The Magnolia Avenue Warehouse District is approximately bounded by I-40 and Summit Hill Drive to the north and south, and by Central Street and Bertrand Avenue to the west and east. It is comprised mainly of low-slung warehouses of indeterminate age and varying construction, with a smattering of multi-family homes, churches, at least one funeral parlor, and a few artisans and retailers intermixed. First Creek winds its way through the distict, mostly inaccessible and contained by high concrete banks. In the spring and summer, the vacant lots and derelicted lawns are filled with wildflowers, weeds, and insect life. A single stand of cattails testifies to the area's former life as a swamp on the edge of town.
The District has already changed since Randy Boyd's baseball nightmare began in the spring of 2021. Once a vital and well-trafficked pedestrian and bicycle link between Parkridge/Park City and the Old City, the District is mostly empty now except for workers' cars. The imposing, sprawling Rail Salvage building is razed. The old concrete foundation at the base of the Murder Weigels hill is gone. The pleasant lea alongside First Creek is broken red clay. The Magnolia Avenue Warehouse District is passing into a new era. It will become another Boyd Family Playground—a different kind of concrete wasteland. This project seeks to document and mourn the loss of the structures, flora, and diverse human ephemera that made the District a a special place.
Magnolia & Georgia, beside Last Days of Autumn brewing. March 2023.
East Depot, across from the former Sawworks brewery.
Detail of above.
East Magnolia and Morgan, near the Old City Gardens.
First Creek seen from Magnolia.
Train tracks along Georgia.
Interior of Graning Paint Company.
Along East Magnolia.
Under the Hall of Fame overpass, future site of the baseball stadium.
A scooter (partially double exposed with a police tower).