Threefoot Building

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Coordinates: 32°21′52″N 88°42′2″W / 32.36444°N 88.70056°W / 32.36444; -88.70056
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Threefoot Building
MPS
Meridian MRA
NRHP reference No.79003408
USMS No.075-MER-0146.2-NR-ML
Significant dates
Added to NRHPDecember 18, 1979[2]
Designated USMSJuly 10, 2008[1]

The Threefoot Building (sometimes referred to as simply "The Threefoot") is a historic office building located in downtown

Multiple Property Submission of buildings contributing to the historic nature of the city's downtown. In 2008 the Threefoot was recognized by the state as a Mississippi Landmark
.

Despite the completion of the building preceding the onset of the

Tribute Portfolio
hotels.

History

The 16-story

Grand Opera House. The grocery moved at least once to a different location on the same street in 1884, but sources are unclear if it had three sites or two.[4] The grocery was taken over by Abraham's sons–H. Marshall, Kutcher, and Lewis, collectively known as the "Threefoot Brothers"–after his death.[3]

By 1910, sales at Threefoot and Sons exceeded $100,000 per year.

stock market crash. A combination of shaky finances and the onset of the Great Depression caused the family's business to cease operation.[4]

The building operated as an office building under different ownership for several decades. Demographic changes followed suburban development, stimulated by highway construction. After Meridian's first suburban mall was built in the 1970s, continued development outside the city drew off tenants and other businesses. By the 1990s, the Threefoot Building had been mostly abandoned.[5]

Threefoot Festival

Threefoot Festival 2009

In an effort to attract interest from a private developer to reoccupy and renovate the building, the city started to hold an annual showcase of art by local artists in 2002, naming it the "Threefoot Arts Festival" in honor of the historic building's status as an icon of downtown and indirectly the Threefoot family, who had contributed much to the city. The festival was held annually in October at Dumont Plaza, located two blocks from the building, and on 4th and 5th streets between 22nd and 23rd avenues.[6]

Along with art exhibitions from state and regional artists, the festival also featured a variety of live music and entertainment throughout the day, as well as food and beverages sold by local companies and organizations. Retail stores and businesses throughout the city helped to promote the festival by offering special deals and discounts to members of the festival. Admission was free, so an accurate count of attendees is difficult to achieve, but annual turnout is estimated to have been several thousand people.[6]

In 2009 the festival was combined with the Arts in the Park Festival, previously held in early April at Bonita Lakes (and earlier at Highland Park), to create the Threefoot Festival.[7]

Since 2011 the festival has been held on the first weekend of April on 7th Street between 23rd and 25th avenues and on the lawn in front of Meridian City Hall.[8] It includes art contests for children in grade school (hosted at the Meridian Museum of Art), access for children to try out musical instruments provided by the Meridian Symphony Orchestra, performances by local bands, and stands promoting local restaurants.[9]

Preservation efforts

Threefoot Building in 2018

Historic Restoration Inc.

In August 2006, the city purchased the building from Alabama developer Howard Robbins for $1.2 million, with the expectation that it would be renovated by a developer from

Jackson,[5] but the city could not immediately attract regional interest. Historic Restoration Inc. (HRI), a New Orleans developer known for restoring the King Edward Hotel in Jackson, eventually showed interest in the project in 2008, proposing that the building be transformed into a 120-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel.[10][11] The renovation would have cost $55 million, and the city would have backed $14 million of it. After much debate, HRI reached an agreement in January 2009 with mayor John Robert Smith and the city council.[5]

In July 2009 newly elected Mayor Cheri Barry took office and worked to undo the agreement. Stating that she saw problems in the plan, she asked Mississippi Heritage Trust Director David Preziosi if it was possible to remove the building from the National Register of Historic Places in order to make it easier to demolish. Preziosi advised Barry against having the property delisted and offered her names of people to talk to about funding options for the building. The Meridian Star reported in June 2010 that the mayor's office had still not contacted the people suggested to Barry.[5] At the same time, HRI was asking the city to help complete funding of the project by acquiring grants from the state. Barry, however, refused to ask the state, claiming that the economy was too stressed to ask for money that wasn't essential to the city's function.[5]

After a long controversy, HRI's agreement with the city was terminated in late 2009 due to lack of support from Barry and the need for various drainage repairs.[12] Because the city had terminated the agreement, it was required to reimburse HRI for the $1 million already put into the project. In a prepared statement, Barry claimed that the city and HRI would "look down the road for future projects and possibly even resume the Threefoot Project under different circumstances and different finances."[12]

Further efforts

After the deal with HRI was terminated, the

America's Most Endangered Historic Places in June 2010.[13] In October 2010, the city accepted a grant from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) for a study of the building. The study was to focus on what would have to be done to rehabilitate the building for use.[14] The city also hired Watkins Development, at a cost of $10,000 per month, to focus on developing not only the Threefoot Building but the rest of downtown and all of Meridian. Watkins Development – like HRI – was involved in the renovation of Jackson's King Edward Hotel.[14] The building assessment study was completed in mid-2012, finding that the foundation of the building was sound, but the upper floors were being subjected to daily weather because of blown out windows, crumbling bricks, and other structural problems.[15]

Seeing the lack of developer interest, a local group of private citizens, identifying as the Threefoot Preservation Society, formed in early June 2013 to discuss a future for the building.[16] Since 2013, the Threefoot Preservation Society has held weekly cleanups of the building, even attracting descendants of the Threefoot family to help out on occasion.[17][18] The group hosted an event celebrating the 84th anniversary of the building's opening in April 2014, where for the first time in years, the city opened the first floor of Threefoot Building to the public. Dr. Henry Threefoot and his family, descendants of the original Threefoot family, were invited to join in the festivities.[19] Another celebration was held in April 2015 for the 85th anniversary, and mayor Percy Bland was in attendance to show support for the society's endeavors.[20]

Ascent Hospitality Management

In September 2015 a deal was approved by the Meridian City Council which sold the building to a

Hotel Meridian in November 2017. Although intensive preservation, reconstruction, and refurbishment efforts as well as projected opening dates have been delayed over the last few years, John Campo, the chief architect of its reconstruction, who has stated "Meridian is a target-rich environment for adaptive reuse of historic buildings",[22] has also stated as recently as June 2020 that the building could be re-opened as early as November 2020.[23]

References

  1. ^ "Mississippi Landmarks" (PDF). Mississippi Department of Archives and History. May 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 9, 2010. Retrieved June 28, 2010.
  2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c d "Meridian, Mississippi". Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  4. ^ a b c Jack Shank (1985). Meridian: The Queen With a Past. Vol. I. Meridian, Mississippi: Brown Printing Company. pp. 94–95.
  5. ^ a b c d e Jennifer Jacob Brown (June 27, 2010). "Threefoot Building: Part 1 'Looking at All Our Options'". Meridian Star. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  6. ^ a b Ida Brown (October 12, 2008). "Threefoot Art Festival". Meridian Star. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  7. ^ Jennifer Jacob Brown (April 4, 2009). "Arts festival draws a big crowd". Meridian Star. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  8. ^ Jeff Burrowes (April 3, 2013). "Threefoot Festival this Saturday". WTOK. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  9. ^ Ida Brown (March 30, 2013). "Threefoot Festival 2013... Annual downtown fest kicks off April's artful weekends". Meridian Star. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  10. ^ Jennifer Jacob (April 10, 2008). "Project Moves Forward". Meridian Star. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  11. ^ Jennifer Jacob (July 15, 2008). "Action on Threefoot project inches closer". Meridian Star. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  12. ^ a b Fredie Carmichael (December 22, 2009). "Threefoot dead... for now". Meridian Star. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  13. ^ "Threefoot Building". National Trust for Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  14. ^ a b Jennifer Jacob Brown (October 31, 2010). "Company working to revive Meridian". The Meridian Star. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
  15. ^ Andrea Williams (July 30, 2012). "Threefoot Building Study Update". WTOK. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  16. ^ Chip Scarborough (June 3, 2013). "Threefoot Meeting Looks at Restoration Possibilities". WTOK. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
  17. ^ Candace Barnette (October 26, 2014). "Threefoot Family Helps Volunteers Clean Building". WTOK. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  18. ^ Tom Williams (January 17, 2015). "Volunteers Help Clean the Threefoot Building". WTOK. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  19. ^ Aaron Morrison (April 2, 2014). "Historic Threefoot Building Celebrates 84 Years". WTOK. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  20. ^ Tom Williams (April 4, 2015). "Building Celebrates 85 Years of Standing Tall". WTOK. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  21. ^ Jeff Byrd (September 15, 2015). "Threefoot sold". Meridian Star. Retrieved 2015-12-28.
  22. ^ Kelly, Erin (September 11, 2019). "Threefoot Building expected to open in Meridian in November 2020". The Meridian Star. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  23. ^ "Construction continues on Meridian's Threefoot Building". WTOK-TV. June 11, 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
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