What to See in Meridian - Top Sights and Attractions

Museum in Meridian, Mississippi. Soulé Steam Feed Works is a historic business founded in Meridian, Mississippi in 1891 by George Soulé. The complex was listed as a contributing property to Union Station Historic District, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 under the Meridian Multiple Resource Area. It was listed as a Mississippi Landmark in 2003. The business, known for its many patented innovations in steam engine technology, reached its height around the turn of the century, producing products that were sold around the world.

In 2003, the Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum obtained the lease to the complex and has operated there since. The city holds an annual Soulé Live Steam Festival at the complex attracting thousands of people from around the nation.^[1]

Theatre in Meridian, Mississippi. The Riley Center, also known as the Grand Opera House and formally as the Mississippi State University Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts, is a performing arts and conference center in Meridian, Mississippi. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

The Grand Opera House and the adjacent Marks-Rothenberg Department store were built in 1889 by half-brothers Israel Marks and Levi Rothenberg. The opera house was a site for entertainment and theatre for decades.

In addition to the extensive theater renovation, the Riley Center project redeveloped the department store as a conference facility. Together the theater and conference space make up the Mississippi State University Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts, owned and operated by Mississippi State University-Meridian Campus.^[2]

Museum. The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience is a museum that opened April 28, 2018 in downtown Meridian, Mississippi, United States. The 50 million dollar museum highlights Mississippi artists and celebrates the contributions of arts and entertainment enterprisers in every artistic discipline. The museum opened during Mississippi's bicentennial celebration. The institutions principal mission is education of the public by recognizing and honoring legendary artists and entertainers through interactive exhibits that visually, auditorily, and kinesthetically challenge, entertain, and inform visitors. The MAX housed in a contemporary, two-level structure contains 58,500 square feet of space. The facility was designed and planned by Meridian-based architectural firm, LPK Architects, P.A. with exhibit design by Gallagher & Associates.

The exhibits are organized around six themes: Land, Community, Home, Church, People + Places, and Global Community. Within these six themes, there are 15 total permanent galleries of exhibits and two spaces for changing exhibits. Audio and video stories are used to communicate who, what, where, when, why, and how Mississippians have influenced all areas of the arts and the creative economy all over the world. Other elements include a Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Hall of Fame, museum store, recording studio, both a 2D art studio (painting and drawing) and a 3D art studio (ceramics), multi-purpose gallery, outdoor amphitheater, second-floor terrace, and courtyard.

A Hollywood-style Walk of Fame, unveiled in 2009, makes its way from the nearby Mississippi State University Riley Center to the MAX site. New Walk of Fame stars will accompany the earlier state legends, including Elvis Presley, Jimmie Rodgers, B.B. King, William Faulkner, Morgan Freeman, Walter Inglis Anderson, Hartley Peavey, Sela Ward and others.^[4]

Art museum in Meridian, Mississippi. Meridian Museum of Art is an art museum located at 628 25th Avenue, Meridian, Mississippi. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and declared a Mississippi Landmark in 1985. The building originally served as the home of the First Presbyterian Church of Meridian until the city of Meridian bought the building in 1911 and turned it into a Carnegie Library in 1913. The city originally constructed two Carnegie libraries — one for whites and one for African-Americans; the building currently housing the Meridian Museum of Art served as the white library. In 1970, after the libraries integrated and moved to a new location, the vacant building at 628 25th Avenue was transformed into the Meridian Museum of Art and still operates today.^[5]

Church in Meridian, Mississippi. First Presbyterian Church of Meridian is a historic church in Meridian, Mississippi, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The church was founded in 1856 by eight members including John T. Ball and Lewis A. Ragsdale, founders of the city of Meridian. The reverend at the time was William Curtis Emerson.

From 1856 to 1867, the church met in the second floor of a store owned by one of the members. In 1867, the church had grown enough to construct a building on the corner of 25th Avenue and 7th Street in which to hold its services. After a fire on January 27, 1883, the building was destroyed; members of the church later rebuilt the structure using brick instead of wood. The church remained at its location on 25th Avenue and 7th Street until September 25, 1911, when it was sold to the city of Meridian. The city currently uses the building to house the Meridian Museum of Art.

After selling the old building, the church bought a lot at the corner of 23rd Avenue and 10th Street. The building, designed by architect Penn Jeffries Krouse, was built in 1913 and dedicated on March 29, 1914. In 1951, an educational building addition used for Sunday School was completed under the leadership of pastor Dr. J. Kelly Unger.

It was listed on the National Register in 1979. It was deemed more notable than other churches in Meridian for "its historical significance" and because it was designed by P.J. Krouse, "architect of most of Meridian's outstanding buildings from 1900-1920".

The sanctuary was renovated in 1982. In October 1996, the church bought an adjacent building which became the Administration & Education Building and is used for staff offices as well as both Adult Sunday School and committee meetings.^[6]

Catholic church in Meridian, Mississippi. St. Patrick Catholic Church is a parish of the Catholic Church in Meridian, Mississippi, in the Diocese of Jackson. Its historic church, located at 2614 Davis Street, was designed by Alfred Zucker. Since 1995, St. Patrick's, the historically African-American parish of St. Joseph, and St. Joseph of Cupertino at Naval Air Station Meridian have operated as the Catholic Community of Meridian, sharing pastoral and administrative staff.

Catholic missionaries from Paulding County arrived in 1853, and the community build its first church on the site in 1866, with 12 families on the roll. Its first resident parish priest, Fr. Louis Vally, arrived in 1868. Under his leadership the parish grew considerably, starting its parochial school in 1873 and acquiring land for its convent in 1877. It was also during Vally's tenure that the current Gothic Revival was built, in 1886.^[7]

City or town hall in Meridian, Mississippi. City Hall in Meridian, Mississippi in the United States is located at 601 24th Avenue. Originally designed by architect P.J. Krouse in 1915, the building underwent several renovations during the 1950s that diminished the historic quality of the building. City Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and as a Mississippi Landmark in 1988. After complaints of a faulty HVAC system, the building underwent a restoration to its original 1915 appearance beginning in September 2006. The project was originally estimated to cost $7–8 million and last two years. Because of several factors including the building's listings on historic registers, a lawsuit filed by a subcontractor, and unforeseen structural problems, the final cost and duration of the renovation far exceeded original estimates. The renovation was completed in January 2012 at a total cost projected to reach around $25 million after interest on debt.

The building is home to many city offices, including that of Percy Bland, the current mayor of Meridian.^[8]

Building in Meridian, Mississippi. The Threefoot Building is a historic office building located in downtown Meridian, Mississippi named after the Threefoot family who owned an operated a business in downtown Meridian during the late 19th century and early 20th century. Designed by Claude H. Lindsley and completed in 1929 in the Art Deco style, the 16-story building is still the tallest in the city. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 18, 1979, under the Meridian Multiple Property Submission of buildings contributing to the historic nature of the city's downtown. In 2008 the Threefoot was recognized by the state as a Mississippi Landmark.

Despite the completion of the building nearly immediately preceding the onset of the Great Depression, leading to the bankruptcy of the Threefoot family, the building was occupied by many different tenants until the 1990s, by which time suburban development had drawn off most of them in favor of peripheral locations. Hoping to attract new tenants to the building and the rest of downtown, in 2002 the city started the annual Threefoot Arts Festival, naming it after the building. After attracting some interest in the mid 2000s, the city's plans for redevelopment foundered with changes in city administration in 2009, resulting in the National Trust for Historic Preservation listing the building in 2010 in its annual group of "America's Most Endangered Places." In 2015 after extensive efforts by a newer administration, an agreement was reached in which the building was sold to a private developer and is project to be converted into a Courtyard by Marriott by the end of the year 2020.^[9]

Theater in Meridian, Mississippi. The Hamasa Shrine Temple Theater, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, is a historic theater located at 2320 8th Street in Meridian, Mississippi. The Temple Theater was constructed in the Moorish Revival style and began screening silent films in 1928. The theater features a Byzantine motif, a swirl of marble fountains, and large bronze chandeliers. At the time of its construction, the theater contained one of the largest stages in the United States, second only to the Roxy Theater in New York City. The theater houses one of only two Robert Morton theatre organs still installed in their original locations in the State of Mississippi – the other being installed at the Saenger Theater in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Both organs are under the care and restoration efforts of the Magnolia Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society.

The Temple, originally used for vaudeville and movies, is now used year-round for area events, live stage shows, plays, and concerts.^[11]