Preservation in Mississippi
Thomas Rosell
MissPres Architectural Word of the Week: Jerkinhead Gable
Time for another MissPres Architectural Word of the Week. As we move right along through the alphabet, you can check out our past words here. Have you been keeping an eye out for these elements like I have? This week’s word is probably my favorite style of gable, just because it’s different. I’ve scoured the National … Continue reading
A Little Contest: Like a Ton of (Concrete) Bricks
So this morning we had a mini contest about a material that is on the primary facade of a building in downtown Gulfport on 28th Avenue. All the answers were pretty spot on but the answer that contained all the right buzz words was given by Brian Askew. So what makes a brick over a … Continue reading
A Little Contest
A while back at Preservation In Pink Kaitlin had a little quiz to identify a specific material, which turned out to be plaster scored to give the appearance of ceramic tile. I thought that it would be fun to have a little materials contest of our own here on MissPres. Several weeks back I stopped … Continue reading
Progress in Haiti
Back in 2010 Malvaney ran a post entitled Paying it forward to Haiti. Recently Architectural Record posted an article regarding the restoration of the Iron Market in Port-au-Prince, Haiti which, once you’ve seen the images of the structure after the earthquake, proves that if you have the right mind-set any structure can be saved. The … Continue reading
MissPres Architectural Word of the Week: Imbrex
Time for another MissPres Architectural Word of the Week. As we move right along through the alphabet, you can check out our past words here. Have you been keeping an eye out for these elements like I have? While last week’s word might be out of the norm our word this week is a little … Continue reading
MissPres Architectural Word of the Week: Hyperbolic Paraboloid Shell
With this week’s word we will be launching from Hancock County’s Stennis Space Center to some out of this world shapes! While our word is really a three-word phrase, it is the best way to describe some of our State’s funky and wacky roof shapes from the 1960′s. Our examples are located on the Gulf … Continue reading
What is Rock Lath?
Have you ever seen a material attached to a wall that looked like drywall but maybe had some holes in it and possibly some plaster stuck to one side? It’s possible you never have. The material is called Rock Lath and much like our past MissPres Architectural Word of the Week “Grounds,” if it does it … Continue reading
MissPres Architectural Word of the Week: Grounds
Time for another MissPres Architectural Word of the Week. As we move right along through the alphabet, you can check out our past words here. Have you been keeping an eye out for these elements like I have? This week we feature an element that might be a little more difficult to see on a … Continue reading
MissPres Architectural Word of the Week: Flemish Bond
Time for another MissPres Architectural Word of the Week. As we move right along through the alphabet, you can check out our past words here. Have you been keeping an eye out for these elements like I have? This week we feature images of the Masonic Temple in downtown Biloxi and the Carnegie Auditorium of … Continue reading
Scooba-Doobie-Doo. Which house are you?
Some time in the late 1870′s Scooba, Mississippi lawyer J.A. Minniece needed to build a small house for a laborer on his estate. Minniece sent off for mail order plans to the Bridgeport, Connecticut based firm of Palliser, Palliser & Company, Architects. The firm’s principal partners were brothers George (1849-1903) and Charles (1854-post 1908). George … Continue reading
MissPres Architectural Word of the Week: Entablature
This is our fifth MissPres Architectural Word of the Week. As we move right along through the alphabet, you can check out our past words here. Have you been keeping an eye out for these elements like I have? Having our building vocabulary improved I think helps us better understand the places we care about … Continue reading
MissPres Architectural Word of the Week: Dentil
This is our fourth MissPres Architectural Word of the Week. We are moving right along through the alphabet with our past words having been Abacus, Bracket, and Corbel. Have you been keeping an eye out for these elements like I have? The MDAH Historic Resources Inventory Database has lots of buildings that I could have … Continue reading
Molitor’s Mississippi: February 11, 1954
This week we are following Architectural Photographer Joseph Molitor on the 58th anniversary of his 1954 trip. Today is the last day of our three-blog-postings trip through Mississippi with Mr. Molitor. According to Columbia University’s Avery Library Archive, by Thursday February 11, 1954 he had just six buildings left to photograph in Jackson. Over a … Continue reading
Molitor’s Mississippi: February 8-10, 1954
This week we are following Architectural Photographer Joseph Molitor on the 58th anniversary of his 1954 trip to Mississippi. Molitor’s collection of photos, now at the Columbia University Avery Library in New York, forms an important documentary of what the architectural profession thought were the most important buildings of the post-World War II period. Picking … Continue reading
Molitor’s Mississippi: February 3, 1954
You may remember about this time last year, how we followed the 1952 footsteps of architectural photographer Joseph Molitor on the 59th anniversary of his first professional trip through Mississippi. As a reminder, here’s a little background about Molitor from the first MissPres post about him: Originally trained as an architect, Molitor’s career as a photographer … Continue reading
MissPres Architectural Word of the Week: Corbel
This is our third MissPres Architectural Word of the Week. If you missed any of the earlier posts, this series was spawned by Malvaney’s post about architectural dictionaries. Our past two words have been Abacus and Bracket. Have you been keeping an eye out for either element or trying to slip the words into everyday … Continue reading
Biloxi’s Blighted Banking Buildings Blowup (not really but they are getting demolished)
JRGordon first reported on the city of Biloxi’s blighted property list back in an early November round-up. The list is starting to generate either repairs or demolitions as reported recently by the Sun Herald. While most buildings on the list were not historic and I will not bemoan their loss to greatly, I do think … Continue reading
MissPres Architectural Word of the Week: Bracket
This is our second MissPres Architectural Word of the Week. If you missed out on our first post, this series was spawned by Malvaney’s post about architectural dictionaries. I thought it would be fun to have a bi-weekly post that features a different architectural word that relates to a building here in Mississippi. I hope … Continue reading
First Ever MissPres Architectural Word of the Week: Abacus
How many times have you looked at a building and said “What is that thing called? The one thingy above the dew-dad, next to the whats it.” Well if you’re me the answer is a lot! So after reading Malvaney’s post on architectural dictionaries, I thought it would be fun to have a bi-weekly post … Continue reading
Tanks for the Memories -or- Travelling by Tank in Mississippi
Last month we finished Frank Brooks’ book Travelling by Trolley in Mississippi, our chapter-a-week Thursday feature for most of the late summer and fall. Recently in response to those posts, reader Leroy W. Demery Jr. has been sharing some of his good research on Mississippi’s trolly system, including this link to a blog published by … Continue reading
New Year’s Resolutions for Preservation: 2012
Now that every other visual, print, and digital media outlet in the universe has bombarded us with New Years Resolution lists for 2012, I thought it might be prime time to share mine. I swear I came up with this idea before I saw the National Trust’s blog post regarding preservation resolutions for the new … Continue reading
Merry Christmas 2011
The current Biloxi City Hall was built as the U.S. Federal Building in 1905-08. The city acquired the building from the federal government in 1960 after the New Federal Building in Biloxi was completed. In my opinion it is the best edifice constructed of marble in the State, and also one of the State’s best … Continue reading
A Few of Thomas Rosell’s Favorite Things
This Christmas week, the MissPres authors are pulling out some of their favorite posts and re-packaging them with our comments about why they’re our favorites. One of my all time favorite posts is the series regarding the book How Buildings Learn by Stewart Brand. The series has a lot to like, both good subject matter … Continue reading
Fun Film For Friday
A short fun video for Friday afternoon. Click here to watch! This clip pokes fun at the ridiculous claims the vinyl window industry is known to make. For more info visit vinyl-windows.org
Free Webinar on Classical Architecture
Restore Media is offering a free webinar on Classical Architecture! It focuses on the differences between Georgian and Federal style interiors and uses examples from rooms in the Winterthur Museum collection. The webinar lasts one hour and is available on demand, so you can pause it and take notes or fix another glass of tea. … Continue reading
The Montross Metal Shingle Co. asks “Are you interested in Roofing?”
“Are you interested in Roofing?” Apparently at the turn of the 20th century an unknown Biloxi builder was, as Montross Metal Shingles are featured prominently on several Biloxi structures. While many companies produced a pressed metal shingle the Montross Metal Shingle Co. held many of the patents on the patterns and production methods of some … Continue reading
Congratulations Miss Pres Universe on 200,000 Views
Congratulations Miss Pres Universe on 200,000 page views! Here is to the next 200,000 page views!
A Rosetta Stone and Truth about the Dome?
I hope y’all all enjoyed a relaxing Labor Day weekend with the welcome deluge of rain from Tropical Storm Lee after a long hot summer. While MissPres universe was on vacation, I was thinking about the series of posts by Blake Wintory recently about the similarities between the Arkansas and Mississippi Capitol domes. This series … Continue reading
Saving 33rd Avenue High School
The Sun Herald has a positive report on the efforts of the 33rd Avenue High School Alumni Association and MDAH to restore the once segregated Gulfport high school.
The Hostess House and the Female Architect (…and Mississippi)
During the time of war many organizations provide relief services to troops and their families. World War One was no exception, and while most of these programs were strictly social aid there were a few brick and mortar projects. The most successful of these was the Y.W.C.A’s Hostess House. The idea came about with the … Continue reading
Old Windows Find Following
An article in the New York Times discussing the growing movement to retain old windows.
Cumbest Bluff Water Tank
About 15 miles north of Pascagoula on Highway 63, sits the town of Cumbest Bluff. Simon Cumbest(1755-1820) who first settled on the Pascagoula River in 1799 was the progenitor of the Mississippi Cumbest clan. Cumbest Bluff gained its name in 1832 when John Cumbest (1792-1833), son of Simon Cumbest, purchased land with a bluff that is on … Continue reading
Destroying Modern Architecture?!
The Blog of the Preservation Research Office has an interesting post entitled “Destroying Modern Architecture in St. Louis” regarding the St. Louis Pruitt Igoe Housing Project among other St. Louis modern architecture icons. The post discusses some of the issues that we touched on in the comments section of our MissPres post “Oxford Film Festival … Continue reading
Positive Poll for Preservation
The results of a readers poll run by The Journal of South Mississippi Business have been published in the current June 2011 issue. “Last month we asked our readers how Mississippi should observe the Civil War Sesquicentennial. Almost 77 percent of respondents said it is a major historical event and should be treated as such, … Continue reading
Bay St. Louis has a new Blues Trail Marker
In Bay St. Louis there is a new Blues Trail Marker! It’s so new no info about the marker is up on the Mississippi Blues Trail website as of this post. But not to fear Preservation in Mississippi’s got ya covered. The marker was dedicated on June 17th, so it still has that fresh marker … Continue reading
Caillavet Street Bridge 1926-2011
It happened with so little fanfare that hardly anyone seemed to notice the demolition of the Caillavet Street bridge. This bridge once carried Caillavet Street to the north shore of back bay where Biloxi’s Caillavet Street became Central Avenue in D’Iberville. The first bridge crossing back bay was built in 1901 and was the longest … Continue reading
Old Glory
The Peoples Bank of Biloxi, Biloxi Miss. Built 1913-1914
Name This Place 7: Results!
In the final day of last week’s Name This Place contest, martin seigrist was able to correctly identify the Administration Building on the campus of the University of South Mississippi. W. White shared a plethora of information including the building’s architect Vinson B. Smith Jr. JRGordon shared information regarding the building’s listing as part of … Continue reading
Name This Place 7.5.1
We’ve made it all the way to Friday but the fun isn’t over yet. W. White took a strong lead the first day and has continued to battle it out with JRGordon and martin seigrist for first. But don’t let this stop you from posting any knowledge you may have about the building featured here … Continue reading
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