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 ›
I’ve pretty much fallen in love with masonry screens since I first started noticing them a few years ago. Most popular in the 1950s through 1970s, these decorative concrete block are a low-cost way to create a wall, provide privacy… Read More ›
The Johns-Manville plant operated in Natchez from 1947 to 2002. I came across this article when it first opened. Johns-Manville Sets Date For Completion Natchez Plant To Cost $5,000,000 Natchez, April 12–Construction of the large Johns-Manville unsulating board plant at… Read More ›
It’s hard to imagine now how fast tall buildings went up back in the day when labor was relatively cheap and huge forces of men could be thrown onto a project. The year 1929, which as we all now know… Read More ›
I confess, at first glance, I had no idea what would have prompted John Margolies–as featured in Thomas Rosell’s post in July–to take a photograph of Pud’s Package Liquor on Route 49, Gulfport, even for the sign and the vivid… Read More ›
It’s been five years to the day since I asked the MissPres universe to “Show Me the Alligator Gargoyles!” and now that no one has stepped forward with pictures, I felt it was time to take matters into my own… Read More ›
As one of the few people on earth who hasn’t yet embraced the smart phone fad, I have had cause to miss the conveniently located but humble telephone booths that used to dot our towns, shopping centers, gas stations, and… Read More ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
One thing that surprised me when I moved to Mississippi and ventured into the Delta–a place that I had understood from various news stories had been forgotten by time–was how much the region had changed over the latter half of… Read More ›
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 ›
I found this to-die-for postcard showing Jackson’s Trustmark Bank (formerly First National Bank) building a few weeks ago and was surprised to win it on eBay. Opened in 1956, the building was designed by two Jackson architectural firms, James T. Canizaro and Overstreet, Ware & Ware… Read More ›
As I was searching through the various digital newspaper collections for references to the Sanborn Map Company for yesterday’s post “Who Were Those Sanborn Men?“, I ran across a 1945 article in the Daily Herald about the presentation of a certificate… Read More ›
In case you didn’t catch it, Thomas Rosell noted at the end of yesterday’s news roundup that the Library of Congress is gradually publishing its digitized collection of the full-color Sanborn Insurance Maps. Currently, Mississippi only has three sets: Pascagoula for… Read More ›
While Teague and icebox might sound like the title of a terrible buddy cop TV show, the Teague and icebox designs of gas stations are some of the most recognizable service station designs from the late 1930s through the 1950s…. Read More ›
“The floor plan calls for an open court at the entrance to be designated the court of honor. Dignified columns will be used to lend a cathedral effect. The structure will be situated well back from North State street, allowing a long sweep of lawn, which will be formed into a parkway.”
Last week’s post on African American designer/architect W.A. Lattimore mentioned that he worked with builder Bilbo McHuley, and that reminded me that I’ve been sitting on this ad for a “McHuley home,” published in the February 22, 1964 edition of… Read More ›
I had not heard of W. A. Lattimore until I ran across an article in a 1963 edition of the Mississippi Free Press, an African American newspaper published from 1961 until about 1964. My initial efforts to look into his body… Read More ›
If you were not able to attend last month’s lectures at Mississippi State on Restoring the Mississippi State Capitol, fear not! The presentations of both Jennifer Baughn (MDAH Chief Architectural Historian) and Lawson Newman (WFT Architects) have been made available online… Read More ›
I came across this article recently in the Vicksburg Daily Commercial Herald, Apr 17, 1888, and knew it had to find the light of day again, there’s just so much interesting information in it. The cast of characters includes… Read More ›
I was in Monticello (Mississippi) a while back when a handsome former service station caught my eye. It is unmistakable as a Texaco station built in that fuel company’s “Matawan” style, so named after the site of the first location of… Read More ›
It turns out that the Madisonian maritime culture was much more extensive and robust than anyone realized, with its influence stretching from the Ross Barnett Reservoir all the way to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
How much would you pay for fine, absorbent Edwards House toilet tissue?
This Friday we’ve got two puzzles for two preservation-related events that are taking place: one today and one tomorrow. Today (3/24/17) at Mississippi State University is the Dan and Gemma Camp Classical Lecture: Restoring the Mississippi State Capitol, to be… Read More ›
Today’s bungalows come to us from the Mississippi Coast, Gulfport’s Soria City neighborhood, which was listed on the National Register in September 2015. A walk through this small, cohesive African American neighborhood brings you past a number of front-gabled bungalows,… Read More ›
Last Wednesday’s post by Thomas Rosell on Apartments on Jackson’s North Street commented on builder Tom B. Scott, who is credited in the MDAH database with three buildings in Jackson, followed by the intriguing question “Does anyone know more about… Read More ›
Preservation in Mississippi 