Mississippi Modernists

While popular national stereotypes of Mississippi’s architecture include white columned mansions or poor tenant shacks surrounded by cotton fields, Mississippi’s 20th century architects established a beachhead of Modernist design that received attention in the national press. Beginning with Eastabutchie native N.W. Overstreet in the 1930s and flowering with younger native architects such as James “Jack” Canizaro, Tom Biggs and Chris Risher, among others, mid-century Mississippi saw the construction of many recognized Modernist landmarks. This presentation will (re)introduce audiences to these Mississippi Modernists, examine their education and training and review their most important works.

Speakers Expertise:

Jennifer Baughn has been the chief architectural historian at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History since 2007. She is the author of numerous articles on the state’s historic buildings including the book Buildings of Mississippi published in 2021. Her specialties include the architecture of Mississippi, historic school architecture, architectural documentation, archival research, and historical writing.