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 ›
Building Types
King Edward Hotel Open Again
Forty-four years after closing its doors, after suffering decades of neglect, vacancy, vandalism, and deterioration, Jackson’s landmark King Edward Hotel, the standard for glamorous 1920s hotels, re-opened for business yesterday after a ribbon-cutting ceremony. As every speaker said, this was… Read More ›
Overstreet Interview, Part 2
We’re in the middle of a three-part transcription of a conversation between our own N.W. Overstreet, perhaps Mississippi’s most prominent 20th-century architect, and A.J. Boase, the manager of the Structural Bureau of the Portland Cement Association. The interview took place… Read More ›
From the Archives: 1940 Overstreet Interview
This week’s series will introduce you to an interview with our own N.W. Overstreet back in 1940. The interview was hosted by the Portland Cement Association at its Spring meeting at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York and was published in the PCA’s magazine Architectural Concrete. This particular interview gives us insight not only into the technical aspects of Overstreet’s 1930s concrete buildings, but also (since we’ll never have the chance to interview him ourselves) shows us a little bit of his background, personality, and spirit.
Get Ready for King Ed!
I hope y’all can make it to the ribbon cutting for the new King Edward Hotel on Thursday morning at 10 AM. I’ve only been waiting for this for 13 years, but I know many of you out there have… Read More ›
Bailey Jr. High and the Mystery of Life
I recently noticed that Google has now archived the images from the Life magazine photo collection and also made all of the magazines in their full cover-to-cover glory available through a normal Google search. This has given me the opportunity… Read More ›
CHPG Project Pictures
Ok, I’ve finally scrounged up photos of all the projects given grants in MDAH’s latest round of the Community Heritage Preservation Grant program. I always find it helpful to put a picture with the dollar amount so that I can… Read More ›
MDAH Announces CHP Grants
Besides our blizzard, the other exciting thing that happened Friday was the Mississippi Department of Archives and History announced the recipients of the latest round of Community Heritage Preservation Grants after a special meeting of the MDAH Board of Trustees…. Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 12-4-2009
As of this morning, the forecast is for snow, snow! in Jackson tonight. The best snow is the kind that comes and puts a nice quiet blanket on everything, and then goes away after enough time for everyone to get out… Read More ›
Overly Loved Historic Buildings
I had a chance to go through lots of photos I’ve taken on my recent jaunts around the state, and I thought now might be a good time to bring up the topic of good intentions and how they pave the road to . . . well, to be blunt, Hades. I refer particularly to the state of being “loved to death” and how this sometimes happens to our beloved historic buildings around the state.
MissPres News Roundup 11-20-2009
Well, here we are at Friday again–thank goodness! And next week is Thanksgiving, so it’s a short week for some, a long week for those with visitors staying in their homes. But I digress. Let’s look around for some news…. Read More ›
The Edgewater Gulf Hotel, Queen of the Coast
If one hotel alone were to capture the spirit and grandeur of the faded elegance of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the Edgewater Gulf would likely be the candidate for the honor. On February 26, 1926, ground was broken for the… Read More ›
What Jackson’s Trustmark Bldg Might Have Looked Like
I love alternate history, where an author changes a small event in history and takes what follows to a different conclusion than what actually happened. Preliminary renderings of buildings are a real-live version of alternate history, and it’s fun, in… Read More ›
Architecture and Music
Friday evening I attended a chamber concert by the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra at St. Andrews Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Jackson. I especially love the MSO’s chamber series, because each of the four concerts is held in a church, not only… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 11-13-2009
Ok, the pressure’s on. Must compete with MHT’s Facebook page. Must compete with MHT’s Facebook page. Must be witty and not grumpy, a beam of sunshine in an otherwise dark and cruel world. And I can do it! Because I’m… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 11-6-2009
Well, there’s a thick stack of papers piled up waiting for me to get around to a news roundup post after two weeks of skipping it. So without further ado, here goes: To me, the most exciting article of the last… Read More ›
R.I.P. old First Baptist, Natchez
Well, this week has gotten away from me, even with Tom doing most of the blogging, so I don’t have time for a full news roundup. But I wanted to make sure to recognize the passing of a building that I… Read More ›
Woodville…A Stroll Around Town
Woodville’s considerable charms extend well beyond the square. Walk one block east on Bank Street to Church Street to find the essence of Southern-ness. Having lived in the rectory of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church for many years myself, I can… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 10-16-2009
After this week of almost constant rain, I suggest we pass a law allowing the whole country to stay home during such weeks. The rain is pleasant if you can stay home and lounge about, but tiresome when you have to… Read More ›
Modern Banking in Downtown Jackson
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 ›
The Tivoli Hotel in Biloxi….The One That Got Away….
Of all the jarring and tragic images which poured forth in a torrent in the aftermath of Katrina, among the most poignant were those of the ruins of the Tivoli Hotel. The gaping holes in the building immediately told a… Read More ›
Acona Church and School, Holmes County
I saw so much last Saturday when I went up to the Carrollton Pilgrimage, I’m still sorting through all the pictures I took. Whenever I drive up to Carrollton, I like to swing off of I-55 and hit Hwy 17… Read More ›
Asia Missionary Baptist Church, Lexington
A while back I did a post on some of the excessively cool historic churches in Lexington and I bemoaned my stupidity and laziness in not taking a picture of one of my favorite churches in town, Asia Missionary Baptist… Read More ›
Speaking of Churches
While I was writing yesterday’s post on Carrollton’s churches, I came across a review of a book about Mississippi churches that I keep close at hand as a reference, Historic Churches of Mississippi. Published by University Press of Mississippi in… Read More ›
A Pilgrimage to Carrollton’s Churches
Strangely enough, while James Clark Harris did alot of design and construction work in Carrollton, it doesn’t appear that he was the architect or builder for any of the historic churches in town. He did design the Teoc Presbyterian Church,… Read More ›
Carrollton Pilgrimage Report
After letting its pilgrimage lie fallow for a decade or two, Carrollton decided it was time to open back up last weekend and see who came. I was one of probably 500 or so visitors trying to find a place… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 10-2-2009
Fall is in the air, and today’s News Roundup Theme Song is “Time to Say Goodbye.” I didn’t find much actual newspaper news this week, so our roundup will be a little more prosey. There was a nice pro-preservation article… Read More ›
Preservation in Mississippi 