Leakesville? Leakesville, you say? What’s in Leakesville and why would you go there? Well, for one thing, Leakesville boasts a fine courthouse and a nice school complex. Plus, there’s interesting stuff on the way there from Jackson, and it’s on… Read More ›
Ok, I admit that I accidentally allowed my Clarion-Ledger subscription to lapse–that happened with my home insurance recently too, and it’s getting annoying–so I probably haven’t been keeping up with the news like I usually do, other than my Wall… Read More ›
Yesterday’s picture of the former Petroleum Building in Jackson brought out the inner-Modernists in all of us, a fun jaunt back to a time when colorful buildings were considered not only fashionable but suitable for the headquarters of an oil… Read More ›
Tons of MissPres brownie points to whoever can identify this building in downtown Jackson. Hint: It’s very well disguised.
It’s the last Friday of a hot and steamy Mississippi June, which means it’s time for another news roundup. Things have been hopping out there, so let’s get started. An update on the ongoing renovations of the “Lil’ Red Schoolhouse”… Read More ›
Well, I’ve been in denial about the Naval Reserve Center and the tales of partial demolition for an MDAH records center. For one thing, the project made no sense from an economic perspective: why would you spend $4 million to… Read More ›
This post is a bit of catch-up from a quick trip I took to Ocean Springs right before my trip to France–I forgot that I hadn’t posted the pictures I took that day of three important repair and rehab projects… Read More ›
I received a request from Mr. Bo Bourne of the Preserve River Road group down in Lawrence County to spread the word about an online petition they’d like interested MissPresers to sign. This petition will be presented to the Mississippi… Read More ›
Well, I didn’t start out the week with intention of having a Modernism theme, but since we’ve had three days of it, it just seems right throw in some pictures I took a few months ago on a road trip… Read More ›
A while back, regular commenter Carunzel (although come to think of it, where is Carunzel lately?) pointed out a little publication hidden away in the state archives that turned out to be a gem. Titled Builders of Mississippi and published… Read More ›
Last weekend, my parents and my two Chicago aunts came to visit me, or I should say they came to visit Natchez and let me come along as a tour guide. My aunts were intent on seeing some of the… Read More ›
I just got back from a quick trip to the Vernacular Architecture Forum annual meeting in Washington DC (when I left MS it was kind of coolish; I returned to full-fledged summer). This year’s meeting included an optional all-day tour… Read More ›
Last week’s WPA Guide to the Magnolia State mentioned the Natchez mansion “Concord” very prominently in its discussion of the evolution of architecture in Mississippi. Concord must have been an amazing place because although it burned in 1901, it has… Read More ›
Well, after a 24-hour day of flying, including five airports, four hours standing in six lines at Charles de Gaulle, a lovely dinner of lamb and couscous on the Air France flight on which I finally got placed, two hours… Read More ›
Still in France, of course, and still waiting on the volcano to be quiet or airlines to move to Plan B. In addition to the Roman remains in France, there are many fortified and walled towns, churches, bridges, and even… Read More ›
Well, y’all, I thought I would be back in Mississippi by now, enjoying a lovely Spring while relaxing on my screen porch, sorting through my thousand-plus pictures from my trip to France, and getting back to regular posts on MissPres…. Read More ›
The recent discussion in the Sun Herald about the Markham Hotel warrants a rejoinder. That a Main Street program which receives federal and state funds for preservation would even be considering demolition for an important downtown landmark is unthinkable. Alas,… Read More ›
I drove through Hattiesburg again last weekend and decided to check on Eaton School, poor roofless creature that it was last I saw it. The good news is that the building now has a roof structure; the not-so-good-news is that… Read More ›
After William S. Hull made his case for preserving and renovating the building in the first few pages of his 1909 report on the Governor’s Mansion, he went into detail about how to carry out his vision, including the landscaping,… Read More ›
This week we’re following William S. Hull’s Report on the Governor’s Mansion, prepared in 1909 to help the Legislature decide whether to repair/renovate the existing antebellum mansion or replace it with a new building. Hull argued for the renovation option… Read More ›
Today we continue with our friend W.S. Hull’s 1909 report on the Governor’s Mansion. Yesterday, we learned a little bit about William S. Hull, one of Mississippi’s early native architects and brother of contractor Francis Blair Hull. In 1909, the… Read More ›
I stumbled on this report about the Governor’s Mansion recently and thought that it would be an interesting series for the MissPres readership. Prepared in 1909 by Jackson architect W.S. Hull, it apparently provided the basis for a decision by… Read More ›
As you may recall from a few News Roundups back in December and January, the University of Southern Mississippi, which now owns the beautiful old Gulf Park College campus in Long Beach, wants to use its FEMA money to demolish… Read More ›
I have a bit of fondness for architectural oddities, and the Benwalt Hotel in downtown Philadelphia, with its impressive Quonset Hut roof, was a definite Oddity when I took these pictures in 2006. Beneath that rather awkward veneer is a… Read More ›
A reader who took a special interest in the Ceres Plantation story a few weeks ago headed over to the state archives building to do a little digging into the history of the place. After picking through the WPA records… Read More ›
As I was headed out of Hattiesburg a week or so ago–having taken my pictures of Eaton School and scowling about the lack of progress and initiative on that roof (still haven’t heard an update, but I hope somebody finally… Read More ›
I can’t believe it’s the end of February! I keep thinking Spring should be in the air, but so far, other than the birds that have come back to make their nest under my window awning, I can’t see the… Read More ›
Preservation in Mississippi 