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At the center of it all: changing face of downtown Jackson.

Article Excerpt
Downtown Jackson has always bustled during the day. It's the quiet nights and weekends that eat away at downtown developers and others who want to see the area thrive.

"What does it take to bring people downtown?" has been the question since the 1960s when most of the retail shops began slipping away to the suburbs. Indeed, before big-box stores, strip malls and suburbs, downtown Jackson was the place to shop.

"Everyone in Jackson lived a mile or so from downtown and everyone worked downtown. There were no shopping centers. All the commercial activity was downtown," said longtime Realtor W.P. Bridges Jr. who started working downtown in the 1940s when he joined his family's real estate company.

Longtime commercial Realtor Maurice Joseph remembers the downtown of the 1940s, 50s and 60s when people turned out in droves on Saturdays to watch movies, dine out and shop the "100% block," the best block in town for retail located on Capitol Street between Lamar and Farish streets.

Lining Capitol Street were women's dress shops like Kresses, Grayson's...