It’s been somewhat quiet in the Mississippi preservation world this week, but a few stories have popped up. In McComb, a judge directs the owner of a historic theater to either repair or demolish the partially collapsed theater. Terrance Alexander… Read More ›
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 admit I’m spending far too much time this week glued to my television and/or computer watching the latest updates on Hurricane Irma. Something I do when I’m watching too much TV is to sort through stacks of papers that… Read More ›
I hope everyone had a good Labor Day weekend. As we keep a wary eye on Hurricane Irma, let’s jump into this week’s roundup. Another week, another story about a vehicle damaging a historic structure, this time in Biloxi. Despite… 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. This week’s stations represent two contrasting ideas in the architecture world: the “Duck” vs. the “Decorated Shed.”… Read More ›
Let’s jump right into this week’s roundup. This last Monday, a car did significant damage to a historic church in the Silver Creek community of Lawrence County. The Silver Creek Baptist Church, built in 1899, was struck in the southeast… Read More ›
Twelve years ago, the rest of the world was watching on their TVs scenes from the Mississippi Coast and New Orleans that were very similar to what we’re watching on our smart phones from the Texas coast today. After Katrina… 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. This week’s stations represent the antithesis of the full-service station: the booth form gas station Aberdeen, Mississippi… Read More ›
Busy week in the world of Mississippi Preservation. Let’s jump right into this week’s roundup. Last Tuesday a public meeting in Hattiesburg was held to determine a course of action for the former Mount Carmel Baptist Church on Main Street. According to… Read More ›
Two antebellum houses in Starkville, the Gillespie-Jackson House and The Cedars, have recently gone on the market, according to the Commerical Dispatch, and unfortunately, the Gillespie-Jackson property is being offered as a commercial or mixed-use development, which seems to imply the owners… Read More ›
During the c.1950-1970s, Phillips had two station types: an oblong box, and the batwing or gullwing design. The latter of these was my holy grail of gas stations. I honestly thought I would never find one in Mississippi, let alone… Read More ›
This August marks the 48th anniversary of Hurricane Camille. We mostly think of hurricanes having an impact on the coastline but they do indeed have a far reach. In the Clarion Ledger article below you can see reports from both… 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 ›
Let’s jump right into this week’s roundup. Tonight in Hattiesburg there is a public meeting to determine a course of action for the former Mount Carmel Baptist Church on Main Street. Hattiesburg City Council will hold a public hearing at 5 p.m…. Read More ›
I’m not very familiar with Lion brand gasoline. Established in Arkansas during 1922, Lion Oil is still around in the refinery and asphalt products business, but I don’t believe they have branded stations any longer. Between 1985 and 2011, Lion… Read More ›
I believe that Grenada Public Schools Start back today. Some of you may be groaning, while other may be cheering for the start of school. But one of the best benefits of towns and cities should be their walkability. This view… Read More ›
Let’s jump right into this week’s roundup. Following up on the partial collapse of McComb’s downtown theater, MSNewsNow has reported that approximately 75% of the collapsed roof of the building was removed by July 31, with the remainder expected to… 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 ›
Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of Paul Rudolph’s passing. Were he still living, he would be 99 years old. Born in Kentucky, Rudolph graduated from Auburn University and Harvard Graduate School of Design. After successfully practicing architecture in Florida as part… Read More ›
Mississippi is known for its fondness of columned buildings. Surprisingly that appreciation doesn’t seem to have translated over into the design of Classical Revival service stations. The 2016 TxDOT Field Guide to Gas Stations in Texas doesn’t specifically have an entry… 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 ›
Let’s jump right into this week’s roundup. History professor Andrew Kahrl tracks racial discrimination through the tax assessor’s office. This article provides interesting insight concerning race and property ownership and cites several Mississippi examples in Edwards and Waveland. It also touches… Read More ›
We’re taking a break this week from the “Friday is a Gas” series since we had a gas station related post on Wednesday, but today’s post is still about a roadside-tastic building constructed c.1965. I’ll wager a guess this was the… Read More ›
This week’s dramatic roof collapse in downtown McComb, which was possibly brought on by a combination of hard rainfall and clogged or inadequate downspouts, has brought home again the need to maintain our historic buildings. Luckily for us, while owners… Read More ›
Let’s jump right into this week’s roundup. The lead story this week is the partial collapse of McComb’s downtown theater. While it looks bad, hopefully an engineer with an understanding of historic buildings can be brought in to give a… 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 ›
Let’s jump right into this week’s roundup. Starting with bad news from West Point, the Daily Times Ledger ran a story with the headline titled “Mary Holmes alumni react to demolition.” This demolition alluded to by the headline is that of… Read More ›
Preservation in Mississippi 