MS: Part of old Hattiesburg High may be salvaged

Hattiesburg American, May 29, 2007:

Despite the fact that the front of the building has been destroyed, the back portion of the old Hattiesburg High School on Main Street may be salvageable, Fire Chief David Webster said this morning as firefighters kept the building cool and contained what’s left of the fire that began at 6:05 a.m. today.

The building, owned by the Historic Hattiesburg Downtown Association, was going to be used as a new home for the University of Southern Mississippi’s art department, said association President Joe White.

The roof of the building caved in at about 8 a.m., leaving just the frame of the four-story building intact.

The fire began on the first floor and moved its way through the building, Webster said. Firefighters will continue to cool the outside of the building – to prevent damage to surrounding structures – until the fire inside has been put out, Webster said.

In the last few years, several groups have worked toward saving the building and turning it into an arts center for students at the University of Southern Mississippi.

After Hurricane Katrina caused a lot of damage, a group of about 40 volunteers from Michigan came to Hattiesburg to repair the roof, board up windows and make other repairs to safeguard the building.

In December, Mississippi Department of Archives and History announced that the project qualified for a $1 million grant to aid the building's restoration project through the Hurricane Relief Grant Fund.

To renovate the building into an arts center was estimated to cost between $12 million and $16 million.