 
MDAH Awards More Than $67,000 in Preservation Grants to CLG Communities
The Department of Archives and History has awarded grants totaling more than $67,000 to fifteen preservation projects in Certified Local Government communities across Mississippi. Amounts range from $11,000 to replace the roof of the Strand Theater in Kosciusko to $300 for a National Register plaque in Como.
“We are very pleased with the variety of projects and how they tie in with the growing heritage tourism across Mississippi,” said Certified Local Government grants administrator Susan Tietz. “All of the communities put a lot of thought into their proposals.”
The 2009 grants are as follows:
Aberdeen, $8,000, for the exterior repair and painting of the M & O Depot, a Mississippi Landmark.
Biloxi, $3,500, for the revision and publication of Design Review Guidelines and the Buildings of Biloxi: An Architectural Survey.
Brandon, $1,700, for the survey of historic resources of downtown Brandon, the preparation of a National Register nomination the downtown district, and the preparation of a National Register of nomination for the Brandon Cemetery.
Canton, $6,000, for a collaborative project with Hattiesburg through the National Trust for Historic Preservation to address the problem of demolition by neglect in both communities.
Como, $300, for the design and purchase of signage for the National Register designation for the downtown historic district.
Corinth, $10,156, for the creation of a Preservation Master Plan to preserve, repair, and restore the Verandah House and site.
Grenada, $5,000, for the restoration of electrical service to the National Register listed Masonic Temple.
Hattiesburg, $6,000, for a collaborative project with Canton through the National Trust for Historic Preservation to address the problem of demolition by neglect in both communities.
Hernando, $2,500, for an architectural survey of an area along Elm Street for inclusion in the Commerce Street Historic District and for the creation of signage, a walking tour, and a brochure for the district.
Indianola, $2,000, for the continuation of an architectural survey within a selected portion of the locally designated historic district.
Kosciusko, $11,000, for the replacement of the roof of the Strand Theater.
Ocean Springs, $3,000, for the update and revision of the Design Review Guidelines.
Oxford, $2,500, for the design, printing, and distribution of two brochures about locally designated historic districts, one of which is geared toward homeowners and living within a district and the other, which is aimed at educating the general public.
Pascagoula, $5,000, for the land survey, cleaning, and fencing of the historic Grant cemetery.
Summit, $1,300, for a survey of historical resources to help determine historic district boundaries and for the National Register nomination of the district.
The Certified Local Government program is a federal-state-local partnership designed to assist communities in dealing with diverse preservation needs through funding and technical assistance. CLG communities may apply for annual grants to undertake preservation projects of importance to the community. Grants may be used for such diverse projects as the restoration of historic buildings; historical, architectural, or archaeological site inventory work; preparation of nominations to the National Register of Historic Places; educational programs; and staff support for new historic preservation commissions.
Funding for the grants comes from the Historic Preservation Fund, a federal grants program appropriated by the U.S. Congress and administered by the National Park Service, which provides financial support to State Historic Preservation Offices—in Mississippi the Historic Preservation Division of MDAH.
To become a CLG, a community must adopt a preservation ordinance establishing a preservation commission in accordance with federal and state guidelines. Once the commission has been established, application for CLG status may be made to the National Park Service through the Department of Archives and History. MDAH works closely with local government officials and citizens to help them create and manage a workable local historic preservation program. To learn more about the CLG program, contact Susan Tietz in the Historic Preservation Division of MDAH, 601-576-6578, or see the MDAH Web site, http://www.mdah.state.ms.us/hpres/clgprogram.html.
The fifty-three CLG communities in Mississippi are Aberdeen, Amory, Baldwyn, Biloxi, Blue Mountain, Brandon, Canton, Carrollton, Centreville, Claiborne County, Clarksdale, Cleveland, Columbia, Columbus, Como, Corinth, Eupora, Friars Point, Greenwood, Grenada, Hattiesburg, Hernando, Holly Springs, Indianola, Jackson, Kosciusko, Laurel, Leland, Lexington, Louisville, Magnolia, McComb, Meridian, Mound Bayou, Natchez, Newton, Ocean Springs, Osyka, Oxford, Pascagoula, Philadelphia, Port Gibson, Raymond, Ripley, Tunica, Tupelo, Vaiden, Vicksburg, West, West Point, Winona, Woodville, and Yazoo City.
The Mississippi Department of Archives and History is the second-oldest state department of archives and history in the United States. A comprehensive historical agency, the department collects, preserves, and provides access to the archival resources of the state, administers various museums and historic sites, and oversees statewide programs for historic preservation, government records management, and publications. The department is headquartered in the state-of-the-art William F. Winter Archives and History Building, located on the corner of North and Amite Streets in downtown Jackson. For more information call 601-576-6850 or see the Web site, http://www.mdah.state.ms.us.
Main Street Partners with Downtown Jackson, Mississippi Market
Downtown Jackson Partners Radio Show
Downtown Jackson Partners is excited to be hosting a weekly radio show on WJNT News Talk 1180 AM. The "Heartbeat of Jackson" will air from 7:30 a.m. until 8:30 a.m. each Tuesday and will be co-sponsored by Mississippi Main Street, Sal & Mookies/Broad Street/Bravos, the Two Lakes Foundation and Paul Moak Autos.
Each week the show will host guests who are making a difference in our Capital City. Developers, civic, political and business leaders will be featured each Tuesday to bring you "up close and personal" with current projects.
Mississippi Market Wholesale Show
Mississippi Main Street Association is a proud partner of the Mississippi Market Wholesale Show. The Market is an annual program of the Mississippi Development Authority and will be held June 4-5, 2009 at the Mississippi Trademart in Jackson.
Main Street managers are bringing merchants from their towns to buy merchandise from Mississippi companies. It is Main Street's second year to partner with the Mississippi Market.
Main Street managers present at Historic Preservation Conference
Two Main Street directors discussed their work to save endangered places in their Mississippi towns at a recent Historic Preservation Conference in Jackson.
Allison Windham, Director of the Ripley Main Street Association and Virgi Lindsay, Director of the Greater Belhaven Neighborhood Association discussed efforts to save endangered places in their towns.
Tippah County Jail
Windham discussed efforts of the Ripley Main Street Association to save the Tippah County Jail building. She explained how grant money was acquired to rehabilitate the building. Windham has been the Ripley Main Street Director since 2003.
Sam Kaye, preservation architect for the project, discussed the adaption of the former jail into the county records center. Kaye has been involved with Main Street for many years and has served as Director of Design Services.
Built in 1938, the Tippah County Jail was constructed in the Art Moderne style, which makes it unique in Ripley, and rare in the state. The most striking details of the building are on the façade where the words “County Jail” are spelled out vertically, and geometric bands adorn the area between the upper and lower windows. The building was in use until 2000 when it was vacated for a new jail across the street.
In 2002, Tippah County Jail was designated a Mississippi Landmark, and in 2005, was formally named to the National Register of Historic Places. Also in 2005, the Mississippi Heritage Trust named the Tippah County Jail one of the 10 Most Endangered Historic Places in Mississippi.
In 2006, Ripley Main Street Association was awarded a grant from the Mississippi Community Heritage Preservation Grant program. Work on the building was completed in June 2008.
Belhaven/Belhaven Heights Neighborhoods
Lindsay discussed the efforts of the Greater Belhaven Neighborhood Foundation to help the Belhaven neighborhoods and their projects succeed.
Both neighborhoods are fine examples of “streetcar subdivisions” built in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Successful revitalization efforts have taken place in these Jackson neighborhoods. Despite the success, they are constantly battling urban blight.
Projects include working with the municipal court system to address deteriorating buildings and promote rehabilitation of run-down buildings. The Greater Belhaven Neighborhood Association is an urban program of the Mississippi Main Street Association.
Lindsay has been a resident of Belhaven for nearly 25 years. She became the first Executive Director of the Greater Belhaven Neighborhood Foundation in 2001. Since then, the Foundation has created the Greater Belhaven Market, the first producers-only market in Mississippi; rezoned commercial areas; developed a comprehensive land use plan; organized an effort to redesign Fortification Street and made improvements to Belhaven Park.
Other endangered places in Mississippi discussed at the conference included Old Bridgefort Road in Jackson, Historic Rosenwald Schools, the White House Hotel in Biloxi, the Cedars in Fondren, the Flannegan-Lowry House in Jackson and the Farish Street Historic District and Kind Edward Hotel in Jackson.
The conference was held at the newly restored Old Capitol Museum, which is the most historic building in the state of Mississippi.
By Jeannie Waller
In Photo (left to right): Jeannie Waller, Mississippi Main Street Association, David Preziosi, Mississippi Heritage Trust; Virgi Lindsay, Greater Belhaven Neighborhood Association; Sam Kaye, Luke Peterson Kaye Architects, Columbus; Allison Windham and Odalene Coley, Ripley Main Street Association)
Downtown Gulfport Sees Results
If you were to visit downtown Gulfport today as opposed to two years ago, you may not know you were in the same city.
Three and a half years since Hurricane Katrina slammed the Mississippi coast, Gulfport and other coast communities are beginning to see the fruition of their hard work rehabilitating their wounded cities.
Gulfport, the largest of the coastal cities, has scrubbed its face clean due to a Master Façade Implementation Plan conceived in part by a Mississippi Main Street Association (MMSA) Resource Team in 2006.
More than 60 downtown buildings are now under construction, having received Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) grants for infrastructure repairs and façade rehabilitations.
“The transformation is truly amazing to see,” said Bob Wilson, Executive Director of the Mississippi Main Street Association, “it is so exciting to see some of the design renderings inspired by our resource team now implemented.”
The façade program began better than a year ago, when many of downtown Gulfport’s buildings were still sitting in storm-damaged condition, deteriorating by the day.
Under the leadership of Executive Director Lisa Bradley, the Gulfport Main Street Association (GMSA), is overseeing the implementation of the MMSA façade program, including grant allocation in restoring more than 80 exteriors on downtown buildings. In addition to the MMSA Resource Team, Johnny Olsen and Eley Guild Hardy Architects worked with the GMSA to design and implement the program.
The GMSA is also overseeing a major redevelopment of the streetscape downtown, which includes new streetlights and landscaped sidewalks, along with bringing back the old, historic boulevards downtown that once were lined with massive palm trees and other plants down the medians.
“The hard work is finally paying off,” Bradley said.
According to Bradley, the program’s total is $4.425 million, the largest façade grant program in the nation’s history. The buildings under construction are expected completion by August 2009.
Since Hurricane Katrina, MMSA has provided technical services to its Main Street Member towns, including Gulfport, Biloxi, Picayune, Pascagoula, Hancock County and Ocean Springs.
The MMSA is a 20-year-old state program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Mississippi Development Authority. MMSA is a long-term, incremental approach to downtown revitalization based on the 4-Point Approach of Organization, Promotion, Design and Economic Restructuring.
Wilson said he hopes more of the 56 Main Street communities will use grant monies wisely and put the money toward restoring downtown buildings.
The transformation of buildings has proven to be an effective economic development tool as the improvements attract investors and stimulate even more development.
“The difference a cost-efficient façade renovation makes to the overall look and feel of a town is truly remarkable,” Wilson said.
A building forever alters the landscape, and the downtown buildings of Gulfport tell a great story.
Bradley jokes that she never wants to hear the word ‘façade’ again, but she proudly shows every building that has received a fresh face.
“Almost daily, I receive positive comments and emails from people who have been downtown,” she said.
By Jeannie Waller
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Phillip’s Grocery
Holly Springs features daily home and garden tours, historic museums, art galleries, shopping, camping, world famous burgers at Phillip’s Grocery and a one-of-a-kind shrine to Elvis (Graceland Too) you have to see to believe! |
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