Preservation in Mississippi
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Whence Beautiful Places?
A couple of weeks ago, I found myself standing in the Spring sunlight at a farm in northern Mississippi along with a few other people. The matter at hand was whether the site, containing a modest ranch house, a wood barn, a line of very old osage orange trees, and a dirt road was eligible … Continue reading
Someone Please Give Me the Money to Buy This Place
The Hermitage, Pearl River County’s most historic site, is for sale. I don’t know the exact asking price, except that it’s beyond me (only because my portfolio has taken such a hit, I mean, Bernie Madoff and all those other crooks made off with my millions, so that I can’t even keep my maid-service and driver, much … Continue reading
Katrina Recovery, A Second Disaster for Historic Places?
One of my many readers pointed me toward a really good article at Planetizen by Roberta Brandes Gratz of the Project for Public Spaces. The article, called “Citizen Recovery Efforts Hit Government Barriers in New Orleans” is about the trials of re-building and repairing (apparently against the wishes of governmental forces) in New Orleans, but I was struck … Continue reading
For All You Theater/Theatre-Lovers Out There
I just came upon this amazing website that’s attempting to build a database of all the movie theaters in the world. Ever! A lofty goal for sure, but it looks like they’re well on their way. They have 133 entries for Mississippi, and you can find the list at http://cinematreasures.org/location/country=181&state=25 In addition to location, you can also … Continue reading
A Historic Survivor Rises Again in Waveland
I had occasion to visit Waveland this week and saw that the old Waveland School, a brick building built in 1920, is completing finishing touches before its grand re-opening. As many of us know, Waveland took a straight shot from Katrina, and being lower in elevation than neighboring Bay St. Louis, the storm surge washed all … Continue reading
Review: Mississippi Celebrates Architecture
Earlier this week, I wandered over to the Mississippi Arts Pavilion in downtown Jackson with some friends (yes, I have a few) to check out the Mississippi Celebrates Architecture exhibit. The exhibit gathers several different collections into five rooms in the pavilion: first, the American Institute of Architects’ America’s Favorite Architecture travelling exhibit, featuring large … Continue reading
Coolest Ole Miss Buildings
I will now announce my much-anticipated nominations for “Coolest Ole Miss Buildings.” To appeal to all segments of my vast reading audience, I have two nominations: one from the 19th century, the other so far into the 20th century, you’ll be amazed at my open-mindedness. Drum-roll please . . . All you Ole Miss alums, … Continue reading
To Ole Miss and Back
I spent a little time up Oxford way last week and enjoyed it immensely, mainly because the weather and the sunlight were so amazing that I would have had a major case of Spring Fever if I had been sitting inside. There was all kinds of maintenance and construction work going on at Ole Miss–I was … Continue reading
Speed Street School demolition
I saw this article last week, but since it’s pretty much a done deal and because it’s so depressing, I decided I didn’t want to destroy the beautiful symmetry of my Jane Jacobs’ series to insert it into last week’s posts. The Vicksburg Post reports that the Speed Street School, built in 1894 and designed … Continue reading
Jane Jacobs/Robert Moses/Stimulus Bill
Check out these interesting posts over at ThinkMarkets about the possible effects of the stimulus bill’s infrastructure spending on neighborhoods and local social economies. I thought the references to Jane Jacobs were particularly timely given our little whirlwind tour through her The Death and Life of Great American Cities last week: Infrastructure: How the Seen Crowds … Continue reading
Not (Completely) Buying the Coast Buyouts
Three-and-a-half years after Hurricane Katrina, the Corps of Engineers has finally come up with a buyout plan for the Mississippi Gulf Coast to reduce property damage from future hurricanes. (See the Sun-Herald report of the last public meeting and a good commentary in today’s Clarion-Ledger analyzing the plan.) The original plan, introduced in 2007, was to buy up … Continue reading
The New Yankee Stadium
Paul Goldberger has an interesting critique of the two new baseball stadia (which sounds so much more knowledgeable than “stadiums” don’t you think?) in New York City in this week’s New Yorker. Now, just because I read the New Yorker doesn’t mean I’m some pinko commie or wild-eyed liberal, in case you were wondering. Anyway, … Continue reading
Book Quotes: Jane Jacobs on the Environment and Suburbia
This is the last post in our series on Jane Jacobs’ Death and Life of Great American Cities. I hope you’ve enjoyed it–if not, well, it’s over now. I have remembered so many good parts as I’ve gone back through the book, and I’ve been struck again by the contrast between Jacob’s human-oriented language and the often abstract … Continue reading
Book Quotes: Jane Jacobs on Old Buildings
Number 4 in our series on Jane Jacobs’ seminal book The Death and Life of Great American Cities. In the chapter titled “The Need for Old Buildings” Jane Jacobs argues that, apart from any architectural considerations, every neighborhood needs a mixture of newer and older buildings in order to allow for a variety of uses, income … Continue reading
Book Quotes: Jane Jacobs on Gentrification
“Gentrification” is a word that we preservationists have thrown at us alot. And unlike other arguments against preservation (such as “there’s just too many old buildings around here for the young folks”), gentrification is one that I believe has merit in some cases. At times, although our motivation is pure (“save the buildings!”) we allow ourselves … Continue reading
Book Quotes: Jane Jacobs on Streets
Jacobs’ in-depth observation of her own city, New York, has stuck with me, and this passage from the chapter “The Uses of Sidewalks: Safety” is one that I often recall in particular when I watch my own, much less urban street. (It’s a long passage, so I’ve made some edits for you, readers–I’m always thinking about you … Continue reading
Book Quotes: Jane Jacobs on City Planning
From time to time, either because I’m lazy or because I’m exceptionally clever, I will post a week-long series on a certain topic. This week, our inaugural series will be quotations from Jane Jacob’s classic The Death and Life of Great American Cities, published in 1961 during the Golden Age of Urban Renewal and Modernist principles of … Continue reading
Gulfport Library update
A third public meeting about the future of Gulfport Library took place on Thursday (the 12th) and this one seems to have actually produced some encouraging movement on all sides. According to the Sun-Herald article, the many interested parties, including the county, FEMA and MDAH will sign a Memorandum of Agreement wherein the county agrees to … Continue reading
New Events Calendar
The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed a new little feature I’ve added to Preservation in Mississippi, a calendar of events that I hope we can use to keep ourselves apprised of all the stuff going on around the state that would be of general interest to architecture and history lovers. It’s right at the … Continue reading
Release Me, You Fiend!
Earlier this week, I was walking around downtown Jackson, past the Old Capitol (1839), past the Lamar Life Building (1925), the Governor’s Mansion (1840), the U.S. Courthouse (1933), over to Jackson City Hall (1846), the Hinds County Courthouse (1930), and Thalia Mara Hall (1968), saw the Tower Building (1929) and the King Edward Hotel (1923) … Continue reading
On Developers, Modernism, and Fondren
After I wrote this post, I decided that it should be considered Part II of The Return of Modernism. In the latest issue of the Northside Sun, editor Wyatt Emmerich discusses the recent talk given by developer David Watkins at the Rotary Club. Watkins is the lawyer-turned-developer of several historic properties in downtown Jackson, including … Continue reading
An Important House Needs Our Help
A reader contacted me about a house north of Natchez that is very important to Mississippi’s history but that needs some tender loving care to be restored to its former glory. The house was built in 1854 and is a fine example of the Greek Revival style, with 2-panel doors, fluted porch columns, dentilled cornice, jib … Continue reading
Meridian City Hall
An interesting article in the Meridian Star on Sunday about the cost of renovating the Meridian City Hall. I like it when writers take the time to point out the complexities of the issue at hand, and it sounds like City Hall has some complexities for sure. This is why, Fellow Preservationists, we should be preaching … Continue reading
Last Hope for Carr Central?
Here’s sending good thoughts to Carr Central–an amazing 1920s school and Vicksburg landmark. I still don’t understand why the historic preservation tax credits amounting to, I think, 45% of the total cost, aren’t enough to get this project going, but I guess that’s why I’m not a developer. As reported in the Vicksburg Post on … Continue reading
Update on Philadelphia
Thanks to tsj1957 for sending along the link to the Neshoba Democrat article about last Monday’s historic preservation commission meeting in Philadelphia. As I’m sure you recall from my previous post because you read every last word in every post I’ve ever written, this was a demolition issue involving a house designed by the Starkville firm … Continue reading
Historical Society Report
A good crowd, with an average age of, ooooh, let’s just say, above the average age of the rest of Mississippi, showed up to the Old Capitol Friday and Saturday for the annual meeting of the Mississippi Historical Society. For the first time since my old graduate school days, I sat down with a set of notecards … Continue reading
Mississippi Celebrates Architecture
The Clarion-Ledger ran an article summarizing the Mississippi AIA’s exhibit and lecture series this week. This is the event I had a hard time finding information on earlier in the week in “A Series of Fortunate Events“: A multipronged exhibition at the Arts Center of Mississippi explores and celebrates the profession of architecture and some of its … Continue reading
And Another Thing . . .
A 4th event I forgot to mention is a symposium at the Manship House here in Jackson this coming Monday (9th). Here’s a tidbit from the MDAH site: March Symposium Examines Victorian Dining Practices On Monday, March 9, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Manship House will present Dinner Is Served, a symposium exploring Victorian foodways … Continue reading
A Series of Fortunate Events
They say it never rains but it pours. They also say it never rains in Southern California, so why did it sprinkle last time I was there? At any rate, Jackson isn’t exactly known for its plethora of architecture-highlighting events. Don’t ask me why, but it’s not because Jackson is bereft of good architecture. So we’ve … Continue reading
To Russia With Love
I’m sure most of you as you read my blog think of me as cool and sophisticated, which of course I am. Completely. But I have to admit there’s just a little piece of me that’s . . . well . . . geeky. Ok, the truth is, I enjoy designing databases and I have a blog, … Continue reading
Dealing with Vernacular Places
If you get off the interstate at Vaiden and go about 7 miles on the highway, then turn onto a paved county road and go another 7 miles, turn right onto a gravel road for a mile or so, then left onto another gravel road, through the red dirt and towering pines, you’ll come to … Continue reading
Historic Bridges Site
Kaitlin at Preservation in Pink recently put up a very helpful post giving good internet resources for researching historic bridges. Most of us know about HABS/HAER, but I hadn’t heard of the website called Historic Bridges of the U.S. This site has hundreds of Mississippi bridges on it, complete with construction dates, map locations, types of construction, and … Continue reading
To Holly Springs and Back
A few days ago I made the incredibly long trip up to the Far North, to Union and Tippah Counties and Holly Springs. When you have to make such a trip, you’re always torn between scheduling as much as possible so as to make it all worth it and just getting there and back at a decent … Continue reading
In Mississippi? In March??
It snowed in Jackson last night, ya’ll! I’m probably boxed in here for days, but don’t worry, I still have electricity and some crackers and ice I can melt for water . . .
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