When I was in Meridian looking at the old Sears building last week, I discovered for the first time (although I’ve driven past them numerous times) two mid-century banks in the same area. They reminded me of a former bank… Read More ›
Mississippi Towns
MissPres News Roundup 10-10-2017
Behind the storm and fury of Hurricane Nate, preservation news was bubbling around the state and not in a good way. Thankfully, so far it seems that Nate’s damage on the Mississippi Gulf Coast was minimal, and I haven’t heard… Read More ›
SAH Archipedia Now Includes Mississippi Entries
Last year in the post titled What is an Archipedia? we learned that the Society of Architectural Historians was expanding their online database, called Archipedia, to include content from all 50 states. In July they followed through with the first of their… Read More ›
Mid-Week Mid-Century: Homogeneously Eclectic Yazoo City Storefronts
Yazoo City’s downtown may qualify as the most homogenous in the state, by which I mean of the same period and of a piece. As most of you probably know, a great fire took out a couple dozen blocks of… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 10-3-2017
Another week’s worth of mixed good and bad news. Let’s jump right into this week’s roundup. This is getting a little too meta for me. A news story in the Jackson Free Press quoted last week’s news MissPres round-up regarding… Read More ›
Friday Film: Institute Hall, Natchez
On this final September Friday, take an 18-minute break to watch this video about the restoration of the former Institute Hall in Natchez. The film chronicles the building’s history beginning in the early mid-1800s to its recent renovation and conversion… Read More ›
HABS in Mississippi: The Castle, Aberdeen
A castle. In Aberdeen, Mississippi. Have you seen it?
Newspaper Clippings: Wiring the Pascagoula-Moss Point Bank, 1960
Here’s an interesting take on a building that’s appeared a few times here on MissPres, most recently an announcement of its new owners and plans for new life. Here we get an article that was first published in a trade… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 9-26-2017
Plenty of bad news, with a little bit of good news to ease the pain. Let’s jump right into this week’s roundup. The Fondren House in Jackson was destroyed on September 21st. Lots of secrecy and obfuscation has swirled around… Read More ›
Aladdin Ledger Houses: A Plaza in Sledge
Aladdin likely shipped kit houses into Mississippi for nearly the entirety of their eighty-one year existence, but the Aladdin plant in Hattiesburg operated for less than three years between 1919 and 1921. One of the ledger orders was for a Plaza model requested by a “Sledge & Gillis” to be shipped to Sledge, Quitman County, Mississippi.
Industrial Mississippi: Armstrong Cork Co., Jackson
A couple of weeks ago, a reader named Mark noted in a comment to an Industrial Mississippi post: The Jackson plant of Armstrong Flooring (formerly Armstrong Cork and Armstrong World Ind) is celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2017. It’s been… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 9-19-2017
Another somewhat quiet week in the Mississippi preservation world this week. Everyone must be too focused on that great Mississippi State football victory to do much of anything else. Here are a few stories have popped up. Fitting in with… Read More ›
Historic For Sale: Cedar Grove, Vicksburg
Vicksburg’s famous Cedar Grove Inn overlooking the Mississippi River is on the market for $1.199 million dollars, offered by Ernesto Caldeira of Dorian Bennett Sotheby’s International Realty of New Orleans. You may recall that Mr. Caldeira is also a longtime… Read More ›
Overstreet & Town Concrete Buildings
I present to you for your weekend perusing pleasure the following book: Architectural Concrete for Small Buildings published in 1937 by the Portland Cement Association. The book is available to view online over on archive.org thanks to the Association for… Read More ›
Before and After: Holiday Inn, Meridian
As I think I’ve mentioned before, one of “those projects” on my List of Things To Do, is to go through my postcard collection, which I’ve scanned, and add a location to each one when possible. At times, it’s easy… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 9-12-2017
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 ›
Historic For Sale: Waverley
Recently, we’ve seen a spate of important landmark buildings up for sale around the state: Mt. Hope, Gillespie-Jackson House, among others. It seems to me that what they have in common is that they were saved or lovingly preserved by… Read More ›
Aladdin Ledger Houses: A Winthrop in Newton
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 ›
Mid-Week Mid-Century: In Praise of Masonry Screens
I’ve pretty much fallen in love with masonry screens since I first started noticing them a few years ago. Most popular in the 1950s through 1970s, these decorative concrete block are a low-cost way to create a wall, provide privacy… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 9-5-2017
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 ›
Friday is a Gas: Ducks vs Decorated Sheds
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 ›
Industrial Mississippi: Johns-Manville, Natchez
The Johns-Manville plant operated in Natchez from 1947 to 2002. I came across this article when it first opened. Johns-Manville Sets Date For Completion Natchez Plant To Cost $5,000,000 Natchez, April 12–Construction of the large Johns-Manville unsulating board plant at… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 8-30-2017
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 ›
Friday is a Gas: Booth Form Gas Station c.1960s-c.1980
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 ›
1929 Was a Very Good Year . . . For Concrete in Jackson
It’s hard to imagine now how fast tall buildings went up back in the day when labor was relatively cheap and huge forces of men could be thrown onto a project. The year 1929, which as we all now know… Read More ›
“America’s Finest”: Alamo Plaza Hotel Courts
The recent post by Thomas Rosell on photographer John Margolies “roadside Americana” images had some wonderfully intriguing photographs. I thought it might be fun to trace a few of them. The Alamo Plaza Hotel Courts has been featured before on… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 8-22-2017
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 ›
Preservation in Mississippi 