Preservation in Mississippi
Jackson
Dear Baptist Hospital: Please Save This Building!
A concerned reader passed along the discouraging news that the old Patterson-Bradford Rexall Drug Store on N. State Street in Jackson may soon fall victim to yet more Baptist Hospital expansion. I hope Baptist will re-consider: this building’s architecturally significance has been noted for at least the last 15 years and it could continue to … 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
MissPres News Roundup 2-13-2012
Happy Monday! Here’s the latest preservation news from around the state: We’ll start on the Coast where 33rd Avenue School in Gulfport is back in the news. If you remember from a couple of posts last summer (here and here), the conflict surrounding the school is that the Department of Labor wants to demolish the … Continue reading
MissPres News Roundup 2-6-2012
We have a short-ish round up this week – meaning that you will still have plenty of time to search for the most popular commercials from this year’s Super Bowl. Our first story this week is in regards to the Governor’s Mansion in Jackson. The Sun Herald ran an Associated Press story about the temporary … Continue reading
MissPres News Roundup 1-30-2012
After last week, I thought I might have to change my name and hide for a while with all the bad news to report, but found this week to be better, so I decided it was safe to do the roundup. Been trying to watch for stories on the Corinth Machinery Building, which was part … Continue reading
Is that a hole in First Christian?
Just before the New Year, MissPres reader “M” (who, I’m told, is a first cousin twice removed from James Bond’s “Q”), alerted us in a comment left on “Friends We Lost in 2011” that there appears to be a large leak or maybe even hole in the roof of Jackson’s First Christian Church. As you … Continue reading
The Possibilities Abound…The Robert E. Lee Hotel in Jackson
With all of the hype and hoopla over the summertime smash hit the Help, the many references to the old Robert E. Lee Hotel might set people to wondering about the place. Visitors to downtown Jackson might be forgiven for the assumption that the Robert E. Lee State Office Building had been built as such. It … Continue reading
Auld Lang Syne: Friends We Lost in 2011
As is traditional in this quiet week after Christmas and before New Years, we look back at the year and recount our wins and losses. We usually start with the “sad list” of buildings who lost their battle against time in 2011. This year’s losses seem pretty significant to me, with a number of recognized … Continue reading
A Few of JRGordon’s Favorite Things
Before taking us through the annual “Year in Review” posts, Malvaney asked some of us regular contributors about our favorite posts of the year. One of my favorites was the Friday Malvaney did the “Where Have All The Buzzards Gone?” post back in September. It had been a pretty typical MissPres week post-wise: the news … Continue reading
Belhaven University’s Fitzhugh Hall Endangered
Word has come from Belhaven University in Jackson this week about disturbing recent structural shifts in the East Wing of their iconic Fitzhugh Hall. Built in 1911, the building was significantly rebuilt and altered after a 1927 fire. Now the south masonry wall appears to be crumbling for some reason, shifting over 6 inches in … Continue reading
MissPres News Roundup 12-12-2011
This may surprise everyone, but today’s Roundup is the final one for 2011 because of the end of year posts we have planned the next two weeks. A lot of the news I saw this week were local press releases on the projects receiving Community Heritage grants – which we covered with MDAH’s release – … Continue reading
Halfway Through the Jackson Poll
With a midway total of 602 votes and one more week left in the Jackson poll, the two capitols are duking it out at the top, followed by a peloton of skyscrapers, the War Memorial Building, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s “Fountainhead” in Woodland Hills. The Governor’s Mansion, Bailey Junior High, St. Andrew’s Cathedral, and the old … Continue reading
MissPres 101 Places: Jackson Poll (The END Is Near!)
It was November 19, 2010, when I posted what I thought would be a fun somewhat off-beat Friday post, entitled “Miles to Go Before I Sleep.” Examining a new book I had bought called 1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die, I counted up the number of places in the world I had been to (a … Continue reading
Mississippi Builders: Francis Blair Hull (1846-1922)
At the center of an architectural dynasty that included two architects and one construction company, Francis Blair Hull’s contributions to the architecture of Mississippi and the entire South have been unfortunately almost forgotten in the 90 years since his death. F.B. Hull was the older brother of William S. Hull, possibly the first Mississippian member … Continue reading
Old Capitol Follies: Almost a Panic in the Senate!
In the last Old Capitol Follies, the American Architect and Building News gave us a serious look at Jackson in 1890, including the sad shape of the Old Capitol. By 1896, the building had declined even further as legislators debated whether to spend the money to fix it up or build a completely new building. … Continue reading
Mississippi Architect, March 1964: South Hills Branch Library
Jackson’s South Hills Branch Library was the Mississippi subject of the March 1964 issue of Mississippi Architect. Now known as Richard Wright Library, the building is still in use as a library, although the original front entrance is now sadly neglected in favor of a side entrance off of the parking lot. Next time you’re … Continue reading
MissPres News Roundup 10-17-2011
Compared to the last couple of Mondays, this week’s roundup feels pretty short. So after you’ve caught up on the news, go check out the voting on the Delta Poll for our 101 Places list. We’re going to start in east Mississippi where the news is that the demolition process for the Hotel Meridian has … Continue reading
Eastland Building Bidding Heating Up
Jackson’s Art Deco Eastland Federal Building is on the auction block, with bidding ending tomorrow afternoon. Three bids were placed today, with the top bid at $851,000. Check out the action at the GSA Auction site.
Travelling by Trolley in Mississippi: Jackson
Today’s post is Chapter 5 in our series re-printing Frank Brooks’ “Travelling by Trolley in Mississippi: Stories about Streetcars.” View other posts in the series at the “Streetcars” tab. ———————————— It has been a good many years since I have been in downtown Jackson but I remember how old streetcar tracks used to be visible … Continue reading
Old Capitol Follies
Over MissPres’ lifetime, we’ve spent quite a bit of time examining how our New Capitol got built. But come to think about it, we’ve spent not much time at all on why our New Capitol got built. There’s a whole backstory about the Old Capitol’s decline that resulted in several efforts to get a new … Continue reading
MissPres Newsroundup 10-3-2011
MissPres may have been off last week (and showing some fun vacation post cards), but the news didn’t stop. In fact, with the cooler weather, I think preservation related news and events are just starting to heat up. October is Archeology Month and I hear from some archeologist pals that there are events planned around … Continue reading
Mini News Roundup 9-19-2011
Not a lot of news this week – but Roundup will be taking next week off and I didn’t want to hold these for that long. NBC station WTVA reported that the Cates-Gaither Home in Fulton – commonly known as “The Cedars” – was designated as a Mississippi Landmark by MDAH. The designation was actually … Continue reading
Going Inside: St. Dominic’s Chapel
A while back, reader Gary E. Magee commented on an old post about Jackson architect Tom Biggs that one of Bigg’s designs, the chapel at St. Dominic hospital, is slated for demolition in a planned expansion of the adjacent emergency area. This reminded me that I had taken some pictures of the building earlier this year … Continue reading
Going Inside: War Memorial Building
Perhaps the only good thing that might come out of the Feds recent abandonment of the amazing and sophisticated Eastland Federal Building (1933) in downtown Jackson for their clumsy and overbearing new courthouse is that in the future the public might once again get to spend time inside Eastland’s Art Deco lobby. For too many … Continue reading
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
A Tale of Two Domes, Finale
Today, guest author Blake Wintory concludes his fascinating examination of the two similar domes atop the Mississippi and Arkansas capitol buildings. If you are just joining us, jump back to the beginning and read from the beginning because it’s a good ol’ convoluted Southern story and well worth your time! Part I Part 2 Part … Continue reading
A Tale of Two Domes, Part II
We’re on the 2nd day of a 4-part adventure into the ins-and-outs of the Arkansas Capitol project, courtesy of guest author Blake Wintory, in order to gauge the veracity of the claim that the dome on Arkansas’ Capitol is in fact a twin of the Mississippi dome. This series is shaping up as a blockbuster … Continue reading
A Tale of Two Domes: Mississippi and Arkansas
A few months ago, Blake Wintory, director of Lakeport Plantation Museum–which because it’s just across the river from Greenville makes him an honorary Mississippian–e-mailed me with a question that kind of blew my mind. He asked if I knew that the Arkansas Capitol dome was designed by the same architect that designed the Mississippi Capitol … Continue reading
MissPres News Roundup 8-1-2011
Just a handful of preservation related stories from around the state to share this week – so this roundup will be shorter than most. After you all read up on these stories, perhaps you want to spend some time contemplating the latest 101 Places Poll that went up on Friday. I think the biggest story … Continue reading
Capitol Street Methodist Is Falling Down
Once it was a landmark of growth and progress, only the second Methodist congregation in Jackson, just across the railroad tracks in the fashionable new suburban area being laid out on West Capitol Street. Then it became the symbol of human fickleness, its suburban population moving to the latest suburbs on the northern side of … Continue reading
Fins to the left, Fins to the right . . .
Our across-the-River friend Blake Wintory from Lakeport Plantation sent me this screenshot of Jackson’s Petroleum Building as seen in the recent PBS American Experience documentary “Freedom Riders.” This was in response to the last paragraph in my post on the too-early demolition of the Trailways Station, in which I said: Speaking of Modernism and old … Continue reading
MissPres News Roundup 6-20-2011
If you missed it on Friday, Malvaney posted the Mid-way results of the East/Central Mississippi Poll – which you can vote on here if you haven’t already done so. You also still have time to support Tishamingo County in the National Trust’s Community Challenge Contest. First, an AP story that I saw picked up by … Continue reading
French Merci Train Car Moves On Down the Line
Go by the Old Capitol or the War Memorial, and you will notice a change around the parking area. I personally cannot remember a visit to the area (either to the Old Capitol or the the Archives) when the train car was not there. On Friday, however, the small (20.5 feet x 8.5 feet) boxcar … Continue reading
Lost Mississippi: Jacksonian Highway Hotel/Lefleurs Restaurant
The Jacksonian Highway Hotel was built at 4800 Highway 51 North (later Interstate 55 North), in an area only just beginning to blossom with commercial development. Construction was begun in April 1955. George Wilkinson and his partners at Crestline Development (later known as the Athens Investment Company) set out to build something more than just another motel. Continue reading
Critiquing the New Capitol Designs–Bernard Green’s unofficial opinion
The last two posts (Part 1 and Part 2) told us Bernard Green’s official opinion about the 14 proposals for the design of the New Capitol in 1900. To wrap up this series, today we see Green’s informal advice to the State House Commission, which consisted of public officials with little to no knowledge of … Continue reading
Critiquing the New Capitol Designs (1900)–Part 2
Second in our series of transcripts from the State House Commission’s minutes of 1900, in which Washington DC expert Bernard Green examines the 14 proposed designs for the New Capitol and lends his experience to the Commission. Today Green gets down to brass tacks about the proposals, weeding out the non-starters immediately (those that have–my … Continue reading
From the Archives: Critiquing the New Capitol Designs (1900)
Today will start a three-part series highlighting the process of choosing an architect’s designs for the New Capitol. We all know how it ends, but the getting there is part of the fun. The series comes straight from the archives, via the minutes of the State House Commission, and has been transcribed from the original … Continue reading
Architectural Twins: One Happy, One Glowering
Tuesday’s post about the Trailways station and the former Petroleum building across that street that’s been transformed into what some have called a Darth Vader Building reminded me of a similar but smaller scale transformation to a building here in Jackson. For most of my 15 years in Jackson, these two Fabric Care Cleaners, one … Continue reading
101 Places to See Before You Die!
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