In Friday morning’s SAH session on Architecture of the Road, Ethel Goodstein-Murphree of the University of Arkansas gave an enlightening paper called “The Common Place of the Common Carrier: The American Truck Stop.” She devoted a whole section to the Red… Read More ›
Mississippi Towns
Review: Mississippi Celebrates Architecture
Earlier this week, I wandered over to the Mississippi Arts Pavilion in downtown Jackson with some friends (yes, I have a few) to check out the Mississippi Celebrates Architecture exhibit. The exhibit gathers several different collections into five rooms in… Read More ›
Coolest Ole Miss Buildings
I will now announce my much-anticipated nominations for “Coolest Ole Miss Buildings.” To appeal to all segments of my vast reading audience, I have two nominations: one from the 19th century, the other so far into the 20th century, you’ll… Read More ›
Speed Street School demolition
I saw this article last week, but since it’s pretty much a done deal and because it’s so depressing, I decided I didn’t want to destroy the beautiful symmetry of my Jane Jacobs’ series to insert it into last week’s… Read More ›
Not (Completely) Buying the Coast Buyouts
Three-and-a-half years after Hurricane Katrina, the Corps of Engineers has finally come up with a buyout plan for the Mississippi Gulf Coast to reduce property damage from future hurricanes. (See the Sun-Herald report of the last public meeting and a good… Read More ›
Gulfport Library update
A third public meeting about the future of Gulfport Library took place on Thursday (the 12th) and this one seems to have actually produced some encouraging movement on all sides. According to the Sun-Herald article, the many interested parties, including… Read More ›
On Developers, Modernism, and Fondren
After I wrote this post, I decided that it should be considered Part II of The Return of Modernism. In the latest issue of the Northside Sun, editor Wyatt Emmerich discusses the recent talk given by developer David Watkins at… Read More ›
Meridian City Hall
An interesting article in the Meridian Star on Sunday about the cost of renovating the Meridian City Hall. I like it when writers take the time to point out the complexities of the issue at hand, and it sounds like City… Read More ›
Last Hope for Carr Central?
Here’s sending good thoughts to Carr Central–an amazing 1920s school and Vicksburg landmark. I still don’t understand why the historic preservation tax credits amounting to, I think, 45% of the total cost, aren’t enough to get this project going, but… Read More ›
Update on Philadelphia
Thanks to tsj1957 for sending along the link to the Neshoba Democrat article about last Monday’s historic preservation commission meeting in Philadelphia. As I’m sure you recall from my previous post because you read every last word in every post I’ve… Read More ›
Mississippi Celebrates Architecture
The Clarion-Ledger ran an article summarizing the Mississippi AIA’s exhibit and lecture series this week. This is the event I had a hard time finding information on earlier in the week in “A Series of Fortunate Events“: A multipronged exhibition at the… Read More ›
And Another Thing . . .
A 4th event I forgot to mention is a symposium at the Manship House here in Jackson this coming Monday (9th). Here’s a tidbit from the MDAH site: March Symposium Examines Victorian Dining Practices On Monday, March 9, from 9 a.m. to… Read More ›
A Series of Fortunate Events
They say it never rains but it pours. They also say it never rains in Southern California, so why did it sprinkle last time I was there? At any rate, Jackson isn’t exactly known for its plethora of architecture-highlighting events. Don’t… Read More ›
To Holly Springs and Back
A few days ago I made the incredibly long trip up to the Far North, to Union and Tippah Counties and Holly Springs. When you have to make such a trip, you’re always torn between scheduling as much as possible so… Read More ›
Gulfport Library Meeting
The second public meeting regarding the future of the Gulfport Library was held yesterday in Gulfport. Apparently the county, which seems to have always been more willing to consider keeping the building than the City of Gulfport has, is asking… Read More ›
MDA’s Cultural Corners Program
This article in the Vicksburg Post about five towns being named Cultural Corners communities reminded me of this new, not-yet-well-known heritage tourism program begun by the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA). According to the article: MDA’s Certified Cultural Corners Program was launched… Read More ›
Demolition Issue in Philadelphia (Miss.)
An article in the Neshoba Democrat gives a good in-depth discussion of the issues surrounding the demolition request that First Baptist Church in Philadelphia has filed. A request to demolish or move an historic home adjacent to The First Baptist… Read More ›
To Columbus (Miss.) and Back
On a whim, I took advantage of this fine February Friday to take a jaunt up to Columbus and see a few sites and meet a few people. Columbus isn’t as old as Natchez, but by the 1850s, Columbus had enough fine… Read More ›
Mayflower Cafe: A Real Place
On any given Saturday evening when the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra is in season, you’re liable to find me and my honey ensconced in a booth at the Mayflower Cafe in downtown Jackson. The Mayflower is one of those rare but beautiful… Read More ›
Looking at the Recent Past
For those of us who enjoy the architecture of the mid-to-late-20th century as much as that from the 19th or 18th (well, maybe not “as much” but still a lot . . .) the Recent Past Preservation Network has a new… Read More ›
Preservation and Exploration
Over at Preservation in Pink Kaitlin muses about the “Urban Exploration Movement.” She asks: “Urban Explorers aren’t the typical preservationists, but are their hearts in the right place? Or would something like this have a negative effect? After all, preservation is more than… Read More ›
Friends of the Beverly on Facebook
I’m not hip enough, or possibly social enough, to be on Facebook, but I know lots of people are. A group has gathered there to work to preserve the historic (and very cool) Beverly Drive-In Theater, Hattiesburg’s icon of cheeseburgers,… Read More ›
Meridian’s Historic Photographs
I spend a lot of my time in life, believe it or not, looking for new stashes of information about our historic buildings and towns around the state. So imagine how happy I was to just stumble out of the… Read More ›
Still Fighting the Good Fight
In an otherwise very depressing article about abandoned housing in Jackson (third in a series) in the Clarion-Ledger, I found a beam of light in Marcia Weaver, leader in the successful effort back in the early 1990s to get a… Read More ›
Obama on Historic Schools
Some thoughts from the National Trust blog about President Obama’s statement during his press conference last night. Here’s what he said that made me (and I think a lot of us who love old buildings) go “AAAAAK!” “Education — yet… Read More ›
Abandoned in the City
A second in a series of articles in the Clarion-Ledger about abandoned buildings in our capital city. I say abandoned because they’re not just vacant, waiting for their next occupant–more, they’ve been abandoned by their owners, left to the destroyers…. Read More ›
Hernando Hits the Big Time!
Read the recent article in the New York Times (as in New York City!) about the City of Hernando’s efforts to get its iconic water tower designated a Mississippi Landmark. Hernando has been really working for the past decade at… Read More ›