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Old Hattiesburg High School building

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The front of the old Hattiesburg High School building, before being damaged by fire.

The old Hattiesburg High School building is located on Main Street. The rear portion of the building was built in 1911 on the site of the original Main Street School building, which was demolished the same year after being condemned.[1] The front portion of the current building added in 1921. In 2003 the building was named by the Mississippi Heritage Trust as one of the most endangered buildings in Mississippi[2]. In 2005 the building was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina. On December 15, 2006, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History announced it was giving a $1 million grant towards the restoration of the building[3].

2007 Fire

The building after being damaged by fire and partially demolished.

Early May 29, 2007, at around 6:00 AM, a fire began in the first floor of the front portion (the 1921 addition) of the building near the "Boys" entrance. By 7:30 AM the fire had spread up four floors to the roof, and at about 8:00 AM the roof collapsed.[4] With nothing to strengthen the walls the third and fourth floor walls were leaning out towards Main Street.[5]

The day after the fire the Hattiesburg Fire Department announced they believed that the fire was caused by arson. The building did not have any gas or electricity, one of the doors had been kicked in, and traces of an accelerant were found in the first floor. [6][7] In meetings later in the week with the Historic Hattiesburg Downtown Association, city officials, USM representatives, and others, the decision was made to continue the restoration of the building, though the third and fourth story front wall had to be torn down, as well as the wall separating the 1911 and 1921 buildings.[8]

An initial $1000 reward for tips leading to an arrest was offered by the Metro Crime Stoppers, and in the following weeks the reward rose to $12,500 as various business owners and organizations contributed to the amount[9][10][11][12]. On August 13-14, 2007, a seventeen year old senior at Hattiesburg High School and a sixteen year old were arrested and each charged with two counts of arson (one count of arson was for a fire at Briarfield Place Apartments, where one of the suspects lives) and a count of commercial burglary. Bond for the seventeen year old suspect was set at $100,000 for each count of arson and $25,000 for the count of commercial burglary, totalling $225,000.[13][14][15]

Clean up

Finlo Construction is currently overseeing the cleanup project, where extra bracing will be installed and some demolition will continue. The initial cleanup is expected to cost about $250,000. Then work will begin on additional support and repairing the exterior and roof of the building, which is expected to be paid for with insurance money, and will probably cost nearly $600,000. The total cost of restoration is expected to be about $14.25 million, with $10 million being spent before USM moves into the building, and the remaining $4 million being spent on an auditorium and museum.[16]

By early 2010 the first phase of the restoration was complete and the front facade rebuilt, but it is estimated that it will take another two years before the project is finished.[17]

In late 2012 plans for USM to move into the building were officially cancelled, due to budget concerns.[18]

Renovation

In 2017 plans were announced to turn the building into apartments for residents 55 years old and older. Known as Preservation Crossing, developers planned to have 56 one-bedroom apartments and 18 two-bedroom apartments. The apartments range from 575 to 800 square feet. Construction began in early 2019[19], and an official ground-breaking ceremony was held on April 12, 2019.[20] Residents began moving into the renovated building in late 2020.


  • The original Main Street School

  • The restored facade

  • Another view of the restored facade

  • The restored facade, and interior support system

  • The temporary steel buttressing

References

  1. ↑ "Old Main Street School Being Rapidly Removed", Hattiesburg American, August 28, 1911
  2. ↑ http://www.mississippiheritage.com/list03.html#hattiesburg, retrieved December 11, 2006
  3. ↑ "Old HHS receives $1M grant" by Reuben Mees, Hattiesburg American, December 16, 2006
  4. ↑ "Part of old Hattiesburg High may be salvaged", Hattiesburg American, May 29, 2007
  5. ↑ "Officials still hope to salvage old Hattiesburg High" by Jillian Kramer, Hattiesburg American, May 30, 2007
  6. ↑ "Arson to blame for old high school fire", WDAM, May 30, 2007
  7. ↑ "Fire ruled arson" by Jillian Kramer, Hattiesburg American, May 31, 2007
  8. ↑ "Decision made to restore old Hattiesburg High School" by Rachel Leifer Norman, Hattiesburg American, June 2, 2007
  9. ↑ "$8,000 reward offered" by Reuben Mees, Hattiesburg American, June 5, 2007
  10. ↑ "Tips toward arson arrest worth $11,000" by Reuben Mees, Hattiesburg American, June 21, 2007
  11. ↑ "Firefighters give $1,000 for reward in arson" by Reuben Mees, Hattiesburg American, June 29, 2007
  12. ↑ "Reward increased in school arson", Hattiesburg American, July 20, 2007
  13. ↑ "Arson suspect arrested" by Terry Jones, Hattiesburg American, August 14, 2007
  14. ↑ "Arson suspects in custody" by Terry Jones, Hattiesburg American, August 15, 2007
  15. ↑ "Bond set for arson suspect" by Terry Jones, Hattiesburg American, August 16, 2007
  16. ↑ "Hattiesburg High gets cleanup" by Reuben Mees, Hattiesburg American, July 19, 2007
  17. ↑ "High school project's 1st phase finished" by Terry L. Jones, Hattiesburg American, January 8, 2010
  18. ↑ "USM backs out of plans for old Hattiesburg High School" by Ed Kemp, Hattiesburg American, December 7, 2012
  19. ↑ "Work Begins on Old Hattiesburg High School" by Haskel Burns, Hattiesburg Post, February 20, 2019
  20. ↑ "Groundbreaking held for old Hattiesburg High School building", WDAM, April 12, 2019

External links

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