It may not be a surprise to anyone in a town so battered by hurricanes that only one grand hotel would remain after a litany of horrific storms and the vicissitudes of rampant development. In spite of Camille and even… Read More ›
Biloxi
MissPres News Roundup 9-27-2010
Well, Fall has possibly arrived for good in Mississippi, as of yesterday, but I for one am not getting my hopes up. I got .11 inches of rain at my house–maybe y’all got more. What’s been going on round these… Read More ›
Concrete Block Structures of Biloxi (Part II)
Last time all the buildings featured one type of block face. Today the two buildings we will look at feature two or more types of block. By the turn of the 20th century a block machine that could make a different block… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 9-20-2010
Could the horrible summer weather we’ve been having be a punishment of some kind, maybe for the demolition of the Central Delta Academy, or since it started before that, the project at the Naval Reserve Center? Or am I reading… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 8-20-2010
Three weeks of August down, only one and a little bit to go. We can do it, y’all! This week’s roundup has lots of national stories in it, I don’t know why. ————————————- NPR had a fascinating story on All… Read More ›
Concrete Block Structures of Biloxi
While concrete block has been around for thousands of years it did not become widely accepted as a quality building material in North America until the turn of the 20th century. This general acceptance came about as the manufacturing process… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 7-23-2010
Let’s keep one eye on Bonnie and the other eye on the preservation news around the state. And those of us who wear glasses will still have two more eyes to, like, avoid marauding oil splotches, watch tv, read a… Read More ›
Some Early Sources About Mississippi Architecture
I’ve been spending alot of time on a website that is one of my favorites and also a nemesis, abebooks.com, which combines the databases of hundreds or thousands of used bookstores around the world. I enjoy seeing what pops up… Read More ›
Pleasure Domes Past…Biloxi’s Broadwater Beach
Only the tattered remains of an elaborate marina today mark the site of one of Biloxi’s largest and most famous resort complexes. The Broadwater Beach holds a firm place in the memory of many a resident of the area, but… Read More ›
Preservation Month in the MissPres Universe
As y’all are no doubt aware, May is Preservation Month, which is good because if it was June, July or August, we would all have to agree it was just too hot to put on a program. But since it’s… Read More ›
WPA Guide to the Magnolia State: No Such Thing as “Southern Colonial”
Today’s post is the second in this week’s serial reproduction of the section on architecture in the Guide to the Magnolia State, published in 1938 as part of the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Writer’s Project. As we saw yesterday, this… Read More ›
Paved, Not Saved…Biloxi’s Buena Vista Hotel
The Buena Vista threw open its doors on July 4th, 1924 to an admiring crowd of eager spectators. Built on a larger scale than the Tivoli, yet not matching the sweeping grandeur of the Edgewater Gulf, the Buena Vista would… Read More ›
Vacation Postcards: Sea Gull Tourist Court
“March 3, 1956, Sat. eve., Got in here today, rained all nite, a welcome rain. the azaleas and camellias are just beautiful here, I marked where we are on other side. Lots of people here, are next door to a… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 1-29-2010
It’s hard to believe the end of January is already here. Seems like just yesterday, I was sitting looking at my Christmas tree. Oh, actually, it was just yesterday. Hey, what can I say–I am not bound by the strict… Read More ›
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
Well, we’ve gotten to that season when we make lists of things that have happened over the past year in preparation for the new year. To start off the week, we’ll take one last look at old friends we have… Read More ›
Even more archt/builders pics: Brune, et al.
I’m still working on getting pictures of the MDAH CHPG projects, so in the meantime, I thought I would add another picture or two to our collection of architect and builder photos. These come from a source that Carunzel brought to my… 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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
Vacation Pics–Sunset in Old Biloxi
MissPres is on vacation this week, a vacation back in time down to the old Mississippi Coast.
A Celebration and a Vacation
To celebrate passing the milestone of 10,000 views on the blog, which happened around 3 PM last Thursday (did anyone but me notice?), MissPres is taking a little vacation this week. Everybody deserves a little time off, right? And just in case… Read More ›
Katrina Survivors: Beauvoir
After last week’s long trail of lost landmarks, I thought we should brighten up the mood a little with a few survivor stories that show that all was not lost. There are still historic places on the Coast (and inland)… Read More ›
Lost to Katrina: Tullis-Toledano Manor (1856-2005)
from National Register nomination, August 1976: As one of the most substantial and elaborate of the vacation homes constructed on the Mississippi Gulf Coast during the early peak period of the area’s popularity in the 1850s, the Pradat/Toledano/Philbrick/Tullis House is… Read More ›
Remembering Hurricane Camille
From the Biloxi Daily Herald, “Landmarks Lost During Camille,” by Emily Germanis, August 16, 1970: “Historically speaking, the Mississippi Gulf Coast received a great blow as a result of Hurricane Camille. At least 15 well known landmarks were wiped out, others… Read More ›
People Pictures
I don’t usually have pictures with people in them because, well, I guess I’m always focused on the buildings, but after mentioning architect R.W. Naef’s picture yesterday, I figured I’d better rustle it up and show what I was talking about…. 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 ›
Preservation in Mississippi 