City Hall replaced the previous one built in 1885 and designed by Gustav Torgerson (it is also spelled as Tergenson), who also designed the Riley Center, which was known as the Grand Opera House and Marks-Rothenberg Department Store building. The 1885 city hall was a large brick building with a tall clock tower. In the 1950s and 1960s, the current city hall was modernized, which included installing drop ceilings for air conditioning ducts that covered the original decorative plaster moulding. Many of these changes damaged the building in the long run, particularly the terra cotta tiles. In the mid-2000s, a years-long renovation project began and was finally completed in January 2012.

Meridian City Hall was built in 1915 and is a good example of Beaux-Arts architecture.

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Designed by Mississippi architect P.J. Krouse in the Beaux-Arts style, Meridian City Hall was built 1915. It is situated prominently on a public square in downtown Meridian and is a few steps away from the Meridian Museum of Art. The building includes a large staircase, fluted Ionic columns, and decorative terra cotta palm leaves. It is part of the Meridian Multiple Resource Area, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Meridian City Hall

This walk through Meridian begins at St. Patrick's Catholic Church and the Meridian Museum of Art before stops at several historic downtown buildings. The tour concludes at the Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum and Union Station. 

Meridian's Catholic history dates back to 1853 when missionaries, who were among the first to settle in the area, arrived from Paulding County. The first Catholic church was built at this location in 1866. Two years later, the church's pastor, Father Louis Vally, arrived and became a leader in the community. Among his accomplishments were organizing the town's first fire fighter brigade and helping establish a convent in 1877. During the Yellow Fever Epidemic he cared for the sick and buried those who died. He also led the effort to built St. Patrick's Church in 1886. He is buried on the grounds just outside of the church; his grave is the only one in the city not located in a cemetery. Next to the church is the parish school, which was established in 1873. The present school building was constructed in the 1960s.

One of two Catholic churches in Meridian (the other is St. Joseph's), St. Patrick's Church is historically significant for its Gothic Revival architecture. It was built in 1886 and designed by German immigrant Alfred. J.R.E. Zucker, who was living in Vicksburg at the time. The brick church features a four-story square tower with a round-arched balustrade at the top, lancet windows with stained glass, and corner buttresses. The church is a contributing property of the Meridian Multiple Resource Area, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

St. Patrick's Catholic Church

The library was originally the First Presbyterian Church, which was formed in 1856. The congregation remained here until 1913, when the building was converted to a Carnegie library. The library closed in 1967 coinciding with&nbsp;the completion of a new library building. The museum was scheduled to open in January 1970, but a fire severely damaged the building, pushing the opening to later that year. The museum has remained an important cultural center for the city and region ever since.

Housed in the historic former Carnegie Library, the Meridian Museum of Art promotes Mississippi and regional art through its numerous public and education programs, exhibitions, and permanent collections. Artwork displayed in its exhibitions include Native American art, paintings, photography, decorative arts, and crafts. It is operated by the Meridian Art Association. The building itself was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. 

Meridian Museum of Art

In the early 1920s, the Hamasa Shriners were in need of a larger space. They also wanted a building that would served the needs of the community. To achieve these ends, they hired noted New Orleans architect Emile Weil to design a large, multipurpose facility that had a grand ballroom for the Shriners and a theater where residents could enjoy movies and performances. The ballroom was constructed in 1924 and the theater in 1927. When the theater was completed, the theater boasted the second-largest stage in the country; the largest one was at the Roxy Theater in New York City.Initially, the Shriners were only able to attract a few traveling shows and wrestling matches. This situation changed when the Shriners formed a partnership with the Saenger Theater chain, which agreed to be in charge of managing the theater's entertainment. It also agreed to install the Robert Morton pipe organ, which was played during silent films. During the next several decades, the theater showed movies and hosted a variety of performances and entertainers. In 1973, the Shriners restored the theater. However, it was not used very much after that and the Shriners sold the entire building to a businessman from Dallas, who has operated the facility ever since. In addition to live entertainment, the theater still shows film movies using an old projector. Temple Theater is included in the Meridian Multiple Resource Area, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The organ is maintained by the Magnolia Chapter of the American Theater Organ Society.

When it opened in 1927, the Temple Theater was one of the largest and finest movie "palaces" in the country. The four-story theater was designed in the Moorish Revival style and built by the Hamasa Shriners (a Masonic organization). The theater features an ornately decorated horseshoe-arch above the main entrance, a scalloped cornice, and decorative terra cotta. The interior features Byzantine motif decorations and has remained largely unchanged, aside from the carpeting and main floor seats. Another highlight is the theater's Robert Morton pipe organ, which is one of only two such organs in the state still housed in their original locations. Temple Theater continues to be a popular entertainment venue today. 

Temple Theater

A group of eight people, including two slaves, founded First Presbyterian in 1856. One of these individuals, Rev. William Curtis Emerson became the pastor, and another was a founder of the city of Meridian. The congregation first worshipped on the second floor a store building owned by one of the members until they built a wood-frame church in 1867 (the city bought the property of the first church to build a library, which prompted the construction of the new church). A fire destroyed it in 1883 but it was rebuilt in 1884, this time using brick instead of wood. The congregation remained there until 1911; that building is now the home of the <a href="https://theclio.com/entry/45472" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Meridian Museum of Art</a>. The current church was erected in 1913 and designed by local architect P.J. Krouse. The adjoining educational building was constructed in 1951 and in 2002 the church added the Children's Ministry Wing.

The First Presbyterian Church of Meridian is home to a congregation established in 1856. It is primarily significant for its Gothic Revival architecture. Built with rusticated (rough) stone with ashlar stone trim, the church features buttresses, lancet-arched entryways and windows, a tower, and battlements. The church is included in the Meridian Multiple Resource Area, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

First Presbyterian Church of Meridian

United States Post Office The Post Office is the city's second federal building. The first, a brick structure that featured a tower, was built in 1898 and demolished in the 1950s. The present building was built in 1933. Local architect P.J. Krouse designed it in an understated version of the Art Deco style. As such, the Post Office is less decorative than other Art Deco buildings in the city. The three-story building features a limestone exterior, bronze grills depicting ears of corn above the three main entrance doorways, and a parapet along the top with a repeated eagle and steer designs.Meredith vs. FairJames Meredith (b. 1933) filed the lawsuit against the University of Mississippi on May 31, 1961 at the Post Office and Courthouse with assistance from the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. At that time, the university only admitted white students. Prior to taking his case to court, Meredith applied to the school twice but was rejected both times. In September 1962, the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which supported the decision given by the Fifth Court of Appeals, which had previously ruled in Meredith's favor. On September 30, Meredith finally enrolled in the university. The event sparked a riot that night, which prompted the federal government to send troops of the Mississippi National Guard and U.S. Army, as well as U.S. Marshalls, to Meridian to restore order. Hundreds were injured and two were killed. Meredith eventually graduated but was under 24-hour protection during the entire time he was there.United States vs. PriceOn the evening of June 21, 1964 a group of white men murdered civil rights activists Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and James Chaney. Goodman and Schwerner were both white; Chaney was Black. All three worked for a civil rights organization called the Congress of Racial Equality. In June 1964, they were registering Black voters throughout Mississippi as part of an effort called Freedom Summer. On May 25, the men gave a talk at Mount Zion Methodist Church in the town of Longdale, Mississippi, encouraging the congregation to register to vote. Local KKK members learned of the registration drive and burned down the church (that summer, Klan members burned down 20 Black churches in Mississippi).On June 21, the three men traveled from Meridian to Longdale to investigate the ruins of the destroyed church. On the way back, they got a flat tire near the town of Philadelphia. Despite this, they drove fast, hoping to return by 4:00 p.m., when they planned to be back in Meridian. However, Deputy Sheriff Cecil Ray Price (who helped coordinate the murders), pulled them over. Chaney, who was driving, was arrested for speeding and all three were taken to the Neshoba County jail, where they were held until around 10:00 p.m.While driving back to Meridian on Highway 19, the white men spotted them. They were in two cars; one of them broke down but they other followed Chaney, Schwerner, and Goodman's car. The pursuers caught up to them and forced them to drive back towards Philadelphia and onto a country road. There, the white men beat and shot all three activists. They were taken to a few miles away to earthen dam and buried there. Their car, a station wagon, was abandoned on a logging road and set on fire.The men were reported missing and their disappearance quickly attracted national attention and the FBI was ordered on the case. The car was found on the 23, but their remains were not found until August 4, after law enforcement received a tip from an informant. Claiming insufficient evidence, local and state law enforcement officials did not bring murder charges against the perpetrators. The federal government could not bring murder charges either because the crime was covered under state law. As a result, the U.S. Justice Department charged the men of violating the victims' civil rights.It wasn't until February of 1967, that progress on the case moved forward. On the first day of the trial, which was presided by Judge William Harold Cox, dismissed a defense attorney's questioning of a witness about whether Schwerner plotted to rape women in 1964. This was a key moment, as it indicated that Cox would not favor the white men. During the trial, which took place at the Post Office and Courthouse building in Meridian, the sequence of events were revealed. As stated above, only seven men were found guilty. However, none served more than six years in prison. The murders and national attention the incident caused contributed to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Built in 1933, the United States Post Office building in downtown Meridian is considered one of the state's finest examples of the Art Deco architecture. However, the building is more significant for its association with two seminal civil rights court cases: Meredith vs. Fair and United States vs. Price (from 1933 until 2012 the building housed the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi). In 1961, a Black man named James Meredith filed a lawsuit against the University of Mississippi, which barred him from enrollment. The initial hearing of his case was held here in the U.S. Post Office building. 

In 1967, 19 white men were charged with violating the civil rights of three activists, two white men and one Black man, whom they murdered in 1964 (the white men were not charged with murder). The trial was also conducted in the building. Seven of the men were convicted. This decision was the first time that an all-white jury convicted a white person for civil rights violations. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

United States Post Office 

&nbsp;

The city of Meridian, located in the eastern part of Mississippi,
was considered a key logistical supply center for many Confederate troops in
the south. Meridian is located in the center of two key southern cities,
Jackson, Mississippi and Selma, Alabama. The city housed the intersection of
three major railroads that moved major shipments all across the south. These
railways transported things such as weapons and cannons to and from Selma, as
well as important agricultural materials to fertile farm lands to the north.

&nbsp;

When Union General William T. Sherman entered Meridian on February
14, 1864, his intent was to destroy and destabilize the logistical cache as
well as demoralize the Confederate supporters. General Sherman moved his ten
thousand Union soldiers from their location in Vicksburg one-hundred fifty miles
to Meridian, causing Confederate General Leonidas Polk to retreat farther east.
For the next five days, Gen. Sherman waited in Meridian for a rendezvous with a
Union General William Smith that never arrived. While Gen. Sherman’s soldiers
waited, the city was destroyed. His goal was “to wipe the appointed meeting
place off the map.” Nevertheless, his goal was achieved and he left the city in
ruin five days later.

&nbsp;

This monument is was erected in 1902 by the members of Lauderdale
County, Mississippi. It is located in a court yard in front of the Lauderdale
County Municipal Building. This monument represents all the Confederate soldiers
and civilians of the city of Meridian during the years of 1861-1865. This
memorial is a very tall stone monuments with a Confederate soldier at the top
and an inscription in all capital letters on the front that reads,

&nbsp;

“It is wreathed around with glory,And will live in song and story,

For it's fame on brightest pages,

Penned by poets and by sages,

Shall go sounding down the ages.

This, the Lauderdale County Confederate Monument is dedicated to
the men, women and children of 61-65, whose sublime devotion to duty aroused
the admiration of the world; who were ambitious but to serve their country, and
were ever ready to be sacrificed for it. May their lives be an inspiration for
emulation to generations yet unborn.

The history of valor and fortitude of the Confederate soldier in
defense of constitutional liberty is the heritage of the South.”

&nbsp;

For more information, visit the monument, contact the Lauderdale
County Municipal Building, or research the Meridian Campaign online.

The Lauderdale County Civil War Monument, located at 500 Constitution Avenue, Meridian, Mississippi, was erected and dedicated in 1902. This monument commemorates the lives of soldiers lost in the battles and skirmishes in the city and surrounding areas of Meridian. While the actual city of Meridian did not see much war, on February 14, 1864 the city was destroyed by Union General William T. Sherman. Gen. Sherman and his 10,000 Union troops destroyed depots, storehouses, weapons arsenals, rail routes hospitals, offices, and hotels in the logistical city of Meridian. While the Confederate army took many logistical losses that day, the city of Meridian and its citizens struggled for many years to come to regain their losses.

Lauderdale County Civil War Monument

The Threefoot family's roots in Lauderdale County date to the mid-1800s. They were descendants of German-Jewish immigrants who first lived in the town of Marion. The head of the family was Abraham Threefoot, who anglicized the family's German name, Dreyfuss, which in English means "three foot." Other Jewish families immigrated to the county as well. Not much information about the Threefoot family's early years is readily available but it appears that Abraham came to America with his brothers. During the Civil War, Abraham made shoes for the Confederacy. After the war, they settled in Meridian and began to make saddles and harnesses. Some time after that, they opened their wholesale grocery store and eventually became cotton brokers as well. Two of Abraham's sons married into the Rothenberg family, who were prosperous as well, and the families merged their grocery businesses. The continued prosperity enabled the Threefoots, in particular Abraham's son, Sam, to build the Threefoot Building. It is located on the site of the family's former grocery business. The reasons for why they erected the building, which was the tallest building in Mississippi at the time, are unclear. Presumably, it was a business investment to grow the family's wealth. However, this did not occur. The Great Depression began and the number of tenants in the building declined, which forced the family to spend a lot of money to maintain the building. As a result, they relinquished ownership. The building continued to be used as an office building for several decades but it became largely vacant in the 1970s and abandoned by the 1990s. It fell into disrepair as well. Efforts to convert it into a hotel in the mid-2000s fell through. In 2013, an organization called the Threefoot Preservation Society was established to start restoring the building. The culmination of this effort led to the building's current conversion into a Marriott hotel.

Reaching a height of 188.5 feet, the Threefoot Building is Meridian's tallest building and a fine example of Art Deco architecture. The 16-story building was constructed in 1929 by the Threefoot family, who operated a successful grocery store business. In terms of design, the building features a granite base, a brick exterior, and colorful terra cotta patterns. It was used as an office building for many years but as of early 2021 it is in the final stages of being converted into a Marriott Hotel. The building is included in the Meridian Multiple Resource Area, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Threefoot Building

Marks and the Rothenberg brothers were, respectively, first and second-generation Jewish immigrants from Europe. When Marks arrived, he started to sell dry goods to rural families. By 1870, he owned a wholesale dry goods business here in Meridian. In 1887, he and the Rothenberg brothers established a new wholesale grocery and dry goods company called Marks, Rothenberg &amp; Company, which would become one of the largest such companies in the South. By the late 1880s, Meridian was becoming a prosperous town, given that it was a railroad stop between Chicago to New Orleans. To encourage the town's continued development, as well as to promote the arts in the community, Marks and the brothers decided to erect Opera House and Rothenberg Deparment Store building that would achieve both goals.The Opera House opened on December 17, 1890 with a performance of an operetta by Johann Strauss. The theater had more than 1,000 seats and the stage was large—30x50 feet—which allowed the biggest shows from New York to perform in Meridian. Above the stage on the proscenium arch was a painting depicting a woman surrounded by flowers. She became known as "The Lady" and the Opera House is often called that today. The stage also had a fire curtain, which would prevent fires from spreading to the seating area.The Opera House was remodeled in 1902 and again in 1920 to show movies. Its decline started in 1923 when it was leased to a movie company from New Orleans. In 1927, the theater closed after it failed to meet safety requirements including having the proper number of exits. The company also failed to meet the requirements of the lease. It bought another theater wanted to convert the Opera House into an office building. However, the lease included a clause stating that the Opera House could only be used as a theater. The company then vacated the building and refused to pay the $1,000 monthly rent, compelling the Rothenbergs (it appears Israel Marks had died by then) to take the company to court. By the time the court case was resolved (the Rothenbergs won), the Great Depression had started and the theater company had declared bankruptcy, forcing the Opera House to close for good.It seems the Opera House remained unused for several decades. The department store, however, operated until 1990. The exterior of the building was covered in metal siding in then 1960s to "modernize" it. It started to return to its former glory in the 1980s when some of the siding was removed. Since then, the building has undergone restoration. The most recent effort started in 2000, when the Riley Foundation donated $10 million for the project on the condition that Mississippi State University own and operate the building. That work was completed in 2006.

The Riley Center is a historic performance venue and conference and educational center in downtown Meridian. The building consists of two parts: the former Grand Opera House and Marks-Rothenberg Department Store. The building was constructed in 1890 by Israel Marks and his half-brothers Sam, Marx, and Levi Rothenberg, who owned a prosperous grocery and dry-goods business. The Opera House hosted a variety of shows including vaudeville acts, operas and operettas, Shakespearean plays, minstrel shows, and early silent movies. Architect Gustavus M. Tergenson designed the building in the Late Victorian Second Empire and Romanesque styles. Today the Riley Center, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is owned and operated by Mississippi State University. 

Riley Center

Soule Steam Feed Works was founded in 1893 by George Wilberforce Soule. The company lasted over 100 years with help from George and his family members. They created a product line of feed works that focused on serving the lumber industry. From 1892 until the mid-1950s, steam was the only portable and dependable source of power. George Soule patened the Soule Rotary Steam Engine which was used in several types of lumbering operations. The rotary engine was used to drive a sawmill carriage. Ads that appeared regularly in The Tradesman announced, "The Soule Steam Feed is the best on Earth, because it is the most durable and most easily controlled." Over the years, the Soule rotary engine became known as "steam hogs" because they consumed a great amount of steam during operation. Soule Steam Feed Works became a non-profit corporation founded in 2002. The museum is listed on the National Register of Historic places since 1979. It is also a Mississippi Landmark since the fall of 2003. The museum is also an Official State Historical Industrial Museum in July 2004. By 1922, the Soule Spee-D-Twin, a two-cylinder reciprocating steam engine, became a favorite feed engine among saw mill operators. Over George Soule's lengthy career, he held over 25 U.S. patents.

The Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum was founded in 2002 after Soule Steam Feed Works closed after 110 years of being open. The museum offers exhibits that share the history of the company and George Wilberforce Soule who held over 25 patents for machines related to the lumber industry. It also includes exhibits that share the history of industry and labor in Mississippi. 

Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum

Railroading began in Meridian when the Mobile &amp; Ohio and the Alabama and Vicksburg Railroads arrived in the 1850s. From that point forward, railroading grew and Meridian became the largest city in the state by 1900. As noted above, five railroads operated in the city, with 44 coming and going each day. It cost $250,000 to build the depot and it opened in August 1906. The original tower was torn down in the 1940s and the rest of the building, except for the east wing, was demolished in 1966. In the early 1990s, the city started to examine the possibility of building an intermodal station. After years of planning and construction, the project was completed in December 1997.In 1979, the depot was added to the Union Station Historic District. This district was later incorporated into and ultimately replaced by the Meridian Downtown Historic District, which also includes the former Meridian Urban Center Historic District.

Union Station is a historic train depot built in 1906 by the Meridian Terminal Company, whose members were representatives of the five railroads that operated in Meridian. Today, the depot is also known as the Meridian Multi-Modal Transportation Center, serving as a bus and an Amtrak train stop. Much of the building is not original; the only original portion is the eastern wing. Nevertheless, the depot has been rebuilt to match the original Mission Revival architecture and configuration. It is also a contributing property of the Meridian Downtown Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. Next to depot is another building, the former Railway Express Agency building, that once housed the Meridian Railroad Museum, which appears to have closed in 2018.

Meridian Mississippi Walking Tour

Meridian City Hall

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

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