The last time I inspected the
Hinds County Armory in 2010, it was a wet mess with rain pouring through the decayed roof and soggy debris and mud on the floor. It was a disgrace. The
Preservation in Mississippi blog documented in 2009 how the armory had been shamefully neglected. But possibly this historic building will not succumb to the elements. In July of 2012, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History secured a $600,000 grant from the Federal government to complete some critical repairs and preserve the historic Gothic Revival building. According to WLBT News, the funds will be used, ""Initially to stabilize it, put a new roof on it and then stabilize the walls and then the funds will allow to clean the inside of it and on the outside of it make it look like a handsome building again," said H.T. Holmes, the Director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History."
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| Hinds County Armory, northeast corner. |
The shell was sober and sturdy. Note the Gothic architectural details like the arched doors and the roofline with a pseudo-parapet.
I sneaked (snuck) in and watched workmen tearing out the roof and debris. This is a major effort. Will $600,000 be enough to clean out the debris, stabilize the shell, and install a new roof? We hope so. At least we have not lost this handsome building.
Photographs taken with a Panasonic G3 digital camera, with RAW files processed with Photo Ninja.
July 2, 2013 Update: This morning, a fire broke out in the armory. Cause and extent of damage are still unknown,
Photograph by Joe Ellis, Jackson Clarion Ledger newspaper. Here is the
article. Fortunately, the damage was not too severe.
3 comments:
You need to come back and visit. The fire damage was minimal, thank God. It actually burned out a lot of the debris that would otherwise have to be hauled out. Now the new roof is almost on and the front tower has a new subroof. The edging around the roof has been cleaned and the old paint has been removed. It is looking much better!
Jim
I drove by the armory yesterday to get some photos. I got some good shots of the outside of the building. The front entry is boarded up nicely and the other entrances are secured. I didnt even realize there was a fire until looking at the article today! You can barely tell it happened, except for a smoke stain coming from a couple of the vent holes above the windows on the east side of the building. I was able to peek inside one of the doors and see that the entire floor is clear of debris and a Bobcat is still parked inside, hinting to further cleanup plans.
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