Tons of MissPres brownie points to whoever can identify this building in downtown Jackson. Hint: It’s very well disguised.
Jackson
MissPres News Roundup 6-25-2010
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 ›
What’s going on at the Naval Reserve Center?
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 ›
Mississippi Architect: First Federal Savings & Loan, Jackson
Still in the inaugural issue of Mississippi Architect, March 1963, which we introduced with Bob Henry’s first editorial, about the architectural profession, yesterday. Today we’ll pass along the first building profile, which I love for many reasons: it’s an R.W…. Read More ›
Lustron House in Jackson
Just around the corner from the classically proportioned J.R. Flint house designed by A. Hays Town in south Jackson is a house that makes no bones about its modernity. It’s a Lustron House, one of only two or three that… Read More ›
The Beauty of Modernist Storefronts
I admit I sometimes spend a good amount of money on a book that 99.999% of the population wouldn’t pay two cents for. I found one such book on a trip to Cincinnati a while back. Published in 1946, it’s… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 6-4-2010
As you all no doubt remember, God made Fridays for News Roundups, but I’ve been off-kilter the last couple of months since being abandoned by formerly trusty W. White and have just been posting roundups on any ol’ day of… Read More ›
J.R. Flint House by Hays Town in South Jackson
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 ›
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 ›
St. Peter’s scaffolding comes down
If you’ve been in downtown Jackson in the last 6 months or so, you’ve probably noticed that the steeple and tower of the Cathedral of St. Peter’s have been encased in scaffolding.The steeple was damaged by the high winds of… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 5-17-2010
It’s been a couple weeks since our last news roundup, so I thought I’d stick one in on Monday instead of Friday/Saturday. I hope this temporary change in schedule doesn’t blow everybody’s minds. Some crazy stuff has been happening around… 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: But the Depression is Great!
Today we come to the conclusion of the WPA Guide to the Magnolia State and its section on Architecture. While Beverly Martin, the young architect we have conjectured is the author, has shown his bias for the antebellum era and… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 4-1-2010
And here is the news. Calhoun City’s urban renewal efforts continue. According to the March 25 edition of The Calhoun County Journal, the structure I mentioned in the last News Roundup on the corner of Main St. and Taylor Ave…. Read More ›
Linking Around
I’m told that the original blogs tried to bring order to the World Wide Web primarily by pointing their readers to interesting articles or websites. I’m not exactly on the cutting edge of technology, so I probably wasn’t even aware… Read More ›
In Memoriam: William R. Henry (1925-2010)
I saw this letter to the editor from Nicholas Davis, Emeritus Professor of Architecture at Auburn, in the Clarion-Ledger a week or so ago, about the recent death of Mississippi architect William R. Henry: I was most saddened recently to… Read More ›
Hull’s Governor’s Mansion Report: What They Did in 1909
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 ›
Hull’s Governor’s Mansion Report: An Argument for Preservation
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 ›
W.S. Hull’s Governor’s Mansion Report: Original Downtown Booster
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 ›
From the Archives: W.S. Hull’s Report on the Governor’s Mansion
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 ›
MissPres News Roundup 3-12-2010
MissPres readers, greetings from Alabama (the current location of yours truly). And here is the news. The Calhoun County Journal reports in the February 25 paper that Calhoun City is beginning a clean up effort of the Calhoun City Town… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 3-5-2010
This is my first News Roundup. It will be longer than Malvaney’s News Roundups normally are as I have gathered news from the last several weeks from these papers. Many of these stories are from small town Mississippi newspapers, printing… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 2-26-2010
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 ›
Architect Pics: Claude H. Lindsley
I admit to being especially fascinated by Mississippi architect C.H. Lindsley: he came up apparently without any formal architectural training, designed two of the state’s most prominent skyscrapers when barely 30–the Tower Building (Standard Life) in Jackson and the Threefoot… Read More ›
Reflections On A Success Story
As I swung open the doors at 235 West Capitol Street on the 4th of January, 2010, I could barely contain myself. The once rotten shell of the King Edward had become a shining beacon of light and warmth. As… Read More ›
Pigeons to Pearls…The King Edward Flies Again
Thursday, the 17th of December, 2009, was an important day for downtown Jackson. Developer David Watkins snipped a scarlet ribbon and the King Edward was back in business after forty-three years of solitude. Arduous as the task was, Watkins and… Read More ›
Preservation in Mississippi 