Author Archives
In addition to ruling over the MissPres universe with an iron fist, Malvaney enjoys reading, wandering around old buildings, stopping to smell the magnolias, fiddling with databases, and sitting on the porch with a good book and a big ol' dog. Non-interests include but are not limited to tweeting, texting, Instagramming, planking, Candy Crush, Donald Trump, and unecessarily destructive home renovation shows.
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Going Inside: MSU’s Student Union, c.1960
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Twin Domes: Arkansas’ State House Commissioners Visit Mississippi
Well, it’s been a long time since we heard of our old friend George Mann, the architect of the Arkansas Capitol, and his nemesis, George Donaghey, so when I spied this little article in the Daily Clarion Ledger, May 21, 1903,… Read More ›
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MissPres News Roundup 1-12-2015
How about a little news roundup to get us back into the news in this New Year? There’s hopeful news out of Pascagoula, where the stunning Modern/Googie-style high-rise building built as the Pascagoula-Moss Point and later occupied by Hancock Bank… Read More ›
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Going Inside: Lefleur’s Restaurant, Jackson
On Wednesday, MissPres set a new record for most views in a day, 2,383, and most of that was on the strength of one post, Tom Barnes’ Lost Mississippi: Jacksonian Highway Hotel/Lefleurs Restaurant, originally published in May 2011. That post… Read More ›
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Old News: No-bid State Contracts
File this nugget from Jackson’s Northside Reporter, Sept. 21, 1961, in the “Nothing New Under the Sun” file and cross-reference in the “Shocked! Shocked!” folder. This editorial was presumably written by Hazel Brannon Smith, who published the Reporter in those days,… Read More ›
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2014 Annual Report
This annual report didn’t come out promptly on January 1 as I used to insist on doing, but eh, I’m older and wiser now and there was too much football watching and napping to do this holiday weekend to be… Read More ›
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National Register 2014: Historic Districts
As you know, National Register listings can be either individual places, as shown in Wednesday’s post, or larger groups of buildings known as historic districts. Historic districts can be as small as a handful of houses in a rural community or… Read More ›
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National Register 2014: Individual Listings
I know yesterday I promised a post about the buildings that were proposed but not approved for Mississippi Landmark designation, but I’m still working on some background research about that subject, which is more complex than transparent, so instead we’ll… Read More ›
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Mississippi Landmarks 2014
Today’s end-of-year list is of all the buildings that the Mississippi Department of Archives and History designated as Mississippi Landmarks. Often confused with the National Register, which is administered by the National Park Service, the Mississippi Landmark designation is completely under the control of the MDAH Board of Trustees, and it is the stronger designation because it gives MDAH the authority to review any proposed alterations to the landmark, including demolition.
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Auld Lang Syne: Friends We Lost in 2014
It’s time to start our traditional MissPres end-of-year lists for 2014 and as usual, we begin with a sad list of lost historic buildings. Some of these have gotten attention through the year, some haven’t, but I think it’s important… Read More ›
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MissPres News Roundup 12-22-2014
One happy story for this week’s Christmas reading. Clarion-Ledger writer Sherry Lucas reported this weekend that the Merrill-Maley House, built around 1910, on Jackson’s N. State Street finally has a new owner after years of standing vacant. Left in the middle… Read More ›
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Chris Risher: Colonial Revivalist?
I’ve often admired this little brick commercial building on Old Canton Road in Jackson, just south of Highland Village for its use of traditional motifs like the brick veneer, columned gallery, pilastered door surround, and other thoughtful details in what is clearly a 1960s or 1970s building.
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MissPres News Roundup 12-8-2014
Modernism tour in Meridian, Holiday Home tour in Leland, county demolitions in Vicksburg, a plea to save the Natchez bluff, and a mannequin named Paulette who greets visitors from her porch in Carrollton.
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MDAH announces 2014 CHPG grants
From the MDAH website, posted December 3, 2014. $2.15M Awarded to Preservation Projects At a special meeting on December 3 the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History awarded more than $2 million on behalf of… Read More ›
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Taking an Architectural Tour this Christmas?
Suddenly the Christmas season has snuck up, and I’ve been remiss in alerting the MissPres universe to the special architectural tours and open houses around the state, starting this coming weekend. Feel free to add in the comments any tours… Read More ›
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MissPres News Roundup 12-1-2014
All the preservation news that’s fit to print, from Jackson to Natchez, from Meridian to Vicksburg, from Holly Springs to Rodney, and even some historical archaeology thrown in because it’s Monday!
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Charnley-Norwood House Is “Best of the South”
A big congratulations to all involved in the painstaking restoration of the Charnley-Norwood House, which received the Best of the South award from the Southeast Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians (SESAH)! Designed by Louis Sullivan on the beachfront in… Read More ›
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MissPres News Roundup 11-17-2014
News updates from Jackson, Greenwood, DeSoto County, Waverley Mansion, and Ocean Springs.
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Friday Puzzler: Auburn Stair
Today’s puzzler comes from a black and white HABS photo of Auburn’s famous circular stair in Natchez. It’s a little more difficult than some of our previous puzzles, but by now, I’m sure you’re all pros. There are 63 pieces,… Read More ›
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Mid-Century Medical: Jackson’s University Plaza
A while back, Thomas Rosell introduced us to University Plaza, a group of Modernist medical clinics in Jackson just south of Memorial Stadium. Specifically, Thomas’ post focused on the clinic of Drs. Johnson and Wiener, designed by J.T. Liddle and… Read More ›
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Veterans Day 2014
This day we honor veterans of all of America’s wars, but especially our doughboys of the Great War, which began in 1914 and consumed a generation of men. Meridian’s World War I monument was dedicated November 11, 1927. All photos downloaded… Read More ›
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MissPres News Roundup 11-10-2014
Much adoing out in the Mississippi preservation world in the last two weeks. Let’s get started. Former Mississippi First Lady Carroll Waller died Tuesday, October 28, in Jackson. Mrs. Waller was instrumental in the last major renovation of the Governor’s… Read More ›
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Mississippi Architect, Dec. 1964: Architects’ Office
I have tried and failed to figure out where the architects’ office featured in the December 1964 issue of Mississippi Architect might be and am beginning to suspect that it fell victim to that “projected interstate highway” mentioned in the article, presumably… Read More ›
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Mississippi Architect, Dec. 1964: With Faith We Build
It’s been a while since we had a Mississippi Architect post, so it’s high time we get back to it. If you’ve joined us recently, we started reprinting articles from The Mississippi Architect, a magazine published monthly by the Mississippi AIA… Read More ›
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Abandoned Mississippi: Pinewood Motor Court
Three years ago, after a long day of bumping around Vicksburg looking at cool old stuff, I decided to take one of my favorite stretches of highway back to Jackson, Highway 80 between Vicksburg and Edwards. It was about this… Read More ›
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Where Have All Jackson’s Harper Meter Covers Gone?
A month or two ago, I realized that my dear old sturdy Jackson-born-and-bred Harper water meter cover had been replaced by a cheap plastic classless top. Now, a rusty anonymous iron cover has been plopped down in my yard as a poor attempt at replacing this piece of Jackson history.
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Help Paint Waverley Mansion!
Contribute to the Friends of Waverley Mansion campaign and get the chance to go up into the cupola!
Preservation in Mississippi 