Biloxi City Hall

Biloxi City Hall. . The City of Biloxi adopted this building as its city hall in 1960, but it was originally built as a combined post office, federal courthouse, and customs house. Federal funds for the construction were secured through the efforts of the Biloxi Commercial Club in 1902. The Standard Construction Company of Chicago began work in early 1905, but several obstacles, including a lawsuit over inferior materials, a hurricane, a yellow fever epidemic, and supply failures, prolonged the project. The new federal building was dedicated on August 18, 1908. , Architect James Knox Taylor, Supervising Architect of the United States Treasury, designed the Neo-Classical Revival-style building. More than 1200 tons, or over 1600 cubic feet, of marble from Georgia quarries were used in the exterior walls alone. Each stone is attached to the inner brick walls by clamps of galvanized iron incorporated with cement. The newspaper called the $125,000 building "the pride of Biloxi" and predicted that the massive structure "should stand for a thousand years." , Hundreds of immigrants swore the oath of allegiance and became naturalized American citizens in the building when, from 1908 to 1959, it housed the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. During the mid-1950s, the federal government planned the demolition of the edifice in order to build a larger facility. The City of Biloxi negotiated with the U.S. Government to save the historic structure. In a property exchange finalized on April 2, 1957, the city gave land on the southwest corner of Jackson and Main streets to the government as a construction site. In return, the city received the federal building, which was transformed into the new Biloxi City Hall. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, designated as a Mississippi Landmark in 1986, and a Biloxi Landmark in 2003. , The building stood unscathed through several major hurricanes until Hurricane Elena in 1985. The loss of the roof during the Category 3 storm caused water damage throughout the building. In 2005, the unprecedented tidal surge of Hurricane Katrina covered the steps of City Hall. The strong Category 3 hurricane caused severe roof damage. An $852,000 repair and restoration project was undertaken in 2009. The newly refurbished City Hall was rededicated in June 2010. , [Photo Captions] , Right top: The U.S. Federal Building, dedicated on August 18,1908, is shown here in the 1920s, it was rededicated as Biloxi City Hall on April 2, 1960., Right middle: In this June 1, 1907, photograph, workmen are nearing the completion of the impressive marble structure that would eventually become Biloxi City Hall. , Bottom Right: This April 1, 1905, image is one of a series of chronological photographs that were made to show the building progress of the U.S. Federal Building.