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Jackson, Mississippi


bobliocatt

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Here are some photos I came across on the net of Jackson, MS. The city has some nice older high-rises. Feel free to add more pics, if you can find any.

capitol aerial

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Plaza Building - 1929

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Standard Life Building - 1929

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Lamar Life Insurance - 1925

lamar.jpg

Mississippi State Capitol

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Jackson City Hall

cityhall.jpg

capitol_lg.jpg

capitol

missi3.jpg

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I've been to Jackson a few times, as it's a smooth 190-mile drive across I-20 from me, which is a closer drive than to some parts of my own state.

To be blunt, I've never been overly impressed with Jackson as a city & I'm not just being a state booster when I say I like every one of Alabama's medium- and large-sized cities better. Even within Mississippi, some of the smaller cities seem more interesting in some ways (Natchez has especially nice antebellum architecture, Mississippi's three largest universities are in Hattiesburg, Starkville, and Oxford,

Columbus has the largest number of downtown lofts in MS, and Tunica and Biloxi have tons going on with casino-related development).

However, things do appear to be looking up for Jackson, perhaps in a pretty big way. The Nissan factory is a huge, huge boost to the economy & is larger than any of Alabama's auto plants. Jackson does usually attract at least one big-time international touring showcase each year. I think it's Dresden china this year. Jackson does a better job of attracting and promoting such cultural showcases than any other city in AL or MS. There are proposals for a $100-million convention center and possibly a new AA-baseball stadium, and retail appears to be picking up with commitments from national names like Bass Pro.

When visiting Jackson, I do recommend a pleasant little place called LeFleur's Bluff (Jackson's original name) State Park. It includes a nature center with an aquarium and some nature trails.

If you're visiting Jackson from the east, I recommend spending a little time in Meridian, also. Although Meridian isn't that much to look at now, it used to be the second largest city in MS, and though its downtown doesn't cover many blocks, it is good for a quick look, including a 15-story tower, some public art (carousel horses), and Weidmann's restaurant, which has been around in some form since the late 1800s. They're also refurbishing a wonderful old opera house, but that will take another year or more.

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Nice finds, Lakelander.

My first time in downtown Jackson was surprising, too. I didn't expect to see many office buildings. The hotel (Crown Plaza?) is very nice and it seems to have a lot of office workers. That being said, downtown was still pretty dead the last time I was there. It's not really living up to its potential.

Druidcity, do you know if the King Edward Hotel was ever razed? A few years ago I heard there were plans to tear it down. Also, do you know if they are still trying to revitalize the area between downtown and Jackson State University? That has to be the worst looking neighborhood I've ever seen (this coming from a guy from Flint, MI).

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Here are some photos of the King Edward :

http://www.marklyon.org/travels/King%20Edward%20Hotel/

From what I've read, there are redevelopment plans for the historic hotel:

http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/html-doc/sc_jackson.htm

"Another project in this community is the planned restoration of the historic King Edward Hotel, which is across the street from a brownfield being redeveloped at an estimated cost of $13 million, as a rail transportation center. Redevelopment of the hotel includes an estimated $40 million restoration effort and a $500,000 cleanup. Upon completion, the hotel project is estimated to generate 160 jobs and $250,000 in taxes..."

Some of Jackson's older neighborhoods are rather crummy.

When I last visited (a couple of years ago), I looped around the west side of town to the zoo, and the area looked quite poor.

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Thanks for the links, DC!

Even before I was into urban development, the King Edward and Standard Life building always caught my attention. Also, I forgot about Farish street. One day I was trying to take a shortcut or something and went down that street and was pleasantly surprised once I got past the bad part. It seemed to have potential. Hope all goes well for Jack-town.

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