Old Aerial Photo
By David Howie
I found this treasure.
I found an old aerial picture when I was cleaning out a file drawer recently. Back when you had to rent an airplane to get pictures like this. It’s fascinating to see the changes in the last 40 or so years.
At the top of the picture is Smith-Wills Stadium, which opened in 1975. Just below that on the left side is the clearing where the MS School for the Deaf is today. The clearing on the right side is where the Ag Museum is today. You can see Lakeland Dr going across the top right corner.
Interstate 55 cuts across the picture left to right just below the center line. It looks like it’s 2 lanes each direction. And it’s not built up at all like it is now. The Interstate is the same level as the Frontage Rd.
The first building on the left is 3800 I-55 N. My dad built this building in 1962 for Allstate insurance. It’s now owned by St. Dominic’s (their Toulouse Building). There was once a little driveway under the overhang in the front, but that was removed when the road was widened in the late 80’s. St. Dominic’s tuned the wavy overhang into their big triangle.
The next building is 3780 I-55 N. My dad built that building in 1964 for IBM. It doesn’t have the addition in the back that was put on in 1979. The 3 oak trees in the front are maybe 15’ high and are now taller than the 2nd story. St. Dominic’s owns this building as well (their Naples building).
The next building is 3760 I-55 N (St. Dominic’s now calls it the Lima building). It had a sign on the roof that said Dixie National Life. The next building is 3750 (St. Dominic’s Valencia building). Then the hotel, now the Parkside Inn, and what’s now Kemistry Lounge. It looks like a gas station on the far right where Tullos Chiropractic is now.
Homer Lee Howie
My dad bought all this property in the mid 50’s as part of a 14 acre tract that was cut off by the new interstate from the rest of Mr. Blaxley’s land. He paid $100,000 for it, which he felt was pretty high at the time. Additionally it was zoned residential, and he ended up going all the way to the MS State Supreme Court to get it rezoned commercial. He was told at the time by his primary banker that he was crazy to buy property “way out there” as everything significant was downtown.
God blessed his efforts though and he was able to develop the office buildings and sell the rest. I wish I had written down more details from the stories he used to tell from those days.
Give me a call and we’ll work on finding you a place so when you look back in 40 years, you’ll be amazed at the changes.
David Howie
