I was in Greenwood recently and while there I decided to go check on a hunch I had about a scene in The Help. I don’t actually have a great visual memory, but for some reason, this scene reminded me… Read More ›
Building Types
Former First Christian Church: The Windows of Amory
Erected in 1926, the former First Christian Church of Amory was designed in an Eclectic/Composite style (Mississippi Department of Archives & History, Historic Resources Inventory database). The building still retains its 14 foot tin-covered ceiling, and original stained glass. According… Read More ›
Webster County Courthouse Burns
We heard early yesterday that the Webster County Courthouse in the tiny town of Walthall caught fire around 2:30 AM and was not completely under control until 7 o’clock. Tom Freeland at the North Mississippi Commenter posted an update yesterday afternoon. Preservation architect… Read More ›
Architectural Twins? Eaton and Walthall Schools, Hattiesburg
Schools are structures that are often duplicated from one set of plans, as seen in some of Malvaney’s early Architectural Twins posts (January 14, 2010 & July 14, 2010). The school board of Hattiesburg was no different when they hired… Read More ›
Suzassippi’s Mississippi: Houston Post Office Mural
Of the twenty-eight works of art placed in Mississippi’s federal buildings under the New Deal federal art programs, only three were created by Mississippi artists–a fact not uncontested by Mississippians (Patti Carr Black, 1998, Art in Mississippi, 1720-1980). Byron Burford,… Read More ›
MissPres Word of the Week: Pigeonhole Corner
“…working on catching up on my photo organization, and found this picture of a corner on Murrah Hall at Millsaps. Don’t know the term for it although I probably should…”
Suzassippi’s Mississippi: Amory Post Office Mural
During the Great Depression, murals were commissioned for federal, state, and local buildings by the federal government in what has been called …the most innovative and comprehensive program for government patronage in American history. (Parks & Markowitz, 1984, p. 5, as… Read More ›
Mississippi’s Connection to the New York Public Library
Before we get back to our regular programming next week, I thought I might catch up with a few interesting tidbits I’ve come across in my news reading over the holidays. If you’re a new reader, you might not catch… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 12-21-12
Yes – it’s Friday and we’re doing a news roundup. No – the world did not end. With the holidays and our annual “Year in Review” posts over the next week or so, we figured we’d do one last roundup… Read More ›
MissPres Architectural Word of the Week: ZigZag Molding
This is our last MissPres Architectural Word of the Week for 2012! Whether you are crying tears of sadness or joy you can check out any previous words here. As always our example photographs come from the MDAH Historic Resources… Read More ›
The Buena Vista and a Hyperbolic Parabaloid that should have been
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy I was glad to see that the Wildwoods Shore Resort Historic District in New Jersey made it through relatively unscathed. This got me thinking about some of our lost motels on the Mississippi… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 12-10-2012
After a period of slow news weeks, for the second week in a row we have a lot of news stories to share with MissPres readers. Starting this week in Tupelo with a story that we have been following for… Read More ›
Suzassippi’s Mississippi: Beauty in Brutalism?
The concrete architecture of a few decades ago, once lauded, is now mostly viewed with scorn. Before we tear it down, we should consider what will be lost. (Kubo, Pasnik, & Grimley, 2010, Tough Love: In Defense of Brutalism. Architect: The magazine of the American Institute of Architects)
MissPres Architectural Word of the Week: Y-Tracery
Time for another MissPres Architectural Word of the Week! If you want to check out any previous word you can do that here. As always our example photographs come from the MDAH Historic Resources Database. This week’s word is typical… Read More ›
Mississippi Architect, October 1964: I.T.T. Kellogg Plant, Corinth
The October 1964 edition of the Mississippi Architect features an industrial building in Corinth, designed by John L. Turner.
Burns “Belfry” Church Update
Work is continuing to move forward on the former Burns Methodist Church in Oxford. The …brick vernacular Gothic Revival church with two asymmetrical front corner towers…(Mississippi Department of Archives & History/Historic Resources Inventory) was constructed in 1910 on the edge… Read More ›
Art and the Soldier, Finis
Third in a Veterans Day series highlighting the World War II soldier art from Art and the Soldier, Keesler Field, Mississippi, published in 1943.
Keesler at Dusk: More from Art and the Soldier
Second in a Veterans Day series highlighting the World War II soldier art from the book Art and the Soldier, Keesler Field, Mississippi, published in 1943.
Veterans Day 2012
First in a Veterans Day series highlighting the World War II murals at Keesler Field shown in the book Art and the Soldier, Keesler Field, Mississippi, published in 1943.
Suzassippi’s Mississippi: What does the First Baptist Church in Pontotoc have in common with the First Methodist Church in Batesville?
I might have missed the First Baptist Church of Pontotoc but for a fortuitous decision to walk to the back of the courthouse and photograph the courtroom. On turning around, I spotted the dome behind the post office, and noted… Read More ›
MissPres Architectural Word of the Week: Vermiculated & Vomitory
Time for another MissPres Architectural Word of the Week! If you want to check out any previous words you can do that here. As always we have some of our example photographs come from the MDAH Historic Resources Inventory Database…. Read More ›
Newspaper Clippings: Walthall Hotel When It Was New
I hate to see the Walthall Hotel in downtown Jackson still closed and wonder what lies in its future. The Clarion-Ledger ran an article last week “Let’s make a (hotel) deal” about the building being in receivership: “It (looks) better than… Read More ›
“Ghosts of Ole Miss” on ESPN
If you’re looking for a break from the Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy coverage tonight, check out ESPN’s “Ghosts of Ole Miss” about the 1962 football season in the midst of violence over integration: “In the fall of 1962, James Meredith walked onto… Read More ›
Suzassippi’s Mississippi: Old Pontotoc Post Office
A few weeks ago, Mark Davis’ Restoring Picayune’s Disappeared WPA Mural not only provided a great story about the Picayune Post Office WPA mural, but included some wonderful photographs of other WPA post office murals. Not long after that, I found myself… Read More ›
Suzassippi’s Mississippi: Pontotoc County Courthouse
Pontotoc County’s Neoclassical courthouse–a joint venture between Mahan & Broadwell of Memphis and a young N. W. Overstreet–was constructed in 1915, facing the old courthouse which stood on the town square (Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Historic Resources Inventory). After… Read More ›
Preservation in Mississippi 