UPCOMING EVENTS

June 18-19 HPC Boot Camp—Preservation 101

Preservation Commissioner Training Jackson -- Old Capitol House Chambers 9:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m. each day

September 10 10 Most Endangered Places Unveiling Event Jackson 601-354-0200 www.mississippiheritage.com

September 25 Certified Local Government Training

Preservation Commissioner Training Hernando—Gale Center 1:00 —3:30 p.m.

October 13-17 National Historic Preservation Conference

Nashville, Tennessee www.preservationnation.org/resources/training/npc/ 202-588-6100 or conference@nthp.org

October 23-24 Columbus Ghosts & Legends Tour

662.328.0222 or 800.327.2686 www.columbus-ms.org

October 29-31 Southeastern Society of Architectural Historians 2

Annual Meeting Jackson -- Roberts Walthall Hotel and sites in downtown Jackson

Call 662-325.2520 or email mijones@mdah.state.ms.us

for more information about these programs. 100 South State Street ● Post Office Box 571 ● Jackson, MS 39205-0571

601-576-6940 ● www.mdah.state.ms.us/hpres ● msshpo@mdah.state.ms.us

A NEWSLETTER OF THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION DIVISION OF MDAH

Preservation Press

Preserve Protect

Promote

A new way of preserving, protecting, and promoting historic places in Mississippi

The Historic Preservation Division of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History knows that Mississippians care about their historic places. In an effort to raise the awareness of historic places that do matter, staff of the HPD will be contributing to this e-Zine to educate and advocate for the preservation of places in Mississippi. This e-Zine will examine historic buildings, places, and people in Mississippi. Our history is not just in the grand landmarks of our communities, but in the neighborhoods, commercial districts, and rural landscapes found in every community across the state. The intent is to provide thought-provoking information, book reviews relevant to the state of preservation, educational opportunities and articles, and information about events across the state. We also hope to give you names and faces of the people who work in the trenches of historic preservation and to teach the readers about preservation programs. The e-Zine seeks to let local preservationists know they are a part of a larger commu-nity that believes stewardship of historic places is important for the health of our individual communities. In others words, we are not alone—we’re all in this together. This issue focuses on National Register-properties listed in 2008, 2008 Certified Local Government grant pro-jects, exploration of the Modern style of architecture, and a brief biography of one of our state’s leading Modern archi-tects. We’ve also got information about an intense (and free!) two-day preservation training educational event we’re calling Preservation Boot Camp. Feel free to tell us what you want to hear about in future issues and we’ll try to be up to the challenge because we know that historic places matter to you.

HPD STAFF ADMINISTRATION KEN P’POOL—DEPUTY SHPO

JIM WOODRICK—ACTING DIVISION DIRECTOR

CYNTHIA JILES—EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

DELORIS SMITH—RECEPTIONIST ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY SECTION JENNIFER BAUGHN—CHIEF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN

BILL GATLIN—NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES COORDINATOR

MICHELLE JONES—PUBLIC EDUCATION & SPECIAL PROJECTS, NORTHEAST FIELD OFFICE

GWEN JONES—GULF COAST PROGRAMS

SUSIE TIETZ—STATEWIDE SURVEY & CERTIFIED LOCAL GOVERNMENT GRANTS ARCHAEOLOGY SECTION PAM EDWARDS LIEB—CHIEF ARCHAEOLOGIST

DAVID ABBOTT—ARCHAEOLOGIST

JOHN CONNAWAY—ARCHAEOLOGIST DELTA FIELD OFFICE

MARK DINGELDEIN—ARCHAEOLOGIST

JACK ELLIOTT—HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY NORTHEAST FIELD OFFICE

JAYUR MEHTA—ARCHAEOLOGIST WILLIAM THOMPSON—SPECIAL PROJECTS, HISTORICAL MARKERS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SECTION MINGO TINGLE—SECTION HEAD COMMUNITY HERITAGE GRANT PROGRAM

JOE ROHL—GULF COAST PROGRAMS

TODD SANDERS—STATE & FEDERAL INVESTMENT TAX CREDIT PROGRAM REVIEW AND COMPLIANCE SECTION JANICE BANKS—ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

RUSSELL ARCHER—MISSISSIPPI LANDMARK PROGRAM

HAL BELL—REVIEW & COMPLIANCE ASST.

NEW CAPITOL BRENDA DAVIS—ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN GULF COAST FIELD OFFICE RON MILLER—DIRECTOR TREVOR BROWN LEESA HARRIS CHRISTINA JAMES STEVEN MCCUNY JEFF ROSENBERG

HP Staff Sightings

Many of you remember that last summer Todd Sanders put together an intensive two-day workshop for CLG coordinators and commission members here at the MDAH offices in Jackson. Because of the success of that training, we plan to offer the workshop again this year on Thursday and Friday, June 18-19, 2009. We hope that those who were not able to attend last year will make plans to come this year. If you'll ask anyone who was in last year's session, you will find that the time is jam-packed with information and discussion (see below) that will help you as preservation leaders in your community--that's why we're calling it "Preservation Boot Camp"!

• History of Historic Preservation • Architectural History of Mississippi - 1700 to 1876 • Architectural History of Mississippi - 1876 to 1945 • Architectural History of Mississippi – 1945-present • Historic Preservation Law, Local Historic Preserva-

tion Procedures, and the Secretary of the Interiors Standards

• Fundamentals of Historic Inventory Survey • The National Register of Historic Places • The Mississippi Landmark Program • State and Federal Investment Tax Credits • Marker Program • CLG Grant Program For more information contact Michelle Jones at 662-325-2520.

Russell Archer, a Hattiesburg native, earned his Masters of Science in Historic Preserva-tion in 2003 from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Russell joined MDAH in 2006 as a preservation specialist in the technical assistance sec-tion. Today, he works with the review and compliance section as the Missis-sippi Landmark Program coordinator, where he manages the permitting process for almost 900 designated Mississippi Landmark structures. Previously, Russell worked with the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana and the Randolph County Indian Main Street organization.

Preservation Boot Camp

E. L. MALVANEY Born in Jackson, MS, Edgar L. Malvaney studied at Mississippi A & M College for one year before joining the American Expeditionary Force of the U. S. Army and fighting in France during WWI. France was such an inspiring place that he stayed there studying architecture in Le Mans and Paris, coming back to Jackson in 1919. He found work as a draftsman and superintendent for several of Jackson’s new professional, trained architects through the 1920s, including Emmett J. Hull, a cousin who was part of a well-established family of architects and builders important in Jackson. On a national level, Malvaney worked with St. Louis architect Theodore Link when he was in Mississippi designing public buildings in the early 1920s, and for C.H. Lindsley, the famous skyscraper architect in Jackson. He received a special architectural degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1922, based mostly on his studies in France. In 1926, he and Emmett Hull began the partnership Hull & Malvaney. In 1931, he began his own practice. Malvaney was a self-declared Modernist from the beginning of his private practice—his buildings show clean lines, an emphasis on proportion, space and light, but st i l l have a sense of classicism. His architecture can be seen in the grand War Memorial in Jackson and in rural communities where he designed small schools. He died in 1970 after a long and prolific life and a legacy of enduring places.

What Style Is It?

Modernism It’s a pretty safe bet that those of us who are involved in preservation, whether at the state or the local levels, probably didn’t come into the field because we loved Modern buildings. We embraced preservation because we loved the old antebellum houses or the amazing Craftsman bungalows or the wonderful early-20th century courthouses, libraries, and post offices that dot Mississippi. But with the 1940s now receding pretty far back in the rearview mirror and the 1950s just a little in front of that, it’s past time for preservationists to give the buildings of the post-WWII era a second or third look. Some say that Mississippians never embraced Modernism, but the truth stands all around us in practically every town in the state: for at least two decades, Mississippians loved Modern buildings. Schools, city offices, commercial buildings, early suburbs from the postwar period—all bear the mark of Modernism. To the postwar generation, which had been through ten years of very little construction during the Great Depression and then another five years with virtually no new buildings, the clean, solid lines of Modernism symbolized a new world of hope and progress, leaving behind all the old hard times and war. No, these weren’t Modern buildings like the glass houses of Mies van der Rohe or Philip Johnson or those other mostly Northeast architects: they were Modern with a Mississippi twist and they were usually designed by down-home Mississippi architects, only the second generation of native-born architects. Most of the 19th-century architects in Mississippi were not actually from the state—William Nichols, for instance, who designed the Old Capitol, the Governor’s Mansion, and the Lyceum at Ole Miss, was a Scotsman who came to Mississippi by way of North Carolina and Alabama. R.H. Hunt, the famous early 20th-century architect whose public and religious buildings stand as landmarks around the state, operated out of a Chattanooga, Tennessee office. But our Modernist architects by and large grew up in places like Meridian (Chris Risher), Corinth (Thomas Johnston) and Leland (Harold Kaplan). And because the buildings these natives designed don’t really fit into the standard textbook definitions of “International Style” or other styles in the Modernist camp, we Mississippians have a little work to do to survey what’s out there and decide what we think should be our priority for preservation. Modernism was not a monolith—more than one style of building fits under the umbrella, and in our next issue we’ll look at the most common styles within Modernism and check around the state for a few examples.

FY 2008 CLG Grant Projects

The Mississippi Department of Archives & History awarded ten Certified Local Government (CLG) grants in April 2008 to assist communities with local preservation projects. CLG grants are awarded annually using a portion of the Historic Preservation Fund provided to MDAH. These grants require a local funding match of at least 50% and are reimbursement grants. There are currently 53 CLG communities in Mis-sissippi, and all are eligible and encouraged to partici-pate in the grant program. Current projects include architectural surveys in Baldwin, Columbia, Oxford and Vicksburg, providing the foundation for future local district designation and National Register nominations. The surveys also provide valuable information to the State-wide Survey Files compiled by MDAH and made avail-able for researchers. Other projects are bricks and mortar restoration work. The roof of Magnolia Hall, the monumental Greek Revival mansion in downtown Natchez, is being re-paired so that the scored plaster on the exterior can be restored. The sleek 1939 Art Moderne Greyhound Bus Station in Greenwood is receiving interior renovations to better accommodate the offices of the Greenwood Main Street Association. Tupelo is assessing the condition of the circa 1927 Carnation Milk Building—an impressive concrete indus-trial building associated with the dairy industry in Lee County—to decide the best future use. Yazoo City is preparing a historic structure report on the condition of the R. H. Hunt-designed City Hall built in 1906. Jackson and McComb are both in the process of revising their Design Review Guidelines to provide relevant, user friendly, and enforceable architectural guidelines for local historic districts. These projects reflect a diverse stock of historic resources and represent the dynamic and effective partnership that can be achieved between federal, state and local governments. Scheduled for completion by the end of August 2009, the local CLG coordinators should be commended for their contributions to historic preservation efforts in their communities. For more information about the CLG program, go to the National Park Service or MDAH websites www.nps .gov /h i s t o r y /hps / c l g / c l gques t . h tm www.mdah.state.ms.us/hpres/clgprogram.php or call MDAH at 601-576-6940.

Carnation Milk Building, Tupelo

City Hall, Yazoo City

Greyhound Bus Station, Greenwood

Magnolia Hall, Natchez

Lyceum-The Circle Historic District Oxford, Lafayette County National Historic Landmark

The Simmons & Wright Company Store Kewanee, Lauderdale County

Bobo Senior High School Building Clarksdale, Coahoma County

Liberty Hall Utica vicinity, Hinds County

Graham House Paulding vicinity, Jasper County

Broad Street-Church Street Historic District Columbia, Marion County

Greensboro Street Historic District Boundary Extension Starkville, Oktibbeha County

Como Commercial Historic District Como, Panola County

Eaton Elementary School Hattiesburg, Forrest County

Mississippi Foundry & Machine Company Building Jackson, Hinds County

The Beverly Drive-In Theatre Hattiesburg, Forrest County

Young House Canton, Madison County

Greenwood Underpass Greenwood, Leflore County Determination of Eligibility

Mississippi Sites Listed to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008

MISSISSIPPI PROFESSIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION

REVIEW BOARD AT ITS JANUARY MEETING THE MPHPR BOARD CONSIDERED THE FOLLOWING PROPERTIES:

HAYS HOUSE LORMAN, JEFFERSON COUNTY

INDIANOLA HISTORIC DISTRICT INDIANOLA, SUNFLOWER COUNTY

SOUTH LAMAR HISTORIC DISTRICT OXFORD, LAFAYETTE COUNTY

WINONA COMMUNITY CENTER, WINONA, MONTGOMERY COUNTY

WOOLWORTH BUILDING CLARKSDALE, COAHOMA COUNTY THE MPHPR BOARD MEETS ON THE THIRD THURSDAY OF JANUARY, MAY, A N D SE P T E M B E R T O R E V I E W SUBMISSIONS BY STAFF, CONSULTANTS AND INDIVIDUALS BEFORE THE NOMINATIONS ARE FORWARDED TO THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE. IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED TO BE PLACED ON THE AGENDA FOR REVIEW, A NOMINATION MUST BE RECEIVED THREE MONTHS PRIOR TO THE REVIEW BOARD DATE.

The Lyceum-The Circle Historic District on the campus of the University of Mississippi contains twelve resources that were the focus of national attention between September 30 and October 1, 1962, when violent protests erupted after James Meredith, an African-American, enrolled at the University. Segregationist rioters clashed with federal troops enforcing a federal court order requiring the University to admit Meredith. With two deaths, 245 injured, the “Battle of Oxford” was one of the most violent chap-ters in the history of the desegregation of education. It also marked an important turning point in the fed-eral government’s enforcement of court-ordered desegregation and its response to massive resistance to integration. The nomination was written by consultant Gene Ford for the NPS. The district was designated a National Historic Landmark on October 6, 2008.

Lyceum-The Circle Historic District Oxford, Lafayette County

A 1927 two-story brick mercantile store with associated agricultural outbuildings, the Simmons & Wright Store has a large open sales floor and a mezzanine that encircles the interior of the building. The company, founded in 1884 by William Simmons and Tom Wright, served the community as a general store, cotton gin, blacksmith, gas station and feed store. Original fixtures include shelves, display cabinets, wood stove, cash register and a large walk-in safe. Outbuild-ings include a large warehouse, cotton gin, seed houses and the remnants of the blacksmith shop. The nomination was written by Robert Pickett, a descendent of founding partner William Simmons, and the building was listed on the Na-tional Register on March 13.

Bobo Senior High School Building Clarksdale, Coahoma County

The Bobo Senior High School, designed by Meridian architect P.J. Krouse, was completed in 1930. It represented a period of growth for the Clarksdale Municipal School District under the leadership of Superintendent Harvey B. Heidelberg, whose accomplishments included construction of new school buildings for both white and black students. A state-of-the art institution with two large science rooms, a large gymnasium with locker rooms, and a 250-seat theater equipped to show motion pictures, it is the only surviving school building marking a period of effective and progressive school administration policies in Clarksdale. The Bobo family cemetery is a contributing resource. Alkie Edwards, Special Project Coordinator for the Clarksdale Municipal School District, wrote the nomination. Listed on the National Regis-ter on March 19.

The Simmons & Wright Store Kewanee, Lauderdale County

Liberty Hall, also known as Mt. Arista, is a beautiful example of an antebellum Mississippi galleried planter’s cottage. Built for Thomas G. Ervin and his wife, the former Martha Sumrall, in 1859, the center-hall, double-pile residence has a full undercut porch supported by square Greek Revival columns. Interior features, which include paneled wainscot-ing, Greek key door surrounds and a fleur-de-lis pattern on the staircase, establish Liberty Hall as an elegant country home. Supporting structures including a barn and mechanical shed remind visitors that the home was once the center of a working plantation. Homeowners Richard and Betty Stockett wrote the nomination and the house was listed to the National Register on March 19.

Liberty Hall Utica vicinity, Hinds County

The Graham House is an excellent local example of a rural vernacular Greek Revival galleried planter’s cottage. The house, begun c. 1860 and completed after the war, typifies a popular Mississippi house form. Raised on brick piers, it is one and one-half stories tall with a center hall flanked by two rooms on each side. Tall ceilings with full-height windows are common planter’s cottage features. The full-width undercut porch is supported by octagonal columns which, family tradition holds, were shipped up the Chickasawhay River from Mobile. Supporting structures include a barn, smokehouse and chicken coop. Martha Graham Bucciantini, a descendant of the original owner, wrote the nomination. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 10, 2008.

Broad Street-Church Street Historic District Columbia, Marion County

The Broad Street-Church Street Historic District includes 272 residential, commercial, and institutional buildings located east of downtown Columbia and represents a broad range of architectural styles: Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Craftsman and Spanish Colonial Revival. The Columbia High School, designed by Overstreet and Town in 1938, may be the state’s best early example of the International style, attracting national attention when it opened. The historic district visually expresses the growth of Columbia from its early beginnings in the 1880s through the 1930s. The district especially captures the architectural changes that occurred with implementation of the Balance Agriculture with Industry (BAWI) program in this Piney Woods town. David Preziosi, executive director of the Mississippi Heritage trust, wrote the nomination. It was listed on July 8, 2008.

Graham House Paulding vicinity, Jasper County

The Greensboro Street Historic District added 66 new resources to an existing district and extended the boundaries to include properties located south of the district along Louisville Street and north of the district along West Main Street. The oldest resource added to the district is the Presbyterian Cemetery that was established in 1834. The residential construction along Louisville Street complements the original resources found on Greensboro Street, while other areas added to the district include more modest homes, which contribute to the district’s significance by reflecting the rhythm, scale and material of their older neighbors. The extended boundaries and period of significance provide a more complete understanding of the continuing development of this Starkville neighborhood. Architectural styles represented in the district include Greek Revival, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Tudor, and Crafts-man. Michelle Jones and Susan Tietz, MDAH staff architectural historians, wrote the nomination. The district was listed July 10, 2008.

Greensboro Street Historic District-Boundary Extension Starkville, Oktibbeha County

The Como Commercial Historic District includes 22 resources, primarily commercial buildings located on North Main Street. Churches bracket the district with the Neo-Classical Como Methodist Church on the south and the Carpenter Gothic Holy Innocents Episcopal Church on the north. Built in 1872, Holy Innocents is the oldest building in the district. The majority of commercial buildings were built to handle commerce related to the railroad and the steady export of agricultural products from farms and plantations in the surrounding area. The district presents a diverse mix of significant historic structures that gives Como its unique his-toric district. David Preziosi, executive director of the Mis-sissippi Heritage Trust, wrote the nomination. The district was listed July 10, 2008.

Eaton Elementary School Hattiesburg, Forrest County

The Eaton Elementary School is significant for its association with education for the role it played in providing public schooling to generations of Hattiesburg residents. The original two-story wing of the school was built in 1905, marking a period of rapid population growth in Hattiesburg following the completion of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad in 1897. The building, probably designed by local architect Robert E. Lee, exemplifies many characteristics of the Romanesque Revival style, most notably the use of rounded arches for door and window openings and smooth wall finishes. A one-story brick addition with an auditorium/cafeteria and three classrooms, designed by Hattiesburg architects Hearon & McCleskey and built in 1949, marked a second period of rapid growth and a building boom in Hattiesburg. Jennifer Baughn, MDAH Chief Architectural Historian, and Bill Gatlin, MDAH architectural historian, wrote the nomination. The building was listed July 16, 2008.

Como Commercial Historic District Como, Panola County

The Mississippi Foundry and Machine Company was founded in 1900 as a manufacturer of agricultural implements. The oldest portions of the building were built in 1905, with additions in 1914 and 1918. The foundry wing was replaced in 1925, completing the construction of the current complex. It stands today as a well-preserved example of a substantial mill-type building of brick and heavy timber that was vitally important to Mississippi’s economic development during the first quarter of the twentieth century. Richard Cawthon, consulting architectural historian, wrote the nomination. The building was listed on July 16, 2008.

Mississippi Foundry & Machine Company Building Jackson, Hinds County

Herby and Sue Hargroder opened the Beverly Drive-In Theatre, the largest in Mississippi, in 1948. The Hargroder family operated the theater until 1981 when they leased the theater to other operators. The lease was terminated in 1987 after the operators began showing “adult films.” The theater reopened in 2001 and operated until Hurricane Katrina damaged the screen, concession booth and ticket office. The Beverly had features similar to other drive-in theaters such as the large projection screen, paved parking lot, and the free-standing concession stand and projection booth. A feature unique to the Beverly was the Hargroder family home, built into the screen tower. The soundproof three-bedroom, two-bath home has a sun porch and two-car garage. The Beverly Drive-In Theatre played an important role in the lives of several generations of Hattiesburg residents, many with fond memories of evenings spent at the theater. Russell Archer and Bill Gatlin, MDAH staff, wrote the nomination. The theater was listed on July 30, 2008.

Young House Canton, Madison County

Built in 1928 by lumber yard owner Samuel Young, the Young House is an excellent example of a Craftsman bungalow. The house features original details such as low-pitched roofs, exposed rafters, heavy columns and four-over-one double-hung sash windows. Interior details include built-in cabinets, old growth heart pine floors and 15-light French doors separating the living and dining rooms. The house been painstakingly restored by the cur-rent owners. The nomination was written by the home-owner, Joe Rohl. The house was listed on November 10, 2008.

The Beverly Drive-In Theatre Hattiesburg, Forrest County

The Greenwood Underpass was built to allow traffic on Main Street to pass under the railroad tracks of the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad. Built in 1938 by the Mississippi State Highway Department, utilizing WPA funds, the underpass contributed to the commercial growth of Greenwood and enhanced its position as a transportation hub. The underpass met two important WPA goals: eliminating rail grade crossings and constructing new highways. Innovative engineering techniques allowed the railroad to remain in operation during the construction. The nomination was written by Marion Howard, a member of the board of Main Street Greenwood, Inc. Due to owner objection to listing, the Greenwood Underpass was determined eligible for listing by the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places on November 12, 2008.

Greenwood Underpass Greenwood, Leflore County