Preservation in Mississippi
Historic Preservation
Jackson’s Lakewood Cemetery: Mississippi AIA Founding Generation’s Final Resting Place
It took me only two trips to Jackson’s Lakewood Cemetery–way out on West Capitol after it turns into Clinton Boulevard–to figure out that a significant number of our founding generation of professional architects had been laid to rest there. Overstreet, Naef, Malvaney, Canizaro, Spain, even Lindsley, who was living in Ocean Springs when he died … Continue reading
Oxford City Hall, former Federal Building and Post Office
Next up on the “101 Places in Mississippi to see before you die” list is the City Hall of Oxford, former Federal Building and Post Office for 90 years (1885-1975). The City Hall took 5% (43 votes) of the vote for the Oxford-Holly Springs region. Originally constructed in 1885 in a Romanesque Revival style, additions … Continue reading
MissPres News Roundup 5-21-2012
Time keeps flying – it’s hard to believe it’s already this late in May. There’s still some Preservation Month activities before June is upon us – check on the calendar for dates and times. And here’s the news: We are going to start with Natchez where I read an editorial from MissPres reader Kathleen Jenkins … Continue reading
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
Which Preservation Organization?
In case you’ve missed it, a fairly robust conversation has sprung up in the comments to Monday’s discouraging post about Ceres Plantation and its destruction-minded owners, the Warren County Port Commission. In addition to comments about the irrationality of the whole case, some have noted that this seems to be one of several instances recently … Continue reading
Warren County Port Commission spending $29,000 to demolish . . . uh . . . “recycle” Ceres
Now that so many local newspapers have moved to an online subscription system, we rely on readers from around the state who subscribe to the print editions to let us know of important preservation issues in their neck of the woods. Last week, in case you missed it, Vicksburger Charles Bell sent us this clipping … 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
History of Art in Mississippi: Churches (II)
Finally at long last we are at the end of the Architecture chapter in History of Art in Mississippi, published in 1929. In addition to this chapter, several other chapters concentrate on the state’s historic buildings, including two chapters on Historic Homes. As the authors note, “The Art of Mississippi before the Civil War was … Continue reading
History of Art in MS: Churches (I)
Well, this is embarrassing. In October 2010 I started a Book Quotes series from the valuable little book History of Art in Mississippi, published in 1929. After a week, I hadn’t made it through the chapter titled Architecture, and I promised to finish with a few extra single posts. As you know,the best laid plans … Continue reading
Youth-led Community Development in Mound Bayou
In an update of the historic preservation work going on in Mound Bayou, we focus this week on youth-led community development. The idea is engaging youth in community development, including historic preservation and economic development. Working with the City of Mound Bayou on this project has been enlightening, challenging, and most of all, fun. Mississippi … Continue reading
MissPres News Roundup 5-7-2012
I hope everyone is thinking about the different Historic Preservation Month related events that are on the calendar. Late April saw a slew of stories around the nation on the anniversary of last year’s tornado outbreak. While most of these focused on Alabama, Smithville had its coverage too. This story in the Hattiesburg American is … 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
A Few Preservation Month Activities Before It Gets REALLY Hot
As you all no doubt know, May is Preservation Month. It is also Mother’s Day, and count this as fair warning to make your arrangements and avoid getting the infamous Mother’s guilt trip. But I digress. Below is a non-comprehensive list of activities planned for Preservation Month, and if you know of something going on … Continue reading
Thoughts from the Statewide Preservation Conference
News was light last week, so instead of a roundup I’m going to write about the Statewide Preservation Conference held on the Gulf Coast this past Thursday & Friday. The Conference was a joint effort of Mississippi Heritage Trust, Mississippi Department of Archives and History and Mississippi Main Street Association. The conference officially kicked off … Continue reading
Update on the Burns “Belfry” Project in Oxford
The plywood covering the windows and walls of the Burns Belfry Church has finally come down! In October, the City of Oxford applied for a state grant (MDAH) to complete the restoration of the project–which has been in the works for over 10 years now. (I am having difficulty getting the link to stay linked, … Continue reading
MissPres News Roundup 4-23-2012
Before I jump in to this week’s Roundup, I want to remind everyone that the Statewide Preservation Conference is this week on the Gulf Coast. This is a year when Mississippi Heritage Trust gives out preservation awards, so I expect we’ll see press releases from that even popping up in future roundups. A story this … 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
Greyhound Bus Terminal, Clarksdale
The Greyhound Bus Terminal in Clarksdale was nominated from the Delta region for the “101 Places in MIssissippi to see before you die” list. It garnered only 3% of the Delta region vote, thus ensuring its place in the “Not on the 101 places” list, but still worthy of attention. Mississippi Department of Archives and … Continue reading
MissPres News Roundup 4-9-2012
A lot of news from this past week to share before we kick off the latest round of “Name This Place”: Gulfport Library is back in the news this week (for those not up on this issue, see the “Backstory” to catch up). This week’s news started with this blurb about the City looking to … 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
Cleveland’s Grover Hotel Goes Condo
Visitors to downtown Cleveland in the past decade or so might have noticed the small town’s lone “skyscraper,” the old five-story Grover Hotel, standing vacant. The Grover and its minimal Mission style has been a fixture in Cleveland’s skyline since it opened in 1926, as shown in this undated postcard from the Cooper Postcard Collection. … Continue reading
MissPres News Round-up 4-2-2012
No fooling – it’s April already. Don’t forget the Statewide Conference at the end of the month. And now, the news. I’m going to start this week with bad news out of Smithville. The story from this community is “that the Mississippi Department of Archives and History is not pursuing landmark status on any of … Continue reading
Round the Blogosphere 3-29-2012
Time for a rare almost mid-week, not-quite Friday roundup of interesting blog posts. Our Mississippi bloggers have been taking advantage of the nice weather lately to get out and peek into corners and out of the way places, and I wanted to bring some of their posts to your attention before they got away from … Continue reading
National Preservation Economist to speak at Statewide Conference
One big news story I did not include in yesterday’s roundup was that our friends at Mississippi Heritage Trust have announced that registration is now open for the Statewide Preservation Conference. The conference will be held April 26 – 27 in Ocean Springs and Biloxi. According to MHT’s website: This year the Mississippi Main Street … Continue reading
MissPres News Roundup 3-26-2012
Got some troubling news in this week’s round up – so I’m trying to balance it with the joy of being able to type it up while sitting outside enjoying the wonderful Spring weather (thank goodness for laptops and wireless internet connections!) Here’s the news: The City of Tupelo is questioning if the $175,000 grant … 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
Before and After: Meridian’s Merrehope
Most of us know of Meridian’s National Register-listed museum house Merrehope. Today’s Before and After is actually an After and Before, showing what Merrehope looked like in the 1880s and before the major renovation and additions of the turn of the 20th century. According to the National Register nomination and the Merrehope website, this 1880s … 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 News Roundup 3-19-2012
Google tells me that the first day of Spring is tomorrow – but judging by the layer of pollen on my car, I’d say it started weeks ago. Hope everyone is getting out and taking advantage of the warm (but not hot) temps to see some cool places! Since our last round-up, our friends and … Continue reading
Vicksburg NMP: Small But Interesting Ohio Monuments
Since I was so wordy yesterday, today I’ll let the pictures do the talking. While the other states mostly erected a single large monument commemorating their soldiers’ sacrifices, Ohio chose a different route. According to the Park website, Rather than erect a single state memorial, Ohio chose to place a monument for each of the thirty-nine units that … Continue reading
Vicksburg NMP: Mississippi’s Monuments
Apart from the large “person” monuments we looked at yesterday, the monuments that really catch the eye at Vicksburg National Military Park are the state memorials. The Park’s website lists the monuments, separated by which side of the war they were on, with Missouri’s one monument showing up in both the Confederate and Union lists: … Continue reading
Abandoned: Vaughan, Mississippi
Recently I decided to take the Vaughan exit off I-55 to see how this little hamlet was doing. It’s been a while since I was through, maybe 2004 or 2005, but even then it seemed like things were slipping away. Vaughan was never a big town–maybe it would have qualified as a “village” back when … Continue reading
Walt Grayson recognizes Poplar Hill
Congratulations to the folks at Poplar Hill School in Jefferson County, one of our 101 Mississippi Places to See Before You Die, for a nice story on Walt Grayson’s Looking Around Mississippi. Aired on Friday, March 2, the story interviews alumni of the school along with others who are working to preserve this two-room African American … Continue reading
MissPres News Roundup 3-5-2012
Wow! I can’t believe it’s March already. Lots of Spring events on the calendar to take advantage of, so be sure to check it out. Now for the news: The biggest story I saw this week was from Natchez, where the Democrat reported that United Mississippi Bank was expected to assume ownership of Monmouth during … Continue reading
MissPres News Roundup 2-27-2012
March is almost upon us – and the MissPres calendar has all the events that are “Springing” up around the state. One to add to the calendar is the Loose Caboose Festival in Newton – which is this Saturday. And now the rest of the news: Up in Tupelo, the possibility of having a “waiting … Continue reading
Two Videos to Start Your Week
JRGordon decided to take President’s Day off from the weekly news roundup, but luckily MissPreser Blake Wintory of Lakeport Plantation sent links to two YouTube videos (or are they called digital shorts nowdays?) that I think everyone will find worth watching. Recently P. Allen Smith of the PBS show P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home visited both Lakeport Plantation … Continue reading
The MissPres 101 Places Map!
Well, as usual it took me a little longer than I had promised, and I only got it done with help from reader and fellow blogger Tom Freeland, but here at long last is the Official MissPres 101 Places to See Before You Die Map. Since it’s Friday, feel free to spend some time wandering … 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
Recent Comments