I admit, I’m watching the Olympics while writing this week’s news roundup, so . . . just fair warning, may be a little abbreviated.

Eastside Dormitory (Williams Hall), Hinds Community College. Photo 8-4-2015 by Barry White, MDAH. Downloaded from MDAH Historic Resources Database.

At Hinds Community College in Raymond, word came on August 1 of a fire at Williams Hall, a men’s dormitory built in 1947 and designed by Jackson architect James M. Spain. I’ve only seen TV news coverage (WJTV) and very little followup to tell what the college plans to do with the building, which is at the front of campus on the semi-circular drive. One story on WJTV does show a big section of roof is gone and a section of the exterior wall, as well as the obvious interior smoke and water damage. No one was hurt in the fire.

Down in Ocean Springs, the home of former mayor Frederick Mason Weed, which has been vacant at 1007 Iberville Avenue, has new owners who want to restore it and make it livable again. The c.1900 Queen Anne house is listed on the National Register in the Marble Springs Historic District, according to the MDAH Historic Resources Inventory. The WLOX story says that new owners Chip and Karen Bryant fell in love with the house:

“I would love for the home to become a home again. But yet preserve the history, the beauty of the walls, the floors and the windows,” said Karen. “Part of history needs to become living history.”

Karen said they may live in the home themselves when repairs are done.
Read more . . .

In Columbus, the former C&G Depot at 1302 Main Street, built in 1889, is undergoing a renovation under new owner Gayle Guynup of California. The Commercial Dispatch says that the depot will house both commercial and residential tenants, with work expected to be complete in the next year.

“We haven’t done much to the interior to this point,” Guynup said during a telephone interview Tuesday from her home in Santa Rosa, California. “Our first priority was to restore the building to its original footprint. The building was in pretty bad condition. It has been vacant for 20 years, so there was a lot of work that had to be done. We put on a new roof and we also removed an addition that had been built later that was in extremely poor condition.”

. . .

Guynup purchased the depot in August 2014 and had previously purchased and renovated three other old downtown buildings — The OddFellows Building, the Parker Furniture Building and the Alford Drug Store building.

Read more . . .

Categories: Columbus, Depots, Disasters, Historic Preservation, News Roundups, Ocean Springs, Raymond, Renovation Projects, Universities/Colleges

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