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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The Story of Mississippi’s New Capitol: Hiring an architect
Back in December, I mentioned in “More Architect/Builder Pics: Link and Barnes” that I wanted to post more about the New Capitol and how it came to be. That will be our project for this week. Tucked at the back… Read More ›
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MissPres News Roundup 1-22-2010
I’m always nervous to report a slow news week for fear I’ve missed something important, but I have full confidence that if I do fail miserably at my reportorial task, diligent MissPresers will set me right as quick as a… Read More ›
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Windows, Government Programs, and Why They Shouldn’t Mix
Here I was enjoying my dinner and catching up on my Wall Street Journal reading–it’s a terrible feeling to not only be behind in my books and magazines but also in my newspapers–and I had to gulp and take a… Read More ›
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An Architectural Primer for Mississippi
Two articles have gone up on the Mississippi History Now site that will help give a good basic view of architecture in the Magnolia State. For those unfamiliar with it, History Now is the online publication of the Mississippi Historical… Read More ›
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What I really meant was Mendenhall Elementary
In case you missed my correction to last Friday’s News Roundup, I mistakenly stated that Magee Elementary School was threatened with demolition, when in fact the caption in the Magee Courier’s article clearly stated it was Mendenhall Elementary. Because I… Read More ›
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Martin Luther King Jr. in Mississippi
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Add these to your long-weekend schedule
First, a good article in the New York Times about the interest in restoring Rosenwald schools, “Black Schools Restored as Landmarks.” As usual, it concentrates on Rosenwald schools in Eastern seaboard states and ignores Mississippi, which had the second-highest number… Read More ›
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MissPres News Roundup 1-15-2010
As much as it seems hard to believe while watching the human and structural devastation in Haiti, other events that affect our own little postage stamp have been going on this week. —————————————————- In Hattiesburg, the old high school is… Read More ›
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Architectural Twins
I’ve been out and about the Magnolia State braving wind, snow, sleet, and broken water mains to scout out cool old buildings and bring you, my loyal MissPres readers, a report of what’s out there. As you remember, I drove… Read More ›
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Before and After: Mississippi Coliseum
I know you’re all pondering yesterday’s ponderous post, so today I thought I’d go easy on you with just a couple of pictures. Besides that, my snug little historic house in Fondren is currently suffering a drought of sorts, due… Read More ›
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Patience, Grasshopper
I’ve thought alot about the King Edward lately, as much about the preservation story of the last 40 years than about the recent grand re-opening. I realize that it’s dangerous to use the King Edward story as a model for… Read More ›
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Does this mean you hate it, Miss Ada Louise?
I took the opportunity over the holidays to get back into my reading schedule and finish books that I had started during the dog days of summer. One of those was Ada Louise Huxtable’s recent compilation of her decades of… Read More ›
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MissPres News Roundup 1-8-2010
What? Unheard of to have two news roundups in one week! But this is a new year, so openness to change is a good thing, right? I promise we’ll get back on our once-a-week-on-Friday schedule next week, but I realized… Read More ›
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Stumped?
As of today, I’m unilaterally and without UN sanction declaring myself the winner of the Jackson Details mini-contest, which has been out on the World Wide Web for over two weeks now. Out of the five detail photos from downtown… Read More ›
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Meridian in the Beginning
One of my favorite things is looking through old city directories–aren’t they cool? Ok, maybe not cool in the traditional sense, but interesting. One that contains all sorts of valuable information is the 1888 directory for Meridian, the first one… Read More ›
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Salvaging the remains of the Sprague
Last week, Marty Kittrell ran a series of photos on his beautiful photo blog of the remains of the once-great steam towboat Sprague, which plied the Mississippi and ended up as a theater on the banks of the river in Vicksburg after WWII…. Read More ›
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MissPres News Roundup 1-4-2010
While y’all were celebrating the holidays, some even basking in the sun of Trinidad (*cough* Carunzel *cough*), I’ve been diligently scanning the newspapers and other media for stories that might interest MissPres readers. I’ve also been watching with a small… Read More ›
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Looking Back at 2009
Happy New Year, Y’all! Before we blast off, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at last year’s MissPres statistics. Ok, maybe not interesting to you, but interesting to me. MissPres got started on February 9, 2009,… Read More ›
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National Register 2009 (Part 2)
The second of a two-part retrospective on the National Register of Historic Places listings for Mississippi this year. As with the first part from yesterday, all of the below including photos has been provided by our kind-hearted preservationist friends at the… Read More ›
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National Register 2009 (Part 1)
Well, we come to the granddaddy of them all, the National Register of Historic Places. What places have been listed this year and why are they important? Ask and you shall receive, the Bible says, so I came hat in… Read More ›
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Mississippi Landmarks 2009
Our impulse to create lists of accomplishments and failures continues today, with a list of the newly designated Mississippi Landmarks in the state. The Mississippi Landmark designation is conferred by the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Dept. of Archives… Read More ›
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Should auld acquaintance be forgot
Well, we’ve gotten to that season when we make lists of things that have happened over the past year in preparation for the new year. To start off the week, we’ll take one last look at old friends we have… Read More ›
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Merry Christmas, Y’all
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A Christmas Eve Tradition
Check out yesterday’s Clarion Ledger for a sweet commentary by Sid Salter about a family tradition he still carries on, visiting the old Williams Brothers General Store, outside of Philadelphia. The story reinforces the argument that preserving places–not just documents… Read More ›
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Jackson Details
I realize that most of my loyal readers will be busy with other things the rest of this week, including making food, eating food, wrapping gifts, unwrapping gifts, eating food, and hopefully spending a few quiet moments of fellowship around… Read More ›
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Overstreet’s Plan for the Capitol Complex
I thought this post would be especially interesting when read in light of the three-part article last week, which, if you missed, you can pick up at Part 1 here. While looking through the N.W. Overstreet subject file at MDAH a while… Read More ›
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MissPres News Roundup 12-21-2009
Since I skipped the News Roundup on Friday in favor of a bunch of King Edward pictures, and since this Friday is Christmas, when I hope all of us will be spending time with family and/or friend(s) instead of checking… Read More ›
Preservation in Mississippi 