Bailey Junior High School, Jackson (Overstreet & Town, 1937)
Back in December 2016, when the latest round of Community Heritage Preservation Grants was announced, you may have noticed, as I did, the largest grant on the list:
Bailey School, Jackson, Hinds County—$370,000
For stabilization of the structure and restoration of the classrooms and auditorium.
I was curious about this stabilization of a poured-concrete structure, the pride and joy of our favorite concrete-loving architect N.W. Overstreet and his young partner A. Hays Town. The building seems in great shape as I occasionally drive past on North State Street, so on one recent sunny weekend, I headed down to see what I could see. Wow! What I saw was a big ol’ crack, or rather, a few big ol’ cracks where the projecting auditorium wing meets the small one-story south entrance wing.
That crack coming off the buttressed corner of the entrance wing and running diagonally up the auditorium wall is particularly scary. As those of you who have ever spent time around Jackson know, the soil is a highly expansive clay called Yazoo Clay that swells when wet and shrinks when dry. Mississippi has had a particularly bad run of really really wet winters and really really dry summers the last couple of years, and I assume this unprecedented cracking in Bailey is partly tied to that and partly to the weight of the large air handling unit on top of the entrance wing, which as you can see is visibly sinking away from the rest of the building (no, that’s not an optical illusion).
So, I’m not sure what the plans are for this stabilization, but I hope these pictures prove that Bailey Junior High School (no, I can’t call it “Bailey Middle School”) really needs some attention to keep it in shape for another generation of students.
Categories: Jackson, Renovation Projects, Schools
Preservation in Mississippi 
Not that one can “like” the damage to a building as beautiful as this one, but I certainly do like that stabilization is on the way.
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They can fix Bailey for less than $400k?? DO IT, ALREADY! I’ve lived in 8 states. Everytime I mention Jackson, MS I am immediately asked if I got to visit Bailey. When I say I went there grades 7 – 9, they are amazed. School of architecture at University. TEXAS LOVES it!! I’ve always been so proud of Bailey & Central. Wish we had photos of Power Ele before it was torn down. So glad they preserved Duling!!
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The MDAH grant is going toward a project expected to cost closer to $1 million, according to my MDAH sources–yes, $400,000 would be a bargain!
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Power has been torn down???
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The old Power on State Street was torn down when the new Power was built. It was the classic red brick American elementary school building.
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The new Power still stands!
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Thanks Ed, Mississippi, especially Jackson, is uniquely special, beautiful in so many ways
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I was bussed to Bailey from Callaway in the 1960’s. It’s interesting to read the history of Bailey. I also went to the old Power from the 2nd to 9th grades. It was distressing to leave Callaway, as it had air conditioning!
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