I had to actually Laugh Out Loud when I saw the cover of the New Yorker this week. It depicts two triple-decker tour buses passing on a narrow street in Manhattan, blazing away at each other with cannons like two battleships…. Read More ›
Historic Preservation
Shame on the South Delta Regional Housing Authority
On Tuesday (7-13), the South Delta Regional Housing Authority (SDRHA), a quasi-governmental agency located in Leland and apparently funded solely or mostly through the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), demolished the oldest house in Greenville, a building… Read More ›
Whither House Museums?
Since we’re on the subject of heritage sites and the role of public history (and when I say “we” I mean “I”), I thought I would share a link I came across in my vast amounts of research on the… Read More ›
More Musings on the National Park Service
I’ve been thinking more this weekend about the role of the National Park Service in light of the issues raised last Thursday in On Recreating History. As an aside, would thinking about the role of the National Park Service on a… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 7-10-2009
Somewhat of a slow week in the news this week, at least as far as preservation in Mississippi is concerned. Happy Friday! July 2, 2009: From the Greenwood Commonwealth, “Inferno Consumes Most of Downtown Block” July 2, 2009: A photographic… Read More ›
On Recreating History
I read an insightful short article in the Summer 2009 issue of The American Scholar (pp. 6-7) by Christopher Clausen titled “Sesquicentennial Excess: Must we erase evidence of later commemorations at Civil War sites?” (You can buy the journal at… Read More ›
Abandoned Mississippi: School for the Blind
I know this isn’t a particularly preservationist thing to say, but one of the things I love to do is find abandoned places and explore and take photographs of them. I guess part of it is the thrill of discovery,… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 7-3-2009
This week’s round-up of all the preservation news I can find from around the Magnolia State. As usual, if you have any newsy tidbits come your way, please pass them on to me so I can be sure to post… Read More ›
MDAH Community Heritage Preservation Grant Program
Ol’ “Eagle Eyes” Malvaney caught this exciting announcement on MDAH’s website yesterday, which not coincidentally was the first day of the state’s fiscal year: $2M Available for Preservation Projects Statewide The 2009 Legislature has authorized the seventh round of the… Read More ›
Red State Preservationist, or what the National Trust Should Have Said
Some of you who are members of the National Trust might have gotten an e-mail last week titled “Help Pass the Energy Bill.” Before I even saw that e-mail, this headline popped up on my computer screen “Drop the National… Read More ›
Museum Myths in Movies
I know I’m way behind all of ya’ll in the pop-culture arena, so you’ve probably already seen Slumdog Millionaire. But if not, you should just because it’s a really good movie and isn’t depressing as you might expect, but also for… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 6-26-09
June 2, 2009: “Do Lake Plans Endanger Indian Mounds?” the Jackson Free Press asks. This is in regards to the so-called Two Lakes plan to develop the Pearl River in Jackson. I feel no need to wade into this controversial… Read More ›
And of course I must mention MDAH’s exceptionally fine digital collection . . .
Since I’ve been wandering around other people’s online archives this week, I want to bring it back home and mention MDAH’s growing digital archive. Those of you who don’t spend each and every day checking the MDAH website for new features… Read More ›
MDAH Preservation Press newsletter
One of my faithful readers sent along this new electronic newsletter–or e-zine to hipsters like me–put out by MDAH’s Historic Preservation Division. It’s called Preservation Press, and its inaugural issue opens with a statement of purpose: The Historic Preservation Division of… Read More ›
Partial Collapse at Mississippi Industrial College
Although I haven’t seen anything online about it yet, I’ve heard from a reliable source that Catherine Hall (1906) at Mississippi Industrial College in Holly Springs suffered a partial collapse during a bad storm last week. Those of you who have… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 6-19-2009
Starting today, Friday’s post will be a roundup of news items from around the state (and maybe a few tidbits from *gasp* outside the state) for your end-of-week edification, assuming we have enough news coverage each week. If you come… Read More ›
Getting Back to Myths
I’m sure you all remember my post a couple of months ago about the fun stories I heard at the Columbus Pilgrimage explaining various architectural features (if you have a bad memory or, even worse, didn’t read it originally, you… Read More ›
Lukacs on Modernism, Post-Modernism, and Developers
While we’re on the subject of unexpected architectural commentary, I recently discovered a short, but dense little book called The End of an Age by historian John Lukacs. Lukacs has written extensively about European history, especially World War II (having… Read More ›
A Virtual Trip To Exotic Locales
Oh, did I not mention that the winner of last week’s Name This Place contest would win a virtual trip? Whoopsie! Well, it shouldn’t really matter, right? After all, I recently was told by a person with some authority in Mississippi’s preservation world (not because… Read More ›
Dealing with Difficult Histories
I don’t know if any of you saw this article in Sunday’s Clarion-Ledger (“When Art Offends,” June 7, 2009) about the awkwardness of the Depression-era mural in Jackson’s Eastland federal courthouse–what to do about the stereotypical and degrading depictions of the black characters… Read More ›
Enjoying People Who Enjoy History
I heard this story on NPR today about the keepers of the old Evergreen Cemetery in Brooklyn (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105082304). They interviewed a man whose father had worked there and who now follows in his footsteps tending to the cemetery. He knew all… Read More ›
Military-Themed Day Trip to Hattiesburg
Those of you who love both military history (and really, what’s not to love about guns and tanks and troop movements?) and museums have probably already checked out the Mississippi Armed Forced Museum at Camp Shelby. Camp Shelby, of course, has been… Read More ›
Demolition Permit for old Baptist Church in Natchez
Well, I should know better than to write a positive post because sure enough, there’s always bad news following behind it. That’s why I tell kids, “Be a pessimist–you’ll never be disappointed!” Anyway, after yesterday’s good news about the Mannsdale-Livingston… Read More ›
Preservation Victory in . . . Madison the County?
I know, I know, most people, including me, don’t equate the upscale suburban sprawl that is Madison County with preservation, but in fact, the preservationists who have banded together to protect the rural community of Mannsdale-Livingston, now being pulled into… Read More ›
MDAH CLG Grants, 2009
While looking at the History Newsletter on the MDAH website, I noticed (albeit very belatedly) that MDAH has also announced their Certified Local Government grants for this year. Just in case you missed it, here’s the most relevant part of… Read More ›
MDAH Preservation Boot Camp 2009
I saw this interesting bit in the Mississippi History Newsletter that the Mississippi Dept. of Archives & History puts out monthly. I notice that now they’ve started posting the newsletter online too, which is helpful. Free Preservation Boot Camp Set… Read More ›
Models in Vicksburg
No, I’m not talking about the kind of models that walk the runway looking thin and sullen, I’m returning to the subject of cool architectural models. Well, they’re all cool of course, but I had no idea that we had… Read More ›
Preservation in Mississippi 