Meridian

Meridian is a city in Mississippi. It was a titan of commerce of sorts during the Reconstruction era and up through the Great Depression, even after General Tecumseh Sherman had torched it, due to its being a hub to five major rail lines and manufacturing during its golden age. It is now a treasure trove for some of the architecture preserved from that period. Meridian is also noted for being the location of the US v. Cecil Price court case, where several Ku Klux Klan members were charged for the abduction and murder of three Civil Rights workers in 1964 in nearby Neshoba County, an event analogously portrayed in the film Mississippi Burning.

• Historic districts. Among others, these city landmarks give credence to the nostalgic feel of yesteryear: 
  • 🌍 Threefoot Building, 601 22nd Ave, 16 story Art Deco building from 1929 whose financiers were ironically put out of business by the Great Depression thereafter, now commemorated indirectly with an annual Threefoot Arts Festival.
  • 🌍 Riley Center, 2200 5th St, also known as the Grand Opera House from 1889, in late Victorian/Empire Romanesque style, with a distinctive proscenium that has the face of a lady.
  • 🌍 Meridian Museum of Art, 628 25th Ave, formerly a Carnegie library from 1913, of which there were actually two in Meridian, one for whites and one for blacks, the latter no longer in existence. Aside from its attractive Carnegie design, the building houses an intriguing array of art exhibits.
  • 🌍 Wechsler School, 1430 30th Ave, the first school to be built for African Americans with public funds in the state of Mississippi, it's now more or less a shell with broken windows and such.
  • 🌍 E.F. Young Hotel, 2422 5th St, this was the only hotel where African Americans could stay prior to Civil Rights Movement changes
• 🌍 Highland Park, 1720 Jimmie Rogers Memorial Dr. notable because it features the Dentzel antique carousel, which people wax sentimental over because supposedly it is the only one of its kind, with a double row of horses and things, in existence today. The park also has a plaque and museum about Meridian-born country/blues star Jimmie Rogers, although the current operation of said museum seems to be questionable. Unfortunately the environs of this location can be a little sketchy. (updated Aug 2021)
• 🌍 Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum, 1808 4th St, ☏ +1 601 693-9905. Th, F, Sa 10am-3pm. if you like old machines, you'll likely love this place, housed in a former foundry, with steam engines and implements for this and that. (updated Aug 2021)
• 🌍 Grave of the Gypsy Queen, 701 40th Ave (in the Rose Hill Cemetery). if you're really wanting to get off the beaten track, you can find this peculiar grave of a Romany leader who led that nomadic community that somewhat descended upon Meridian of all places in the late 19th century. (updated Aug 2021)

• 🌍 Bonita Lakes Park, Bonita Reservoir Road. Daily 5am-10pm. This park offers a great trail looping around a lake so that you can admire the Piney Woods while working off that slice of Mississippi Mud Cake or fried food frenzy. You may see deer or a statue of a merry-go-round horse paying homage to the historic carousel in town. (updated Aug 2021)

• 🌍 Harvest Grill, 618 22nd Ave, ☏ +1 601-282-5069. Serving both lunch and dinner. (updated May 2017)
• 🌍 Weidmann's, 210 22nd Ave, ☏ +1 601 581-5770. Southern restaurant, has been around since 1870. (updated May 2017)

There are no hotels in the city center, most are instead clustered around the Interstate highway south of Meridan.

• 🌍 Hilton Garden Inn Meridian, 109 US-11, ☏ +1 601-485-3506. (updated May 2017)
• 🌍 Motel 6, 2309 S Frontage Rd. $50. (updated Nov 2021)