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Beauvoir Restoration starts May 3
Workmen smooth way for craftsmen coming to Beauvoir
By KAT BERGERON
kbergeron@sunherald.com
BILOXI --
Workmen are preparing Beauvoir for the craftsmen who will restore the National Historic Landmark in time for the the 200th anniversary of Jefferson Davis' birth next year.
The 1850s Creole cottage, Davis' retirement home and one of the few Gulf antebellum styles remaining, had to be stabilized after Hurricane Katrina. The roof was damaged, the front porch torn away, the back one somewhat collapsed, brick supports battered, and the interior partly flooded.
"The skill and knowledge that goes into restoration work of historic buildings is unbelievable, as we've learned in interviewing craftsmen and specialists," said Richard Forte Sr. of Hattiesburg, Beauvoir's acting director and chairman of Beauvoir's boards of trustees and directors. "Bringing a house like this back is a highly skilled art."
The Lathan Company has signed on the dotted line as contractor. A combination of grants and insurance monies are lined up for financing, and restoration specialists will be selected next week. The project architect is Larry A. Albert of Hattiesburg, who oversaw a decade of Beauvoir House restoration that was wiped out by Katrina. The new bill is $3.9 million.
Beauvoir has set 1 p.m. on May 3 as the official launch date for the house restoration by such old-world craftsmen as plasterers and carpenters. On that Thursday, Gov. Haley Barbour and other VIPs will be on hand to help celebrate the next step for Beauvoir House, seen nationally as an icon of historic preservation.
The re-opening is planned for June 3, 2008, the bicentennial of Davis' birth.
The Mobile-based contractor who specializes in historic preservation was selected in January and work was expected to start in February. But as in most things in the post-Katrina world, glitches and financing had to be ironed out. Much of the money comes from grants overseen by FEMA, MEMA and the Mississippi Department of Archives & History.
Beauvoir received flood insurance but is in litigation with its wind policy. Fundraising is also on-going to return features that will capture the era when Davis lived at Beauvoir, including Varina Davis' gardens, the stables and outbuildings.
But first, Beauvoir House will be restored, followed later by the rebuilding of the Davis Presidential Library. One of the ironies of Katrina is that it destroyed all on the 51-acre estate but the oldest building, which is the house, and the youngest, which is the library opened in 1998. The Mississippi Sons of the Confederate Veterans operate the estate as a museum to the life and times of the Confederate president.
Beauvoir Restoration starts May 3
Workmen smooth way for craftsmen coming to Beauvoir
By KAT BERGERON
kbergeron@sunherald.com
BILOXI --
Workmen are preparing Beauvoir for the craftsmen who will restore the National Historic Landmark in time for the the 200th anniversary of Jefferson Davis' birth next year.
The 1850s Creole cottage, Davis' retirement home and one of the few Gulf antebellum styles remaining, had to be stabilized after Hurricane Katrina. The roof was damaged, the front porch torn away, the back one somewhat collapsed, brick supports battered, and the interior partly flooded.
"The skill and knowledge that goes into restoration work of historic buildings is unbelievable, as we've learned in interviewing craftsmen and specialists," said Richard Forte Sr. of Hattiesburg, Beauvoir's acting director and chairman of Beauvoir's boards of trustees and directors. "Bringing a house like this back is a highly skilled art."
The Lathan Company has signed on the dotted line as contractor. A combination of grants and insurance monies are lined up for financing, and restoration specialists will be selected next week. The project architect is Larry A. Albert of Hattiesburg, who oversaw a decade of Beauvoir House restoration that was wiped out by Katrina. The new bill is $3.9 million.
Beauvoir has set 1 p.m. on May 3 as the official launch date for the house restoration by such old-world craftsmen as plasterers and carpenters. On that Thursday, Gov. Haley Barbour and other VIPs will be on hand to help celebrate the next step for Beauvoir House, seen nationally as an icon of historic preservation.
The re-opening is planned for June 3, 2008, the bicentennial of Davis' birth.
The Mobile-based contractor who specializes in historic preservation was selected in January and work was expected to start in February. But as in most things in the post-Katrina world, glitches and financing had to be ironed out. Much of the money comes from grants overseen by FEMA, MEMA and the Mississippi Department of Archives & History.
Beauvoir received flood insurance but is in litigation with its wind policy. Fundraising is also on-going to return features that will capture the era when Davis lived at Beauvoir, including Varina Davis' gardens, the stables and outbuildings.
But first, Beauvoir House will be restored, followed later by the rebuilding of the Davis Presidential Library. One of the ironies of Katrina is that it destroyed all on the 51-acre estate but the oldest building, which is the house, and the youngest, which is the library opened in 1998. The Mississippi Sons of the Confederate Veterans operate the estate as a museum to the life and times of the Confederate president.