High School, Crawfordsville AR
McNeil High School was the school for Black students in Crawfordsville, Arkansas before integration, and later was part of the consolidated Crawfordsville High School, but Arkansas state law forced Crawfordsville to abolish its school district because of declining enrollment, and the school campus is now abandoned. A large tree has fallen on a portion of the building, perhaps during one of the many tornado outbreaks this spring.
4/15/10: Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale
I drove down to Clarksdale last Thursday to meet up with Justin Showah, the owner of Hill Country Records, who was playing the opening night …
RIP Indianapolis’ Joe Lee Records
I went to breakfast at Sunrise Cafe on East 86th in the Castleton neighborhood of Indianapolis It was another extremely hot day, mostly spent going …
A Requiem for Lee Street and the Death of Port Arthur
Al Kapone had arranged for me to get access to the South By Southwest Music Festival in Austin, where he was performing this year, so …