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Roadside Mississippi: Dairy Freeze, Crystal Springs
The Dairy Freeze in Crystal Springs opened up c.1951 at the intersection of Hwy 51 and what I believe was old Hwy 27. With Hwy 51 being the main drag between Jackson and Baton Rouge / New Orleans, the stand likely… Read More ›
HABS in Mississippi: Oakland Chapel, ASU
Strangely enough for a National Historic Landmark (and one of the 101 Mississippi Places To See Before You Die), we really don’t appear to have great information about the construction of Oakland Chapel at Alcorn State University. Originally built as… Read More ›
To Facebook or Not to Facebook?
It’s been over three years since we did a poll here on MissPres. That one asked how readers accessed MissPres–by laptop/desktop, smart phone, or tablet. Back then, desktops ruled the day with 89% of the vote. Around that time, we also debated… Read More ›
Scaffolding Coming Down from U.S. Capitol
Last week, a friend who lives in Washington DC posted a picture of the U.S. Capitol and was excited to see the scaffolding that has obscured the beautiful dome for two years coming down. For those who have been to… Read More ›
Going Inside: Loy Bowlin’s Beautiful Holy Jewel Home
The home of the Original Rhinestone Cowboy, Loy Bowlin began life as a somewhat typical craftsman bungalow in McComb. Over the years Mr. Bowlin added his own decoration consisting of glitter, rhinestone, and paint to his house. After his passing… Read More ›
Industrial Mississippi: Taylor Machine Works, Louisville
Is the Art Moderne original building of Taylor Machine Works still standing? I don’t know, but there are some groovy canopies to greet visitors.
An Ill Wind Brings New Rules: What Hurricane Camille Changed
As a way of commemorating the 47th anniversary of Hurricane Camille this week, let’s look back at two structures that are prominent features of the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s skyline. While it is apparent that disaster shapes our physical environment in what is lost, as… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 8-15-2016
I admit, I’m watching the Olympics while writing this week’s news roundup, so . . . just fair warning, may be a little abbreviated. At Hinds Community College in Raymond, word came on August 1 of a fire at Williams… Read More ›
Mississippi by Air: Edgewater Shopping Plaza and Hotel
Remember last week’s postcard showing the Edgewater Hotel’s scenic, wooded beachfront, complete with bridle paths for long horse rides? What happened? Progress, that’s what. This undated postcard, showing the short-lived coexistence of the Edgewater Hotel and the Edgewater Shopping Plaza,… Read More ›
Gulfport’s Gutman House: “Dreams of the Dwellers and Creator”
Bruce Goff designed two houses in Mississippi during his career. The Gryder House (1960) in Ocean Springs is a frequent topic here on MissPres. The other Goff design was the Gutman House (1958) in Gulfport. It is likely not as… Read More ›
Kremser’s Air Conditioning For Your Comfort, Kremser said.
Last week’s post regarding the rise in popularity for modern & ranch houses throughout the South brought up the question, when did air conditioning become a standard feature in home construction? Kremser’s Sheet Metal Works was apparently one of the first local… Read More ›
Mississippi by Air: Edgewater Gulf Hotel, the Glory Years
Take a good, long look at this week’s aerial postcard, read Thomas Barnes’ post “The Edgewater Gulf Hotel, Queen of the Coast,” and be sure to check back in next Friday to see this same aerial view from a different… Read More ›
Roadside Mississippi: Glenburnie Motor Hotel, Woodville
Other than MissPres posts, a house renovation, and walking the dogs, my night-time project for the last year or so has involved going back through my digital photo library and geo-tagging each of the photos, including my scanned postcards. It’s tedious,… Read More ›
Your Southern Grandparents Loved Their Ranch Homes!
“The antebellum Southern plantation house, with its wide verandah and impressive pillars, is no longer the “dream home” of the South. The average Southern home buyer today is looking for a ranch-style house, built of brick, containing at least one pine-panelled room, and in the medium-price range.” Commercial Dispatch, 1953.
MissPres News Roundup 8-1-2016
Along with the rain we’ve been getting, I’ve been receiving showers of news roundup articles in my inbox. Thanks to all who have shared the stories from their neck of the woods. In Natchez, the City’s Historic Preservation Commission has… Read More ›
Industrial Mississippi: Tupelo’s Day-Brite Plant
It appears that the Day-Brite plant in Tupelo, pictured in the 1951 Mississippi edition of Manufacturer’s Record, not only still survives but–wonder of wonders!–is still a light bulb plant, now Philips Day-Brite (at least as of this Nov. 2013 streetview). Yes, its clerestory… Read More ›
HABS in Mississippi: Frank Warren House, Pascagoula
National Register Nomination (Edgar W. Hull House): “The house is of a French, hall-less plan with three rooms set abreast. It has a two-story, seven-bay front gallery, and a loggia and two cabinets at the back. The bricks of the… Read More ›
Mississippi Streets: Hattiesburg, c.1914
Today’s Mississippi Streets image of Newman Street, in Hattiesburg’s railroad district, comes courtesy of MissPres reader Thomas Gentry, whose grandfather’s business, Burkett Sheet Metal Works was located on the right (one-story building with the sign painted on the front). Thanks… Read More ›
Belzoni Cemetery and its Concrete Grave Markers
Up on the north side of Belzoni, near the Varsity Drive-In, is the Green Grove M.B. Church, where the funeral of civil rights leader George Lee was held in 1955. As I was taking the above pictures, I looked across… Read More ›
HABS in Mississippi: Col. Powers House, Jackson
According to Julie L. Kimbrough’s Images of America: Jackson (p.107), the Powers House was located at 411 Amite Street, right in the heart of downtown. Looking at the 1948 Sanborn map, I was shocked to discover that it was still… Read More ›
MissPres News Roundup 7-18-2016
Time for a mid-summer checkup, in photographs, on what’s going on in the preservation world of Mississippi.
Bleak House Cemetery and its Concrete Grave Markers
A couple of weeks ago in the post about outdoor concrete baptistries, “Washed in the Water,” I mentioned that another interesting concrete phenomenon I’ve noticed primarily in African American cemeteries are concrete grave markers. Some are very clearly shaped by… Read More ›
HABS in Mississippi: Lawyer’s Row, Natchez
View of this intersection today: HABS Survey number: HABS MS-10 See also: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/ms0002/ Mississippi Historic Resources Database: “This was a long, low, hip-roofed, stuccoed brick building containing a row of offices, each opening to the street.”
Newspaper Clippings: “Jackson’s Past Could Be Lost”
This article, published in 1973, reminds us that only 40 years ago, the preservation movement was still so embryonic that no one could figure out how to save Mississippi’s grandest residential street, North State Street (aka U.S. Highway 51), which… Read More ›
MDAH’s Community Heritage Preservation Grant Round Opened
According to the MDAH website: Legislature Funds Preservation Grant Program – posted July 01, 2016 MDAH is accepting applications for preservation projects across the state. The 2016 Mississippi legislature has provided funding for another round of the Community Heritage Preservation Grant… Read More ›
Mississippi Loses Preservationist Libby Hollingsworth (1933-2016)
Libby Hollingsworth, one of Mississippi’s most passionate and gracious preservationists, died on Saturday, July 2, 2016, at her home in Port Gibson. If you’ve been around the Mississippi Heritage Trust for even just a little bit, you’ve no doubt met Libby… Read More ›
Preservation in Mississippi 