The Roost

The Roost. . , The structure here at 604 Porter Avenue is located in the Old Ocean Springs Historic District. Over its history, the property has housed a private residence, a motor court hotel, and a highly regarded restaurant. Today the wooden building anchors the award-winning and exquisitely renovated boutique hotel named The Roost. , In 1894, E. E. Clement built a private residence here at the corners of Porter and Martin Avenues. In 1952, Wilbur C. Wisnasky and his neighbor Lehman Parker modified the property to create the Wilbur Hotel and Motor Court, incorporating the main house and an eight unit flat- roofed, concrete motel motor court. The Wilbur's slogan was "Come For A Season or Come For A Day." In 1997, three local partners had success transforming the building into the popular Porter House restaurant. In 2016, a team of entrepreneurs breathed new life into the historic building by creating The Roost boutique hotel, opening in April 2017. Utmost care was taken to restore and celebrate the building's cultural heritage, maintaining the majestic oak trees on the property and salvaging original wood accenting throughout. , The building at 604 Porter has twice been honored with the HOSA Bob and Virginia Meyer Award, once in 1998 as Porter House and again in 2017 as The Roost. , This informational sign is part of a community project led by the Historic Ocean Springs Association, and is made possible by a grant from the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area. , We thank the City of Ocean Springs for their support of this project.