Located right in the center of Mississippi is its capital Jackson, also the state’s largest city with only a population of 150,000. On the left is the third and current capitol building, serving the state government since 1903. On the right is the Standard Life Insurance building. Since it kinda stands out by itself I thought this was Jackson’s highest building, but actually it is number three in the city. It does redeem itself by once holding a world record; when built in the early 1930s it became the largest reinforced concrete structure in the world!s
These two pictures show the old capitol building on the left, which now is a museum, and a upscale house in Jackson on the right. Most upscale houses like the one on the right are built in this style throughout Mississippi and the south.
Two important government buildings here in Jackson, the city hall on the left guarded by a statue of Andrew Jackson, and the governor’s mansion on the right. When the civil war took place, Union forces took this city twice from the Confederates and burned most of Jackson in an attempt to destroy one of their key railroad and manufacturing infrastructures. The city hall and the governor’s mansion were both some of the few government buildings that survived the burning of Jackson. Since the mansion was built, it has continuously housed the governor of Mississippi, and today holds the record for the longest occupied governor’s mansion in the United States.
This building above is the Mississippi War Memorial, a place I was really was looking forward to visiting but unfortunately when I stopped by in Jackson it was closed. I hear the inside is pretty interesting, and does a good job of documenting both local battles in the state as well as stories of Mississippians fighting in wars overseas. Above is a replica of the tomb of the unknown soldier.
These two pictures were taken in downtown Jackson. The guy on the right came up to me telling me how he was homeless and had HIV, and went out of his way to show me all his medications to prove he wasn’t lying. Of course he asked for money, and after I gave him a few dollars we had a quick talk about Mississippi in general. I never did ask him how he ended up homeless so I’ll never know his real story, but he honestly seemed to be a good person who simply had bad luck in life.
These photos are from two different parks in Jackson, battlefield park on the left, and park on the right. Apparently this park wasn’t the exact location of a civil war battle but some artillery was moved here in honor of fighting that took place near by. I didn’t have any personal issues but from what I read online this seems to be a sketchy place to visit. The park on the right is located within a square that was designed when the city was originally built, it’s the only remaining square that survived the civil war and general changes in the city itself.
The downtown area has been recently remodeled, with several new structures built, but a neighborhood away is filled with rundown streets and abandoned buildings and houses. This wasn’t one or two buildings, but it seemed like block after block. I’m not sure the story behind this, but these streets were my first impression here, so when I found the nicer areas of Jackson I was happy there was more to the city than this.
Above are just two photos of abandoned or condemned properties I saw in Jackson. I could have put dozens of more photos if I wanted to, but I’m not here to focus on the negative side of the capital. It seems that in most southern states I visited there are often places like these, but this was the probably the largest area I’ve come across. I’m not sure why the south has such large amounts of abandoned building.
