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A R C H I T E C T, E N T R E P R E N E U R , H U M A N I TA R I A N
Mississippi. But it’s his restora- emergency workers allowed the sound by the storm surge.
tion of Beauvoir, the last home down to the beachfront in the “I was devastated,” Albert
of Confederate President days after Katrina. recalls. “I literally was crying to
Jefferson Davis, that could be “I went on Sept. 9. The 8th see how much devastation there
his crowning glory. The Biloxi was the first day my company was.”
landmark, which was built in got power back. The governor’s But instead of giving up,
1852 and purchased by Davis 14 office faxed us a pass. I remem- Albert said he got his steam up
years later, was almost washed ber telling my wife if there was and got to work rebuilding the
away by Hurricane Katrina on anything left, it will be saved.” antebellum structure and
Aug. 29, 2005, and is one of the Albert was shocked by the repainting the murals. Workers
few historical structures on the damage. Five of the seven out- installed stainless steel braces
Mississippi Gulf Coast to sur- buildings on the 52-acre prop- and rods to make the structure
vive the storm. erty, including the cottages that even stronger. He said the $4
“That’s a very difficult proj- flanked the raised main house, million project, which has got-
ect, but Larry and his staff have and the old hospital that had ten national news coverage,
done an excellent job,” P’Pool built for Confederate veterans should be completed by the end
said. “It was obvious, when we and was later turned into a of the year.
saw there was extreme damage, museum, were washed away. “It’s going to be nicer and
we knew it would be a massive The main house remained, but more authentic than it’s been in
project.” the wrap-around porches and my lifetime,” Albert said. “We
Albert had started restoring graceful front staircase were made it back like when
Beauvoir in 1990, doing the gone. Eight inches of water Jefferson Davis lived in it.”
work bit by bit as money inside the main house had left Architecture became
became available. “We had just mold and stripped away paint Albert’s passion when he was a
a little more painting and it from the handpainted wall student at Hattiesburg High
would have been finished,” he murals. Irreplaceable artifacts, School in 1970 and took a draft-
said. including some of Davis’ manu- ing class that would change his
He was one of the first non- scripts, were swept back into life.
MS CRAFT CENTER
PHOTO BY ALAN KARCHMER
SAENGER THEATRE
HATTIEBURG, MS
BEAUVOIR, BILOXI MS
THAD COCHRAN CENTER
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MS SALVATION ARMY CHAPEL
PHOTO BY HUBERT WORLEY HATTIESBURG, MS