Walthall School | |
Nrhp Type: | cp |
Nocat: | yes |
Partof: | Hattiesburg Historic Neighborhood District (element 205) |
Designated Other1 Name: | Mississippi Landmark |
Designated Other1 Link: | Mississippi Landmark |
Designated Other1 Abbr: | USMS |
Designated Other1 Color: |
|
Designated Other1 Number: | 035-HAT-0705-NRD-ML |
Designated Other1 Date: | May 6, 1988[1] |
Designated Other1 Num Position: | bottom |
Coordinates: | 31.3188°N -89.2881°W |
Built: | 1902[2] |
Architecture: | Mission Revival as of 1928 |
Designated Nrhp Type: | September 17, 1980 |
Partof Refnum: | 80002236[3] |
Walthall School, also known as Court Street School, is located at 601 Court Street in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It was utilized as a public school building from 1902 until 1987.[2] The building is a contributing property to the Hattiesburg Historic Neighborhood District, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[3] The building was designated a Mississippi Landmark in 1988.[1]
Walthall School was constructed as a two-story brick building with a 12-bay front facade that contained round-arch windows. The building has a hipped roof, with a Mission style effect achieved by a curvilinear gable. It has one-story flat-roof additions. Stucco was applied to the outer brick walls as a Works Progress Administration project (between 1935 and 1943).[3]
Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, the Hattiesburg School Board engaged the services of architect Robert E. Lee to design the Court Street school building.[4] [5]
The school was named for Edward Cary Walthall, a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and a United States senator from Mississippi (1885–1894).[6]
In 1928, the building was expanded and remodeled to reflect a Mission Revival architectural style, under the direction of architect Noah Webster Overstreet.[7] The school was again enlarged by additions made in 1941, by architects Landry & Matthes, and in 1957, by Associated School Architects.[4]
Use of the structure as a public school ended in 1987.[2] In 1995, the Hattiesburg Public School District sold the building and grounds to the Hattiesburg Historic Neighborhood Association.[8] The Association then created the Walthall Foundation to own and operate the building.
In 2006, the Walthall Foundation sold the building to a development company for establishment of condominiums within the structure, while retaining the building's Mississippi Landmark status, as well as its status on the National Register of Historic Places.[8]