Belhaven/Belhaven Heights
Chalmers Institute/University of Holly Springs
Irving Hotel
L.Q.C. Lamar House
Mississippi River Basin Model
City of Oxford
Queen City Hotel
Round Island Lighthouse
Taborian Hospital
Westbrook House

Belhaven/Belhaven Heights
Jackson, Mississippi
Belhaven and Belhaven Heights are fine examples of "streetcar subdivisions" built in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that sprang up all over the country. Widely popular when they were built, these subdivisions still offer quality housing relatively close to their city centers. At first blush, Belhaven seems to be the model of a properly preserved, historically significant subdivision. However, deeper inspection reveals some challenges that the neighborhood should address: absentee ownership, commercial corridor erosion, and a threat from the widening of Interstate 55. This neighborhood is the last well-preserved historic area close to downtown Jackson. The time has come for a cohesive plan and support from neighborhood residents, commercial enterprises, and local government in order to combat and prevail over this area’s impending threats.

Update
Although the City of Jackson has designated most of the area as a historic district and notwithstanding the diligent support of various neighborhood groups (Belhaven Improvement Association, Belhaven Heights Community Association, and Greater Belhaven Security Association), the neighborhood’s continued success is constantly challenged by urban blight.   To combat this challenge, the neighborhood formed the Greater Belhaven Neighborhood Foundation (GBNF) in late 1999 to work on long-range preservation and revitalization through community redevelopment, security and green space enhancement, and neighborhood communication.  To further this work, the neighborhood was designated an Urban Main Street community in 2003.  Through the Main Street program, GBNF is working with the City of Jackson to redesign Fortification Street to be pedestrian-oriented and neighborhood-friendly, and to re-develop the Fortification, Jefferson and North State street areas for mixed use (restaurants, shops and stores, offices, apartments and condos, residential cottages, etc.)

One of GBNF’s missions is to work closely with the municipal court system to stem deteriorating properties and promote rehabilitation of run-down buildings.  To stand behind this mission, GBNF renovated a circa-1925 Fortification Street cottage as its headquarters.  The renovation serves as an example of adaptive reuse–one that is hoped to spur even more revitalization so important for that corridor and throughout the area.

Chalmers Institute/University of Holly Springs
Holly Springs, Mississippi
The Chalmers Institute in Holly Springs is the oldest university building and the second oldest school building in the state. It was originally built in 1837 with publicly raised funds, becoming part of the University of Holly Springs in 1838. The intent was for the school to become the state university in Mississippi, an effort that ultimately failed when the University of Mississippi was located in Oxford. Subsequently, this building operated as the Chalmers Institute and then the Holly Springs Normal Institute for many years. Its masonry construction is rare for a structure that was built in, what was then, the frontier.

Update
No progress has been made on this site and the building with its 4.5 acres is currently for sale. 

Irving Hotel
Greenwood, Mississippi
During its heyday, Greenwood's Hotel Irving enjoyed a reputation as one of the finest hotels in Mississippi. Built in 1917 as a commercial adaptation of the Colonial Revival style, the brick structure soon became a mecca for businessmen and travelers. Of note, Joe Stein operated this hotel for many years. Despite its prominent location across from the main post office, the hotel has been vacant for several decades. While an effort to revive this property can be traced back over twenty-five years, no true consensus on what should be done has ever been reached. In the meantime, this fine structure teeters on the brink of total disrepair. The hotel’s revitalization would give all of downtown Greenwood a much-needed economic boost.

Update - SAVED
Viking Range Corporation acquired this Colonial Revival brick structure, as it has several other buildings in downtown Greenwood, and completed the renovation of the building, turning it into a world-class boutique hotel.  The renovation has spurred additional work in downtown Greenwood.  The hotel was renamed “The Alluvian” and reopened in 2003.  Its fifty guest rooms accommodate the many guests that the area attracts. 

L.Q.C. Lamar House
Oxford, Mississippi
Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar was probably the leading Mississippi statesman of the nineteenth century. Prior to the civil war, he was a congressional representative. At the outbreak of hostilities, he drew up the Mississippi Secession Ordinance. Serving during the war in the Confederate military with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, he was recalled to Richmond, Virginia by Jefferson Davis in 1862. At Davis' behest, Lamar resigned his military commission in order to accept an appointment as a traveling ambassador for the Confederate State Department. After Reconstruction, he served in the U.S. Senate, and was Secretary of the Interior under Grover Cleveland. Later, he became a Justice of the Supreme Court. Built in 1857, his Oxford home is of the Greek Revival style. A classic case of “Demolition by Neglect”, the last remaining house in the state with ties to Lamar will be lost without intervention. If this house were in Virginia it would be a state shrine.

Update
The Oxford-Lafayette County Heritage Foundation secured a one-year purchase option for the historic L.Q.C. Lamar House and the Legislature recently approved funding for the acquisition.  The Foundation now owns the house and is working on plans for the restoration of the building.  The site has received several grants; however, it has been difficult to procure the funds to match the grants.  Work on stabilizing the house will begin soon so that the house will be ready for a major restoration when more money becomes available.

Mississippi River Basin Model
Hinds County, Mississippi
The Mississippi River Basin Model is the largest small-scale working model in existence. The reason it is so large is simply because any scale model of the Mississippi River Valley will be large. Moreover, finding a suitable scale to properly model the various hydraulic events in the valley proved to be a challenge during the design stage of its construction. The resulting model covered several acres. A working scale model of the Chesapeake Bay is the only other similar model in the United States.
Started in 1943 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Mississippi River Basin Model is designed to study floods, drought and other weather events. The early excavation was carried out by German prisoners of war, who were captured in North Africa when Rommel's Afrika Korps was destroyed by Anglo-American forces. Later concrete work by local Jackson contractors. The model was completed and ready for use in the early 1950's. Interestingly, a day on the river can be simulated in just 5.4 minutes using the model. Although it was useful for predicting flood limits for four decades, the model was decommissioned in the early 1990's when it was replaced by computer software for flood control modeling and simulation. Currently owned by the City of Jackson, the model is in fair shape; however, being outdoors subjects it to increased threats.

Update
In 1993, the model and the land on which it sits was deeded to the City of Jackson. A city park was built around the model, which is now unused and mostly hidden from view by the dense undergrowth that the German POWs worked so hard to remove almost 60 years ago. Despite its sadly deteriorated condition, the Basin Model stands as a monument to man's desire to understand and control the mighty Mississippi River.  No progress has been made on this site.

City of Oxford
Oxford, Mississippi
Courthouse square, tree-lined streets, historic neighborhoods, downtown shopping, campus traditions . . . Like Athens, Gainesville, Tuscaloosa and a dozen other small- to medium-sized southern college towns, the city of Oxford is on the cusp of losing the special character that defines it and draws such an appreciative audience. Despite good intentions, the resulting pressure for development to service the southern-savvy tourist, increased student enrollment and loyal retiring fans undermines the very character we all want to experience.

Update
The City of Oxford has recently amended the Preservation Ordinance to further protect the historic character of the City.  The City has adopted design review guidelines that are currently implemented in the City.  Also, progress is being made to designate the Courthouse Square as a local historic district.

As part of the city-wide preservation efforts, the University of Mississippi acquired the Oxford Depot in 1983 and partnered with the town of Oxford and the Mississippi Department of Transportation to restore the building.   Significant restoration has been completed on the property.  The building provides meeting space for groups of 50 to 60 people.  Construction was funded by a federal grant, with matching funds provided by the University of Mississippi Foundation, First National Bank, and private individuals.  In 2004, the site won an MHT Award of Merit for its reuse.  The building has also been designated a Mississippi Landmark.

Queen City Hotel
Columbus, Mississippi
Located on 7th Avenue in Columbus, the Queen City Hotel was formerly the social and cultural hub of the Columbus African-American community. Originally converted into a hotel in 1914 by blues guitarist Robert Walker, it was sold in 1931 to Ed Bush who operated the business for many years. During this era, this section of Columbus became the business center of the African-American community, with a number of shops opened on 7th Avenue, 19th Street, and 20th Street. The strong will of Ed Bush was the glue that held this small community together; and after his health started to fail, the businesses began to fail as well. The present owners of the structure have a grant to operate a museum documenting the African-American community in Columbus. However, the structure is in poor repair, and funds must be raised to stabilize the structure before the grant may be awarded.

Update
Portions of the building were destroyed by storms in the Columbus area in 2002, and there is very little remaining of the original structure—only the front wall remains standing.  After the storms, the legislature approved funds to plan for reconstructing the building, and at present a local architect is preparing drawings of the building.

Round Island Lighthouse
Off the coast of Pascagoula, Mississippi
Located off the shore of Pascagoula, the Round Island Lighthouse was severely damaged by Hurricane Georges in 1998. During the storm, the structure toppled from the undercutting flow of waves. Although the city obtained federal emergency funds to stabilize the foundation and prevent further wave incursions, significant work remains in order to restore the structure. Built in 1849 to replace an earlier lighthouse, it remained in operation until 1944. During the late nineteenth century, it served as a quarantine station for yellow fever epidemics. Curiously, the U.S. Navy briefly blockaded Round Island when it was used as an encampment by a private army that had decided to invade Cuba for fun and profit. Ahead of its time, this little known army was shown the error of its ways by the Federal gunboats, thus the real invasion of Cuba would have to wait a few years.

Update
The City of Pascagoula has rebuilt the 11-acre beach around the lighthouse and secured it with a concrete breakwater.  They received a CIAP grant and planted native vegetation on the new beach last September to minimize erosion.  Funds are available from a TEA-21 grant for restoration, but finding the match money has been a problem even though the lighthouse has received $250,000 from the Community Heritage Grant Program administered by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

Taborian Hospital
Mound Bayou, Mississippi
Like its host city, the Taborian Hospital in Mound Bayou is unique and remarkable. Built by the McKissick Construction Company of Nashville, Tennessee in the modern style, the hospital was dedicated in 1942. At a time when medical facilities for African-Americans were almost non-existent, it offered a 42-bed facility through the auspices of the Taborians and Meharry Medical School. The Taborians were a forward-thinking African-American fraternal organization that originally offered burial insurance to their members. When it became clear that this group’s needs were not being addressed by any existing caregivers, the Taborians expanded their services to include medical care. Staffed by medical personnel from Meharry Medical School in Nashville, the hospital operated until the middle 1960's. At this time, Medicare finally forced the integration of formerly segregated hospitals, and the small scale of Taborian could no longer economically compete with the larger Delta hospitals.

Update
The Taborian Hospital is still vacant and funding for renovation has not been acquired. The Knights and Daughters of Tabor would like to establish a cultural center in the building if it is renovated.

Westbrook House
Jackson, Mississippi
Located in Jackson's beautiful Mynelle Gardens, Westbrook House was built in 1921 by William Wall Westbrook. The brick structure was built in the Mediterranean Revival style, popular in that era. Featuring a totally enclosed center patio, superb woodwork and interesting windows, the house was designed by noted Jackson architect Noah Webster Overstreet. Overstreet is described by current State Architectural Historian Richard Cawthon as "...the most influential and prolific architect in the history of the state." Originally the private residence of the Westbrook family, the house was later used for a thriving flower business. In 1973, the house and gardens were sold to the City of Jackson. The structure was used for wedding receptions and parties for some years. Currently in a state of disrepair, the house is badly in need of brick work and a new roof.

Update
The City of Jackson began restoration on the exterior in 2000 which has now been completed returning the facade back to its original grandeur.  The City acquired a Community Heritage Grant from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History for interior renovations.  Construction began on the interior in mid-2004, and two-thirds of the interior is now complete.  After exhausting current funding, the restoration is just short of completion.  Once finished, the house will again be used for weddings, receptions and small parties.

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