After Katrina: Lost Architecture in Mississippi

It's impossible to calculate the full extent of Hurricane Katrina's damages. In addition to the loss of lives, homes, and jobs, towns along America's Gulf Coast lost some of their most valuable cultural resources. As residents begin to clean up the rubble, historians and museum curators are cataloging the destruction.

Destroyed by Katrina

The Dantzler House
This elegant, columned home had just been refurbished and was about to open as a Mardi Gras Museum.

The Tullis Toledano Manor
Constructed in 1856, the Tullis-Toledano Manor was a stately Greek Revival home with massive brick columns.

The Brielmaier House
The arched latticework and three-room, T-shape flood plan made this elaborately detailed 1895 home a rare national treasure.

Damaged by Katrina

Beauvoir
Built shortly before the Civil War in 1851, this raised cottage became the final home for confederate leader Jefferson Davis. The Presidential archives are safe on the second floor, but the porch and columns were destroyed.

The Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art
Celebrated architect Frank O. Gehry designed the new museum, and the project was not yet completed. A casino barge smashed into the glittering steel walls.

Katrina's Destruction: Before and After Photos

Hurricane Katrina's Impact on Historic Structures in Mississippi, Mississippi Heritage Trust

Surveying the Gulf Coast's Cultural Losses, National Public Radio

In Mississippi, History Is Now a Salvage Job, New York Times