Author Archives

Thomas J. Rosell lives on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and has had an interest in preservation for twenty+ years. He has been lucky enough to work in different aspects of the field for ten years. His area of focus are materials conservation, archival, interpretive, and building restoration.

• MissPres News Roundup 8-22-2017

  By Thomas Rosell on August 22, 2017 • ( 0 )

  

  Busy week in the world of Mississippi Preservation.  Let’s jump right into this week’s roundup. Last Tuesday a  public meeting in Hattiesburg was held to determine a course of action for the former Mount Carmel Baptist Church on Main Street.  According to… Read More ›

• Friday is a Gas: Phillips 66 Stations c.1950-c.1970s

  By Thomas Rosell on August 18, 2017 • ( 5 )

  

  During the c.1950-1970s, Phillips had two station types: an oblong box, and the batwing or gullwing design.  The latter of these was my holy grail of gas stations.  I honestly thought I would never find one in Mississippi, let alone… Read More ›

• 48th Anniversary of Hurricane Camille

  By Thomas Rosell on August 17, 2017 • ( 0 )

  

  This August marks the 48th anniversary of Hurricane Camille.  We mostly think of hurricanes having an impact on the coastline but they do indeed have a far reach.  In the Clarion Ledger article below you can see reports from both… Read More ›

• MissPres News Roundup 8-15-2017

  By Thomas Rosell on August 15, 2017 • ( 0 )

  

  Let’s jump right into this week’s roundup. Tonight in Hattiesburg there is a public meeting to determine a course of action for the former Mount Carmel Baptist Church on Main Street. Hattiesburg City Council will hold a public hearing at 5 p.m…. Read More ›

• Friday is a Gas: Lion Stations c.1940

  By Thomas Rosell on August 11, 2017 • ( 3 )

  

  I’m not very familiar with Lion brand gasoline.  Established in Arkansas during 1922, Lion Oil is still around in the refinery and asphalt products business, but I don’t believe they have branded stations any longer.  Between 1985 and 2011, Lion… Read More ›

• Walking To School

  By Thomas Rosell on August 10, 2017 • ( 1 )

  

  I believe that Grenada Public Schools Start back today.  Some of you may be groaning, while other may be cheering for the start of school.  But one of the best benefits of towns and cities should be their walkability.  This view… Read More ›

• MissPres News Roundup 8-9-2017

  By Thomas Rosell on August 9, 2017 • ( 0 )

  

  Let’s jump right into this week’s roundup. Following up on the partial collapse of McComb’s downtown theater, MSNewsNow has reported that approximately 75% of the collapsed roof of the building was removed by July 31, with the remainder expected to… Read More ›

• See The Famed Port Gibson Hand Up Close

  By Thomas Rosell on August 7, 2017 • ( 1 )

  

  This Wednesday the landmark hand of the First Presbyterian Church in Port Gibson will be returned to its place on the church steeple.  If you’d like to see the hand up close before it returns to its lofty perch, you… Read More ›

• 20th Anniversary of Paul Rudolph’s Passing

  By Thomas Rosell on August 7, 2017 • ( 4 )

  

  Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of Paul Rudolph’s passing.  Were he still living, he would be 99 years old. Born in Kentucky, Rudolph graduated from Auburn University and Harvard Graduate School of Design. After successfully practicing architecture in Florida as part… Read More ›

• Friday is a Gas: Classical Revival Stations c.1930-?

  By Thomas Rosell on August 4, 2017 • ( 0 )

  

  Mississippi is known for its fondness of columned buildings. Surprisingly that appreciation doesn’t seem to have translated over into the design of Classical Revival service stations. The 2016 TxDOT Field Guide to Gas Stations in Texas  doesn’t specifically have an entry… Read More ›

• The Aladdin Company’s Order Ledger

  By Thomas Rosell on August 2, 2017 • ( 4 )

  

  You might recall that The Aladdin Company had a mail order catalog that offered plans and all the lumber you would need to build a house, pre-cut.  Thanks to the efforts of kit house researcher, Cindy Catanzaro, we have the information… Read More ›

• MissPres News Roundup 8-1-2017

  By Thomas Rosell on August 1, 2017 • ( 2 )

  

  Let’s jump right into this week’s roundup. History professor Andrew Kahrl tracks racial discrimination through the tax assessor’s office.  This article provides interesting insight concerning race and property ownership and cites several Mississippi examples in Edwards and Waveland. It also touches… Read More ›

• Roadside Mississippi: Fountain Grill

  By Thomas Rosell on July 28, 2017 • ( 4 )

  

  We’re taking a break this week from the “Friday is a Gas” series since we had a gas station related post on Wednesday, but today’s post is still about a roadside-tastic building constructed c.1965.  I’ll wager a guess this was the… Read More ›

• No Longer An Eyesore: Confronting The Gasoline Station

  By Thomas Rosell on July 26, 2017 • ( 5 )

  

  A while back I found a 1925 article in Laurel’s Daily Leader that was interesting for the fact that it was an architectural critique, but I wasn’t quite sure how to share it.  Fast forward to the research I’ve been… Read More ›

• MissPres News Roundup 7-25-2017

  By Thomas Rosell on July 25, 2017 • ( 1 )

  

  Let’s jump right into this week’s roundup. The lead story this week is the partial collapse of McComb’s downtown theater.  While it looks bad, hopefully an engineer with an understanding of historic buildings can be brought in to give a… Read More ›

• Friday is a Gas: Commercial Block Service Stations c.1920-c.1930

  By Thomas Rosell on July 21, 2017 • ( 13 )

  

  This week’s Friday is a Gas post is not about a specific brand of station, but rather a specific type of station form. Commercial block type service stations are usually found within towns or cities, often at street corners with… Read More ›

• Photographer John Margolies Images Now Available Online

  By Thomas Rosell on July 20, 2017 • ( 10 )

  

  Last year Malvaney’s post about roadside Americana photographer John Margolies ended with the wish that someday his photos, which had been donated to the Library of Congress, would be made available for the public to see.  That day has arrived, my… Read More ›

• MissPres News Roundup 7-18-2017

  By Thomas Rosell on July 18, 2017 • ( 0 )

  

  Let’s jump right into this week’s roundup. Starting with bad news from West Point, the Daily Times Ledger ran a story with the headline titled “Mary Holmes alumni react to demolition.” This demolition alluded to by the headline is that of… Read More ›

• Friday is a Gas: Sinclair Station c.1930s

  By Thomas Rosell on July 14, 2017 • ( 7 )

  

  This former Sinclair station (above) found in Booneville, Mississippi has had its canopy enclosed and its service doors replaced with a storefront.  Despite this it is still recognizable as a Sinclair design. The 2016 TxDOT Field Guide to Gas Stations in… Read More ›

• Call for Nominations to the MHT 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in Mississippi List

  By Thomas Rosell on July 13, 2017 • ( 0 )

  

  The Mississippi Heritage Trust is requesting nominations for their 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in Mississippi list.  The deadline for submitting the nominations is July 31, 2017.  What place or places might you nominate?  Here are some of the past… Read More ›

• MissPres News Roundup 7-11-2017

  By Thomas Rosell on July 11, 2017 • ( 3 )

  

  Two weeks since our last round-up and a lot has happened  so let’s jump right into this week’s roundup. Starting on the coast in Gulfport, a new developer is taking over former Gulfport VA redevelopment project.  Virginia Attorney Robert Lubin… Read More ›

• Friday is a Gas: Humble c.1950-c.1960

  By Thomas Rosell on June 30, 2017 • ( 21 )

  

  I’m excited about this week’s post because I found some period photographs of example stations in their prime, so I can verify the brand along with what features are original.  The image above shows a Humble branded station with a… Read More ›

• A Custom McHuley & Lattimore House

  By Thomas Rosell on June 29, 2017 • ( 2 )

  

  We were recently introduced to builder Bilbo McHuley and architect William Lattimore, the duo that was designing and building homes for Jackson’s African-American community in the late 1950s & early 1960s.  I came across this ad for self-described “Jackson’s foremost home… Read More ›

• MissPres News Roundup 6-28-2017

  By Thomas Rosell on June 28, 2017 • ( 6 )

  

  What happened to June?   It’s hard to believe it’s almost over but let’s jump right into this week’s roundup. From Meridian two stories this week.  The first is regarding preservation grant funds.  According to the Meridian Star: The Charles L…. Read More ›

• Friday is a Gas: Humble, Enco, Esso, and Exxon c.1960-c.1970

  By Thomas Rosell on June 23, 2017 • ( 6 )

  

  I had planned for a post on this station later in the Friday is a Gas series, but due to the tornado damage this building suffered last Friday, I thought it might be good to highlight it in hopes of… Read More ›

• MissPres News Roundup 6-20-2017

  By Thomas Rosell on June 20, 2017 • ( 0 )

  

  Lots of good news this week so lets jump right into this week’s roundup. Good news from Starkville this week, compared to the news last week that fourteen structures including three historic houses were demolished.  Starkville Police to open new offices in restored… Read More ›

• Friday is a Gas: Pan Am/Amoco Stations c.1930-c.1940

  By Thomas Rosell on June 16, 2017 • ( 23 )

  

  Per Malvaney’s request and the plethora of examples received in the comments to last Friday’s post, this week we’ll focus on the Pan Am/ Amoco Stations of the c.1930s-c.1940s.  Unfortunately this station type is not listed in the handy-dandy 2016… Read More ›