Johnson Street

Johnson Street. Greenwood Memories. , "It was like a carnival on Saturday nights.", On any Saturday night in mid-20th century Greenwood, the six blocks of Johnson Street stretching from the Illinois Central over to Main Street would have been packed with shoppers and moviegoers, musicians and pool hustlers, all unloading thee cares of their weekday lives for a night on the town. In those days of Jim Crow segregation, Johnson Street was a magical mecca, a place where African Americans could gather and spend their hard-earned dollars for a movie ticket, a new pair of overalls, ice cream for the kids and a glimpse of a better life., During the week, the black citizens of Greenwood shopped at M. Diamond, Kornfeld's and Stanley's for clothing and household goods, stopping at Union Drugs for their prescriptions an Wood Shoe Repair when their soles wore out. Their business was welcome here and the Johnson Street neighborhood buzzed with commerce. The shops were literally "across the tracks" from the more upscale stores of Carrollton Avenue, whose blocks were quiet when Johnson Street began its weekly ascendancy., Saturday night, as the last sliver of sunlight disappeared to the west, Johnson Street burst into life. The line for the Dixie Theatre snaked right into the street and up against the C&G tracks. Beer flowed freely and men crouched down with their lucky dice, hoping for a little easy money. Farm families who had come by mule-drawn wagons early in the morning lingered, soaking in the music and the lights and a few hours of freedom from their heavy burdens., (photo captions:), ·Fifteen cents would buy a general admission ticket for the movies at Johnson Street's Dixie Theatre in 1939. This popular venue occasionally featured live shows, including the legendary Bessie Smith. On weekend nights, the large crowds gathered outside the theatre would often spill into Johnson Street. , ·Union Drugs filled the prescriptions written by Dr. W.G. Tabb, whose office was located above M. Diamond's clothing store, but their "Blue Plate Special" was only for white clients. Both buildings were lost in a 2005 fire., ·The unofficial boundary between Johnson Street and Carrollton Avenue was the C&G railroad tracks and several gas stations, such as the "711." On weekdays, customers from all over Greenwood frequented these establishments, but Saturday night was a different world. , ·This young woman's longing for a "Shirley Temple" dress in a Johnson Street store was captured by Calvin Cox's camera around 1940., ·On any Saturday night, Johnson Street's "clubs" were packed with those ready to relax, enjoying Jax or Champagne Velvet beer, playing the juke box and sharing a dice game or a band of cards., ·Before their name was synonymous with fine food, the Lusco family ran a fruit market at 200 East Johnson. The corner building backed up to one of the city's last stables., ·George Tupper operated a tiny photography studio at 208 East Johnson, preserving the images of black and white Greenwoodians for future generations. , ·Looking east toward the intersection of the C&G tracks with the Illinois Central, this photo demonstrates the parallel worlds of Carrollton Avenue and Johnson Street in the early 1930s. Model T's share the roads with mule-drawn wagons and the iron rails await the next "Doodlebug" gas-electric passenger train, rumbling between the twin streets six times daily.