Photo by Glenda Sanders
Leon Powell , owner of The Island 601 , which features authentic Jamaican cuisine , sees an increase in downtown traffic due to the district ’ s revitalization
Photo by Glenda Sanders
Downtown ’ s exciting revitalization reminds Robin Hull , owner of The Robin ’ s Nest , of the bustling activity she remembers as a child shopping with her family in the business district .
Called the Sela Ward Parkway to the south in honor of one of Meridian ’ s most famous daughters , 22nd Avenue extends to the interstate .
Gone is the avenue ’ s long abandoned Village Fair Mall and , instead , a new Lauderdale County Government Complex will welcome visitors off the interstate once it is completed .
Also missing is the parkway ’ s old Sears building , replaced by a children ’ s museum that draws tens of thousands of visitors each year .
Across the street , construction continues to convert the old Hooper Electronics store into a sustainable footwear manufacturing company called The Shoe Loop , or Shloop .
Meridian Mayor Jimmie Smith said the revitalization of 22nd Avenue has been a long time coming for the city , a dream of government officials for decades .
“ We have got a lot of potential ,” he said of the city . “ I hear those conversations just about every day . People are constantly saying , ‘ you know Meridian is looking a lot better than it has ever looked before .’”
Smith credits government leadership , past and present , for all having played a role .
“ Part of our growth is about leadership because the leadership has got to take us to where we need to go and they have got to see it ,” Smith said .
“ There is no one administration that made all of this happen . It is about every administration ,” he added . “ You can go back to every mayor that we ’ ve had and they have made a contribution to where we are today regardless of whether you agree with them or not .”
Many date the rebirth of downtown to the restoration of the Grand Opera House and adjoining Marks Rothenberg and Newberry buildings , which reopened as the MSU Riley Center in 2006 . Since then , the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience museum and Mississippi Children ’ s Museum-Meridian have opened . The restored , 16-story Threefoot Hotel in its art deco style reminiscent of the Roaring 20s opened in fall 2021 .
Powell said the increase in foot traffic he is seeing is coming from more than just local residents enjoying downtown ’ s nightlife . Out-of-town visitors to the Riley Center and the Threefoot Hotel , as well as students from the MSU-Meridian Riley Campus , also are growing .
“ You can tell they are tourists with their cameras just taking pictures of the buildings ,” he said . “ Downtown has some unique buildings , and tourists who come in for the day or the night , like for graduation or a family event , they enjoy coming downtown .”
Brette Harman , one of the co-owners of Over the Moon Children ’ s Boutique , agreed downtown is an engaging place to be these days . They moved their shop to its current location on 22nd Avenue and the corner of Sixth Street in January 2020 .
“ It is exciting to be a part of it ,” she said of the revitalization . “ We kind of came in during it , maybe a little bit before , so it has been fun to see it evolve and take off . People are excited about coming downtown to shop and eat .” Hull encourages area residents to come out and see what is happening in downtown Meridian .
“ We have a lot of positive things happening here in Meridian ,” she said . “ With a little more people getting excited , I really think that we can be your next Laurel , like ‘ Hometown ’ down there re-doing everything , or your next Tupelo .” www . meridianstar . com
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