Previous Mississippi Preservationist Extraordinaires:
Name This Place 1: tsj1957
Name This Place 2: doakley
Name This Place 3: Carunzel
These are the names that will live on through the ages as the shining lights of the MissPres universe. Your name could be next in this esteemed lineage, if you can Name This Place.
Remember to include the name of the town or community in your identification. Click here for the rest of the Rules of the Game.
Categories: Contest
Preservation in Mississippi 
Prentiss County Courthouse in Booneville
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Congrats! One point for you, and you can get another point by adding any other information to your identification (i.e., construction date, archt/builder, important historical events, etc.)
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I unfortunately know almost nothing about this courthouse. I know that it was restored in 2007 by Belinda Stewart Architects and that it looks a great deal better than it did pre-restoration but that is about it.
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Well, that’s a nice piece of information–an extra point for you, and you pull into an early lead!
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Architect, N.W. Overstreet, built 1925.
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Correct! One point for you, Carunzel!
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Claude Lindsley …long shot
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Lol, Charlie, not EVERY building in the state was designed by good ol’ Claude. Lindsley did the Art Deco Hinds County Courthouse, but other than that, I can’t think of another courthouse he did. Maybe I’m missing one?
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Remember that other points (by those who haven’t already gotten their point for the day) can be had by cogent comparison with other buildings by the same architect or in the same style.
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Do we get a point for knowing what cogent means? Don’t want to be left out of all the high scoring fun!
I do know the building had a water fountain right in the middle of the “rotunda” on the first floor. You literally walked into it when you came in from either side of the building. I don’t think it’s there since the restoration, but it’s location must have ensured that no one ever had to ask for directions to quench their thirst.
Is that cogent enough for a point?
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You do not get an extra point for knowing what “cogent” means–it is assumed that all MissPres readers, much less a one-time Mississippi Preservationist Extraordinaire would possess an exceptional vocabulary.
But you do get a point for the detail about the water fountain.
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This is a fascinating building. The original architect is unknown (at least as far as I can remember tonight). The 1925 Overstreet project was a massive renovation after a fire burned most everything above the first floor. The original structure had a central tower and a projecting portico on each side. Another wythe of brick was added on the exterior to give a fresh new matching look (but with no known anchoring…) There are all sorts of interesting clues of original versus “new” when you go looking for them…
And — the water fountain is back!
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The Prentiss County Courthouse was listed on the National Register in 1998 within the Downtiwn Booneville Historic District. The NR nomination was written by the Carl Small Town Center at MSU College of Architecture through a $8,000 grant from the CREATE Foundation out of Tupelo. I could go on with more minutae, but hopefully this is enough to score me one point.
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I can’t believe ANYONE would think that important information was minutiae–of course it scores a point!
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My goodness, I step out to see a movie and I come back to all sorts of new information! The competition is heating up!
I’m trying to decide if “Belinda” (welcome!) deserves two points: one for knocking me over about this actually being a renovation after a fire in 1925 instead of a whole new building, the second for the friendly warning about the bricks not being anchored to the building–note to self, don’t lean up against the wall.
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OK — you can lean now — anchoring was added in the restoration!
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Pfshew! Well, thanks! So maybe you should get an extra point for adding anchoring in the restoration, thus allowing all Boonevillians to breathe a little easier?
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