While MissPres was on vacation last week, I had more time to cruise around the vast wide world of the internet (always living out there on the edge). A post called “Donation of Historic Paint Colors Makes for a ‘Good Neighbor’… Read More ›
Renovation Projects
MissPres News Roundup 9-25-2009
Well, there’s just too much preservation news to keep up with this week, so as of today the MissPres vacation is officially over. Sept. 11, 2009: According to the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, perhaps better known to you savvy online… Read More ›
King Edward Update
And now, what you’ve all been waiting for . . . As mentioned several times in the last week, one of the prime attractions at this year’s 10 Most Endangered List Unveiling was a chance to peak inside the King… Read More ›
Katrina Survivors: Regular People Saving Their History
We’ve spent the last two weeks looking at lost landmarks and restored landmarks on the Coast after Katrina, but I wanted to end this series by recognizing that the vast majority of preservation work on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast since 2005… Read More ›
Katrina Survivors: Charnley House(s), Ocean Springs
Those of us who had the opportunity to see the Charnley house and its small guest house next door with the Southeastern Society of Architectural Historians (SESAH) tour in 2003 were fortunate to walk through this amazing “beach house” and… Read More ›
Katrina Survivors: Randolph School, Pass Christian
Randolph School (1928), Pass Christian, photo courtesy Fisk University Rosenwald Fund Card File Database Across the Coast, the railroad tracks formed a levee that protected the neighborhoods to the north from the massive storm surge of Hurricane Katrina. Waveland and… 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 ›
MissPres News Roundup 8-21-2009
The official song for this week’s News Roundup is . . . “Cocacabana.” Begin humming as we whirl around the state of MS: The Summer 2009 issue of “The Wellspring” (scroll to page 5) gives a nice update on the progress… Read More ›
An Architectural Bonanza in the Clarion-Ledger
Was I in heaven this weekend? Was it a dream? I think there were not one, not two, but three really informative articles about architecture in the Clarion-Ledger. I know I usually leave such things to Friday’s News Roundup, but… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 8-7-2009
Well, get out your event calendars, Ladies and Gentlemen, because we’ve got a lot of ’em coming up announced in the last week or two: August 25, 2009 will find you sitting impatiently in front of the television, with your antenna… Read More ›
Old Newspaper Clippings: Saving the Madison County Courthouse
A group of dedicated researchers in Canton has put together a notebook of newspaper clippings and other primary source materials titled “Madison County History Preserved,” and I was fortunate enough to have a colleague show it to me. Glancing through it,… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 7-24-09
Here’s some goings-on that you might find interesting. July 12, 2009: An obituary in the Hays (FL) Daily News for architect and planner Raymond L. Eaton, who died July 7, 2009. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Eaton was a partner… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 6-26-09
June 2, 2009: “Do Lake Plans Endanger Indian Mounds?” the Jackson Free Press asks. This is in regards to the so-called Two Lakes plan to develop the Pearl River in Jackson. I feel no need to wade into this controversial… Read More ›
Partial Collapse at Mississippi Industrial College
Although I haven’t seen anything online about it yet, I’ve heard from a reliable source that Catherine Hall (1906) at Mississippi Industrial College in Holly Springs suffered a partial collapse during a bad storm last week. Those of you who have… 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 ›
Fire at Historic Stewart M. Jones School
Fire broke out at Laurel’s Stewart M. Jones Middle School last Friday evening, gutting one of the three wings of the historic building. The school building, one of the finest examples of high-style Georgian Revival in the state, was built in 1927… Read More ›
Book Quotes: How Buildings Learn
I read Stewart Brand’s How Buildings Learn way back in 1997, and it was when I really began to understand and appreciate vernacular architecture. The thesis of the book is that buildings change over time based on the needs of the users–sometimes… Read More ›
NPS Stimulus Money in MS
Speaking of money–loads and loads of money from Uncle Sam–the National Park Service has announced the projects it will be funding with its cut of the stimulus package. According to their state-by-state breakout, Mississippi will have 9 projects coming in… Read More ›
Save America’s Treasures Grants
Save America’s Treasures grant program’s deadline for grant applications for this year is coming up in a few weeks, May 22, 2009. For those of you not familiar with SAT (as those in the biz call it, not to be confused… Read More ›
Jackson’s Municipal Library
The Northside Sun published an article last week about the old Municipal Library in Jackson. Besides being a pretty cool Modern structure designed by the prominent Jackson firm of N.W. Overstreet & Associates, the building is significant for its Civil Rights… Read More ›
A Historic Survivor Rises Again in Waveland
I had occasion to visit Waveland this week and saw that the old Waveland School, a brick building built in 1920, is completing finishing touches before its grand re-opening. As many of us know, Waveland took a straight shot from Katrina,… 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 ›
An Important House Needs Our Help
A reader contacted me about a house north of Natchez that is very important to Mississippi’s history but that needs some tender loving care to be restored to its former glory. The house was built in 1854 and is a fine… 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 ›
Mississippi’s New Old Capitol
For any of you who don’t know, the old state capitol building, commonly called the Old Capitol, just re-opened yesterday after a major renovation that was set in motion when chunks of the copper roof tore off during Hurricane Katrina…. Read More ›
Preservation in Mississippi 