It’s that time of year again when we make lists of preservation accomplishments and failures. We’ll get started with the historic properties that were designated as Mississippi Landmarks in 2017. The Mississippi Landmark designation isn’t the same as National Register… Read More ›
Modernism
Trimming the Tree in McComb
A recent Susassippi post ended with the question, “What is your favorite Edgar Lucian Malvaney building?” My pick was the 1948 Enterprise-Journal Building on Broadway in McComb. Some time ago I ran across this newspaper clipping from the building’s dedication… Read More ›
Byram’s Unique Church Design
A recent Susassippi post ended with the question, “What is your favorite Edgar Lucian Malvaney building?” Feeling forced to pick one, I settled on the 1948 McComb Enterprise-Journal Building seen below on Broadway in McComb [more to come on this… Read More ›
Industrial Mississippi: Wells Lamont, Philadelphia
As I’ve driven through Philadelphia, I’ve often admired a Moderne-style industrial building on West Myrtle Street now known as Philadelphia Electronics. But I’ve never known anything more about it until I came across an architectural rendering in a 1946 Clarion-Ledger… Read More ›
Mid-Week Mid-Century: Mississippi Architect Fellow Tom Biggs
This last installment from the May 1963 issue of Mississippi Architect is an unusual one for the magazine, as it focuses on one particular Mississippi architect who was being honored by the A.I.A. We’ve looked at a few of Tom… Read More ›
Mid-Week Mid-Century: Three Round Banks
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
Friday is a Gas: Phillips 66 Stations c.1950-c.1970s
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 ›
Valentine Diners: Falk’s Waffle Shop
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 ›
MissPres News Roundup 8-15-2017
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 ›
20th Anniversary of Paul Rudolph’s Passing
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 ›
Roadside Mississippi: Fountain Grill
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 ›
Photographer John Margolies Images Now Available Online
Last year Malvaney’s post about roadside Americana photographer John Margolies ended with the wish that someday his photos, which had been donated to the Library of Congress, would be made available for the public to see. That day has arrived, my… Read More ›
Mid-Week Mid-Century: Modernism in the Mississippi Delta
One thing that surprised me when I moved to Mississippi and ventured into the Delta–a place that I had understood from various news stories had been forgotten by time–was how much the region had changed over the latter half of… Read More ›
Friday is a Gas: Humble c.1950-c.1960
I’m excited about this week’s post because I found some period photographs of example stations in their prime, so I can verify the brand along with what features are original. The image above shows a Humble branded station with a… Read More ›
Mid-Week Mid-Century: Modern Banking in Downtown Jackson
I found this to-die-for postcard showing Jackson’s Trustmark Bank (formerly First National Bank) building a few weeks ago and was surprised to win it on eBay. Opened in 1956, the building was designed by two Jackson architectural firms, James T. Canizaro and Overstreet, Ware & Ware… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 6-20-2017
Lots of good news this week so lets jump right into this week’s roundup. Good news from Starkville this week, compared to the news last week that fourteen structures including three historic houses were demolished. Starkville Police to open new offices in restored… Read More ›
Friday is a Gas: Pan Am/Amoco Stations c.1930-c.1940
Per Malvaney’s request and the plethora of examples received in the comments to last Friday’s post, this week we’ll focus on the Pan Am/ Amoco Stations of the c.1930s-c.1940s. Unfortunately this station type is not listed in the handy-dandy 2016… Read More ›
Happy Birthday Bruce Goff & Frank Lloyd Wright
Go inside Bruce Goff’s “Star House,” built in 1960 for Mr. and Mrs. Emil Gutman in Bayou View neighborhood of Gulfport.
Mississippi Builders: Bilbo McHuley
Last week’s post on African American designer/architect W.A. Lattimore mentioned that he worked with builder Bilbo McHuley, and that reminded me that I’ve been sitting on this ad for a “McHuley home,” published in the February 22, 1964 edition of… Read More ›
Roadside Mississippi: (former) Tastee Freeze, Jackson
A small roadside building with a stepped facade, front service windows, a curvilinear front fascia, and a flat roof that ever so slightly slopes to the rear of the structure. Could it be? A Tastee Freeze?