SUN-N-SAND, Biloxi, Mississippi. This beautiful mosaic, depicting Biloxi’s famous Blessing of the Fleet is made from vari-colored marble chips imported from Italy. The mural makes a fascinating backdrop for the Restaurant which, with 175 beautiful rooms, makes Sun-N-Sand one of the finest resorts in the country.
The Sun-n-Sand had a beach side and a land side, as seen in this 1960s postcard. Maybe Tom Barnes can tell us more about this long-gone motel and what happened to the marble mosaic imported from Italy.
Sun ‘n Sand Hotel Court . . .showing the picturesque overpass spanning U.S. Highway 90. Located between Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi.
Preservation in Mississippi 
The Sun ‘n Sand Hotel Court postcard tells of the lush immediate post World War II prosperity of the coast. What of postcards or photographs of other motels, like Moody’s Tourist Court, and don’t forget the night clubs and that restaurant with the circular dinning room with the old oak trees between the tables–the name of which escapes me. Anyone remember???
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Eric, thank you! Yes, it was Angelo’s!!! I may have thought it was a round dinning room for back in the late 1940’s the small child that I was swiveled my head round and round wondering at the trees and the views out of the large plate glass windows. People went to such places back then wanting to look their best and enjoy the fine food. Remember the shrimp cocktails with the shaved ice, red sauce, and fresh peeled shrimp? Where is Mr. Peabody and the Way-Back-Machine when one needs it!!!
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But do you remember the “treasure chest” at Angelo’s, by the entrance, that contained a small toy for all the children who came in?
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I guess that overpass has been long gone, hasn’t it?
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Sadly yes. I don’t think something so svelte would be allowed to be constructed these days. I did recently read a short article that included the name of the company that designed the overpass. It was an engineering firm I was not familiar with. If there is interest maybe it’ll be a future MissPres post?
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John,
There was a restaurant called Angelo’s if I remember…seems like it was somewhere between Long Beach and Gulfport on HWY 90. I was only about 7 years old when we used to eat there in 1967 before Camille. I’m not sure there was a circular dining room, but the buildlng was mostly wrought iron and glass and had oak trees passing thru the dining room. The William Tally House was also another restaurant located in front of the Edgewater Mall, seems like it might have had a circular dining room with a large tree but I just can’t remember. Any of these sound familiar?
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The Edgewater Mall restaurant was LaPlaza. It became a Sherwin-Williams.
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Moody’s was a regular stay for our family as I grew in late ’40’s thru the ’60’s. Memory has it a little west of Gulfport.
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I have postcards for both of those establishments, and thought I had posted them here at some point, but now I find that I haven’t. I usually put those in the Vacation Postcards series, and our next vacation here on MissPres will be the week of July 4, so I’ll move those into that.
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Our family owned the Sun and Sand motel. Was located where the Treasure Bay casino is located today. My dad owned the bar Margaritaville, which was where the parking lot for the casino is. Fond memories there as a child in the 60″s
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I loved vacationing at Sun-n-Sands when I was a kid in the ’50’s! I still have a couple of photos of the pool area.
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Sorting through some old papers – I found an old paper booklet, RECIPES by Haskel, Sun-n-Sandin Biloxi, Ms. 25cents.
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Yeah Eric, I remember those places. We used to drive down from Laurel on Saturdays to go there, and Baricev’s, and Friendship House, although for some reason the neon shrimp creeped me out.
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Once again, a post both gladdening and mournful at the same time.
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My mom and dad spent their wedding night and honey moon there. I tried to post a picture but couldn’t.
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Hattiesburg had its Sycamore Inn with the tree inside behind the bar and rising up through the roof. The Inn was right up there with the Oaks, Speed’s and The Wagon Wheel for fast food dining. There are no post cards. It had curb service as well as inside dining.
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I wish I knew what became of these remarkable interiors. The hotel itself disappeared before Katrina. I must research this!
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Stayed at the Sun-n-Sand several times when I was between 10 and 17 or 18 with my family. Great place, I remember a fancy pool on the beach side and a fishing pier where you could fish for mullet. Wish it was still there.
George
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This is Carole gillio. My husband Larry and I spent our honeymoon there January 25 1969. Tomorrow is our 50th and been reminiscing. We are feeling very nostalgic. We live in Slidell. I have a Long Beach high school album from the 1920s showing my mother and hale Boggs to donate to a ms museum??
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Last year we stayed there was 1962 and 1961 on family vacations. Drove by there in 1974 and it looked pretty run down.
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Breaking news: State of Mississippi now owns the property and plans to demolish it for . . . wait for it . . . a parking lot. https://msbusiness.com/2019/07/breaking-historic-sun-n-sand-motel-bought-by-state-will-be-razed/
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My dad, Allen Ammann, worked for Godwin advertising agency in Jackson. He died in 1967 and we have several of the brochures he designed while working there. One of them was for the sun and sand in Biloxi. I was not sure it had even been built but it was nice to find this link because now I know it was here. I now live in Biloxi and have been here for 40 years but don’t remember ever seeing the sun and sand down here. I would be glad to send you pictures of the brochure he designed if you send me your cell phone number. Text me or email mhamel5884@aol.com
Maureen Ammann Hamel
228-860-0787
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It was right where Treasure bay is now, their east side parking lot is where the crosswalk was. I grew up 2 blocks away and we used to walk down there and swim in the clover shaped pool. Good times
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Great memories !!!
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At Sun-N-Sand in the late 40’s, I remember going from the pool into the restaurant by going under the water!
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As a child I loved the pool in the shape of a shamrock with the stem going in where the restaurant was it had a bridge over it. the arch walkover the road went to the heated pool on the land side. I preferred the large pool.Great childhood memories. We then went to New Orleans for two or three nights.
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We stayed at the Sun N Sand many times in the 60s when I was growing up. I remember walking barefoot across that connecting ramp to get to the very green clover leaf pool on the other side of HWY 90….. That pool always was SOO sandy….. I loved hanging out in the ‘stem’. (If I recall correctly, the overpass lingered for a while before it was torn down.) The entire family would go to breakfast at Gus Stevens. There were 10 of us in our party – aunts, uncles, and cousins. I also remember eating at Angelo’s with my family – and much later driving my mom and I there for lunch from the New Orleans area. As a child, I always had Italian food there. As a young adult – it was the first time I had ever had filet mignon – with lemon squeezed over it and served with a loaded baked potato…….. That was my adult meal preference. Yummm! I remember how sad I was when Angelo’s closed. I seem to remember Angelo’s also offered jars of their pasta sauce and – I think – their salad dressing(?) so you could take the experience back home with you…….As a child those gigantic trees inside the building were very impressive! I may have black and white pictures in photo albums, but, to be totally honest, my photography has improved since then………It could not have been too much worse! : )
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My father was the structural engineer (Clyde V. Maxwell) that designed this arch bridge that was destroyed by Hurricane Camile. I went to the coast with him days after the storm to inspect the damage to several structures. I do not remember seeing the remains of the arch. But dad would tell the story for years afterward. As I recall there was a building nearby maybe on the beach where the roof blew off and landed on the arch in the storm. Of course, everyone understood that was not part of the design parameters.
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My father worked for Down South Magazine, published by Tex Hamil. He drew those cartoon maps of the coastZ
We lived there at the end of 1059 just as the Sun and Sands was opening.
Out furniture was delayed from Chicago so we loved in Cabin #9 at the Friendship House.
I remember eating oysters for the first time at the Asian and Sand.
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Looking at historic aerials, the pedestrian bridge and the shamrock shaped pool was still there in 1980 no question about it but was gone by next available satellite pic which was 1992.
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My wife Brenda and I are currently stopped on a trip returning to Florida from a visit to Tyler Texas at the Air Force Inn on Keesler AFB in Biloxi. As a newly assigned student of avionics technical training late May of 1962 and along with my roommates we loaded into Pete’s car and out to investigate the beaches along highway 90 we ventured. Passing the Sun N Sand we detected a handful of young ladies around the Gulf side of the highway at the pool. If my memory serves me correctly that was 1 June 1962. In the spring of 1963, March 16th Brenda and I married. Now in our 80’s and with reasonably good health we are still together. A devastaing hurricane removed any signs of where the motel was located. With the aid of GPS we are trying to pinpoint the location. If anyone would have the actual original street address we can return to that spot and have a moment of memories.
Dan Graham USAF (Ret)
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