After I did some research, I discovered not only that the building is still standing and photographed it, but I met the Great-Nephew of the man standing in the doorway.

My story and photos are here.

This is a work of art, Dennis. All of your colorized pics on here are great, but this is just exceptional. Bravo.

Just at the dawn of the civil rights era, Semanticist S.I. Hayakawa perfectly summarized the state of race relations in America: "Southern whites don't care how close the black man gets as long as he doesn't get too big. Northern whites don't care how big he gets as long as he doesn't get too close." The white proprietor of this emporium could have just said: "If you boys have the price of soda pops you're welcome to sit on my porch and drink them."
(ps: Colorization like this should be a recognized art form.)

I applaud your work on this piece and others, Dennis. It takes patience and skill to separate and paint each item and you avoid the tendency to blast the color saturation. Beautiful sensitive touches. Well done. John R

Whenever I can I like to use accurate colors for the period. In the absence of good information I'll just use what looks right. There is considerably more detail in this photo than I thought before I started. It took quite a lot more time than I anticipated. It was a fun challenge though.

That, by far, is one of the coolest things I have ever seen.

I love the attention to detail and the muted, natural colors. Do you research the colors you choose, such as those for the signs, or just be creative and use what you want?