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… Read More ›
Month: March 2009
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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,… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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…. Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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,… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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…. Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
Preservation in Mississippi 