This might have limited appeal, but I think it’s pretty cool. Archive.org has, for our viewing pleasure, scanned and uploaded a copy of N. W. Overstreet‘s 1910 thesis for his Bachelor of Science Degree in Architectural Engineering from the University… Read More ›
Architectural Research
MissPres News Roundup 3-6-2018
It’s time for another news roundup. Remember you can catch the preservation news as it breaks in our Twitter sidebar to the right. =====>> A story from January that slipped by us was the demolition, by Entergy, of their Delta Steam… Read More ›
Henry Howard, Deep South Architect, at 200
A couple of weeks ago, our occasional correspondent, Hattiesburg-born architectural historian Ed Polk Douglas, reminded me that Feb. 8, 2018, was the 200th anniversary of the birth, in Ireland, of architect Henry Howard (1818-1884). Howard was based in New Orleans… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 2-26-2018
It’s been a bit since the last one, so I think it’s time for another news roundup. Remember you can catch the preservation news as it breaks in our Twitter sidebar, on the MissPres home page. Starting in Edwards, we… Read More ›
Architect Pics: Young Carl Emil Matthes Sr.
In my quest to find yearbook entries for these four Architects, members of the founding generation for Mississippi’s AIA, I’ve located yearbooks for R.W. Naef and N.W. Overstreet. Finally, I located a yearbook entry for Carl Emil Matthes Sr. Matthes… Read More ›
Going Inside: St. Mary’s Basilica, Natchez
Here’s the church, here’s the steeple, open the doors, and here’s a new Going Inside post. If you’ve been to Natchez, I’m sure you’ve noticed the grand Gothic Revival St. Mary’s Cathedral–eh-hem, excuse me, St. Mary’s Minor Basilica–right downtown with… Read More ›
Hill-Burton Before and After: Washington County Hospital
You may recall a newspaper clipping post (“Hospitals in Every County“) about the federal Hill-Burton program (technically titled the “Hospital Survey and Construction Act”) in the 1940s and 1950s that aimed to build health clinics and hospitals accessible to even… Read More ›
I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Seale-Lily Ice Cream
I don’t normally think of ice cream during the depths of winter that we’ve been experiencing the last couple of days, but I have been surprised to realize, looking at Facebook, that to many not-quite-right people, snow means making ice… Read More ›
Building Types: Storage Units
When looking at architectural history it is important to consider building types in addition to architectural styles. One such building that might not carry much architectural merit is the roadside storage unit. This lowly structure is practically in every town, hamlet,… Read More ›
Last Minute Holiday Gifts For The Preservationist On Your List
If you’re still scratching your head for the holiday gift for the preservationist on your list, here’s a quick run-down of the architectural dictionaries and other books I find most helpful and which you might want to add to your library…. Read More ›
What is Rock Lath? Redux
One of the most popular posts I’ve written for Preservation in Mississippi has to be a post about rock lath. But what is rock lath? According to the Dictionary of Architecture and Construction 4th Edition by Cyril M. Harris rock lath, also… Read More ›
Canizaro Collection Now at MSU
Thanks to Steve Davis of CCD Architects for bringing this story from their website to our attention and for sharing these amazing photos from the CCD collection: Canizaro Cawthon Davis has donated their founding firms’ architectural papers to Mississippi State… Read More ›
The Maintenance and Repair of Architectural Cast Iron
As an architectural metal, [cast iron] made possible bold new advances in architectural designs and building technology, while providing a richness in ornamentation. (John G. Waite, with Historical Overview by Margot Gayle, The Maintenance and Repair of Architectural Cast Iron, 27… Read More ›
Mid-Week Mid-Century: Mississippi’s Outstanding Post-War Schools
It’s totally normal (I’m sure you would agree) to collect books like American School and University, and as I was flipping through the 1950-51 (22nd annual) edition, I came across a chapter called “America’s Outstanding School Buildings (built since 1945).”… Read More ›
Hill-Behan: A New Concept In Building Materials Merchandising
Today’s featured newspaper clipping notes the introduction a convenience we take for granted today. If you’ve ever been hot and sweaty working on a project and had the frustration of needing one more widget or sprocket to finish said project… Read More ›
First Mississippi Brick Makers’ Association Meeting, 1919
Many of our Industrial Mississippi posts have highlighted mid-20th century industries, but today we go back a few decades to look at one of the original building industries, brick-making. I came across this article entitled “Mississippi Brick Manufacturers Convene” in… Read More ›
Mississippi Builders: A.C. Samford Company
Today’s post sheds light on a construction company that was fairly active on the Coast during the 1920s and early 1930s. The projects the company was bidding on and constructing were and are landmarks in the communities of Gulfport and Biloxi…. Read More ›
History of the Holcomb Consolidated School
Knowing that many of the buildings constructed by the New Deal Administration programs are not always documented in readily accessible locations, any time I run across one that has the years in the right time span, and knowing the architects… Read More ›
Mid-Week Mid-Century: Hospitals in Every County
Rural and small-town hospitals have been in the news lately, and it reminded me of this article from 1948, a period of great optimism in public health when Mississippi’s network of public hospitals was the talk of the nation. Mississippi… Read More ›
Mid-Week Mid-Century: Mississippi Architect Fellow Tom Biggs
This last installment from the May 1963 issue of Mississippi Architect is an unusual one for the magazine, as it focuses on one particular Mississippi architect who was being honored by the A.I.A. We’ve looked at a few of Tom… Read More ›
New Deal in Mississippi: National Youth Administration
It has been a while since we have featured any New Deal projects, so I thought it time to update on some of the Mississippi examples. One of my favorite programs was the National Youth Administration arm of the WPA. … Read More ›
SAH Archipedia Now Includes Mississippi Entries
Last year in the post titled What is an Archipedia? we learned that the Society of Architectural Historians was expanding their online database, called Archipedia, to include content from all 50 states. In July they followed through with the first of their… Read More ›
Mid-Week Mid-Century: Homogeneously Eclectic Yazoo City Storefronts
Yazoo City’s downtown may qualify as the most homogenous in the state, by which I mean of the same period and of a piece. As most of you probably know, a great fire took out a couple dozen blocks of… Read More ›
HABS in Mississippi: The Castle, Aberdeen
A castle. In Aberdeen, Mississippi. Have you seen it?
Aladdin Ledger Houses: A Plaza in Sledge
Aladdin likely shipped kit houses into Mississippi for nearly the entirety of their eighty-one year existence, but the Aladdin plant in Hattiesburg operated for less than three years between 1919 and 1921. One of the ledger orders was for a Plaza model requested by a “Sledge & Gillis” to be shipped to Sledge, Quitman County, Mississippi.
Before and After: Holiday Inn, Meridian
As I think I’ve mentioned before, one of “those projects” on my List of Things To Do, is to go through my postcard collection, which I’ve scanned, and add a location to each one when possible. At times, it’s easy… Read More ›
Aladdin Ledger Houses: A Winthrop in Newton
This post is the first in a series to identify Aladdin Company kit houses that were manufactured locally and shipped to sites within Mississippi. Thanks to Cindy Catanzaro and the Clarke Historical Library in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan we’ve had an opportunity to see the… Read More ›