NEW: Gulfport and Biloxi, 1925-2020
Posted: 17 Nov 2023 19:26
Both Gulfport and Biloxi are tough because of their location and its predication to hurricanes. Camille in 1969 and Katrina in 2005 really reshaped the first few blocks of both cities, almost up to the railroad about 6-10 blocks north. There are photos from 1969 of a nearly brand new Centennial A&P in Long Beach that was badly damaged by Camille, only to be rebuilt. Its successor store was built in a nearby shopping center with a huge Kmart store that was destroyed (and not rebuilt this time) by Katrina in 2005. That lot is still vacant.
North of the railroad tracks seems to be a free-for-all, where Kroger, Delchamps and Winn Dixie battled each other for decades. Kroger left the area, Delchamps went out of business, and Winn Dixie has massively retrenched, leaving Walmart and Rouses (of Louisiana) to battle for dominance with a few independent stores. Several Rouses stores are Winn Dixie handoffs now.