Hotel Hattiesburg, the Leaf Hotel and the grand dame of them all, the Forrest Hotel, were a few of the hotels that lined the streets of downtown Hattiesburg of yesteryear. In addition to being long-ago closed down, the greater tragedy is that some of the old hotel buildings, like the Leaf on Main Street and Hotel Hattiesburg on Mobile Street, that once graced the streets of our downtown have been demolished.
The loss of those hotels can, in part, be attributed to the rise of that great American city-builder, the automobile. As more and more Americans got behind the wheels of their cars, they were able to move farther and farther away from the heart of our cities. The Interstate Highway System, begun in the 1950s by President Dwight Eisenhower, allowed American cities to spread out, making way for roadside motels, reducing the need for downtown hotels in smaller cities. So it seems cars and Interstates can also be thought of as "city killers."
Having fallen victim to Hattiesburg's backward-thinking habit of demolishing or defacing our architectural landmarks, we've lost some real gems downtown. Just imagine if the twin five-story towers of the Hotel Hattiesburg were still there anchoring Mobile Street. What a shame it's gone, and doubly so when you consider that it was replaced by a parking lot. We have reached the point of recognizing the folly of demolishing the architectural landmarks that once defined our city. Too much has been lost but, thankfully, much of our downtown's architectural infrastructure remains.
Today, Hattiesburg's major hotels are concentrated along a line on U.S. 49 and at Interstate 59 and Hardy Street. At one time, U.S. 49 could be called Hattiesburg Motel Row, with almost all of the city's lodging facilities located on that stretch of highway. just south of Interstate 59. That certainly has changed, especially over the past two decades as hotels have since sprung up along the Hardy Street/ U.S. 98 corridor at I-59. The one exception is the Hotel Indigo, anchoring The District at Midtown.
Still, one part of the Hub City that really needs a new hotel is lacking one. And that would be downtown. After our downtown was virtually vacated by the retail market and even some of our city's largest church congregations, there was less and less need for hotel accommodations in our city center. That's not so true today. In fact, if any part of Hattiesburg is begging for a new hotel, and I mean new from the ground up, it would be downtown.
When I returned to Hattiesburg from Los Angeles in the mid 1990s, I would be laughed at for even making that suggestion. During the days of old I mentioned earlier, there was a need for hotel accommodations downtown. It's where most of the city's major businesses were located and, not only that, serving as the railway passenger hub for south Mississippi, those old hotels were especially needed.
As Hattiesburg's growth shifted, first south down the Broadway Drive/IU.S. 11 corridor, then west out Hardy Street/U.S. 98, our downtown devolved into a shadow of the bustling days of my youth. When I lived in Los Angeles, I made trips home several times a year to visit my family. We're talking the 1980s, when downtown Hattiesburg shut down after 5PM, with all of the banks and government buildings closed for the day. After dark, downtown Hattiesburg had the energy of a ghost town. Happily, that's no longer true.
Around the turn of this century, our downtown began to experience a rebirth. A number of new restaurants, services and retailers began lining the streets of a reenergized downtown Hattiesburg. Not only that, special events like Live at Five, Hubfest, and Festival South help populate the streets of downtown. Over the course of a year, thousands of people drive from out of town to visit Hattiesburg for those events, with some of them needing overnight accommodations.
There are a number of lovely bed and breakfast options downtown. You'll find them located in some of the beautiful turn-of-the-century Victorian mansions that dot our city's historic district. But the Hattiesburg Convention and Tourism Commission is working to make Hattiesburg more of a tourist destination, and for that to happen, a new hotel would be the perfect fit.
Our sister city to the north, Meridian, is also promoting itself as a destination city with its own attractions. That city's tallest building is the landmark Threefoot Building,
which I still remember as the Greater Mississippi Life Building. The handsome 16-story art deco tower sat vacant for decades and, sadly, had begun to fall into disrepair. But Meridian is lucky enough to have seen it reborn as a luxury hotel, complete with a rooftop bar.
Might the same happen to the former Forrest Hotel in downtown Hattiesburg? Or will that building join the trend of being converted to residential living space, as with the America and Carter Buildings downtown? Whatever happens, for Hattiesburg to be taken seriously as a tourist destination, a downtown hotel is an important piece of that puzzle.
Downtown has changed a lot in most of our lifetimes — from its days as the true hub of Hattiesburg's business activity in the 60s, to the lean years of the 80s, to the days of its rebirth we're witnessing now.
How long has it been since we've seen a major all-new construction project break ground downtown? The landmark Library for Hattiesburg and Forrest County comes to mind. Perfectly situated near the base of Hardy Street, it anchors what might be considered the "front door" to downtown Hattiesburg. With projects like Gordon Creek Commons on the drawing board, that area of downtown is the perfect spot for new hotel construction. Let's at least keep our fingers crossed that a national hotel chain has its eyes on us.
The future waits for downtown Hattiesburg. It's time we dressed for the part.
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Elijah Jones is a proud Hattiesburg native who enjoys writing. Email him at edjhubtown@aol.com.
