Jackson, MS

Ayer Hall
DESCRIPTION: Honors Dr. Charles Ayer, first President of what is now Jackson State University; Ayer Hall was begun in 1903 immediately upon relocation of the college to its present site; sits on the west side of campus and opened for male student occupancy in 1904; contained forty-four sleeping rooms and several reading rooms on the second and third floors; the main floor housed the President's office, a chapel, the library and recitation rooms; this historic building is a cornerstone of early 20th Century renaissance of Jackson College; placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and houses the Margaret Walker Alexander National Research Center

ADDRESS: 1700 John R. Lynch Street  MAP

PHONE: 601-968-2272

Alamo Theater
DESCRIPTION: In the historic Farish Street District, home of the Black business community before desegregation, was one of the last dual-purpose theaters in the US.  Built in the early 1940s this 524 seat theater functioned as a cinema featuring African American and western films; it also served as a performing arts theater featuring Black Vaudeville acts, stage bands and Black performing artists; the first structure was located on Farish Street in the 100 block across from where McCoy Federal Building now stands, the second was on West Amite Street at Roach Street; the third and present structure, recently renovated and designated a National Historic Register Landmark, is a focal point for the revitalization of the historic neighborhood

ADDRESS: 333 North Farish Street  MAP

PHONE: 601-352-3365

Boddie Mansion
DESCRIPTION: Constructed in 1848 on the Boddie Plantation of 2,000 acres; John Boddie's fiancée demanded she have the fairest house in Madison County with a cupola from which she could view the city of Jackson; before the Mansion was complete, she married another gentleman; some said she was fickle; others said she was repulsed by the harsh way Boddie used his slave laborers; disappointed in love, Boddie used the mansion to store his cotton crop and the cupola to observe the progress of his field hands; one of the few houses in Jackson that withstood the Civil War; now houses administrative offices for Tougaloo College

ADDRESS: 500 West County Line Road  MAP

PHONE: 601-977-7842

Dr. A. H. McCoy Federal Building
DESCRIPTION: On a portion of the former site where Dr McCoy conducted business for forty years is one of the few federal buildings to bear the name of an African American; Dr McCoy held widespread real estate, mineral rights, oil leases, cattle farming and developed much of the land in the historic Farish Street section; he is also noted for co-founding Security Life Insurance Company in 1938 and building two movie theaters, at time when few in the nation were owned by Blacks after World War II
ADDRESS: 100 West Capitol Street  MAP

Farish Street Historical District
DESCRIPTION: Placed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, a grid patterned 125-acre area in the center of the city, is the largest residential and small business district in Jackson and spanning more than 100 years of development; the district includes over 690 listings in the National Register of Historic Places and is a compendium of architectural examples representing the craftsmanship of African-American building contractors; walking tours reveal antebellum, Creole, Queen Anne, shotgun and bungalow cottage styles, as well as business structures from the early 20th century; among the ongoing redevelopment are a hotel, train and bus terminal, restaurants, jazz clubs and historic shotgun homes

ADDRESS: Amite Street, Fortification Street, Mill Street and Lamar Street  MAP

PHONE: 610-949-4000

WEBSITE: http://www.farishstreet.com

Hill-Holly Building
DESCRIPTION: A two-story classic revival brick building from 1903 by Thomas Hill; it served as a civic and social meeting place for the Black and Tan Republican Party, Masons and Eastern Stars; upstairs gallery has the pictorial genealogy of the Kermit Wells Holly family; on the National Register of Historic Places since 1998

DAYS & HOURS: Sat 10a-3p, Sun 3p-6p; guided tours by appt

ADDRESS: 300 North Farish Street  MAP

PHONE: 601-352-6923

Freedom Corner
DESCRIPTION: An historic site important to several events in the Civil Rights Movement

ADDRESS: Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd at Medgar Evers Blvd  MAP