City of Biloxi Museums Collection Salvage and Restoration HURRICANE KATRINA EMERGENCY GRANT

FAIN: PC-50031-06

City of Biloxi (Biloxi, MS 39533-0508)
Bill Raymond (Project Director: May 2006 to December 2011)

The City of Biloxi suffered the destruction of most of its museums and historic structures by Hurricane Katrina. Only three significant city-owned museums remain: the Old Brick House Museum, a historic house built in 1840, holding collections of period furniture, silver, and glassware; the Mardi Gras Museum, an ante-bellum hotel, housing a historical collection of costumes, photographs, and artifacts from over 30 registered local Mardi Gras krewes; and the Glenn L. Swetman House, an historic house museum with furniture and decorative arts dating from 1820 to 1940. Damage to all three structures was severe, but engineering assessments determined that the buildings, which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, are stable enough for restoration. Water-damaged artifacts from the museums' collections have been salvaged and stored in preparation for conservation treatment. The Brick House Museum lost almost all of its silver and glassware, but many objects in the furniture collection have been salvaged. The Mardi Gras Museum lost all 130 artifacts and costumes housed in their recently restored secondary facility, the Dantzler-Robinson House, which was completely destroyed by the hurricane. Their main collection of about 770 costumes and artifacts survived intact in the historic Magnolia Hotel, which dates to 1846. Many costumes were damaged by the eight-foot storm surge that flooded the ground floor, and other costumes and textiles require mold abatement and cleaning. The Glenn L. Swetman House also had water damage to the furniture and artifacts housed on the first floor. These items are being treated for mold and moved to climate-controlled storage.