Columbia High School has earned a place of national distinction for its historic building.
The art-deco style structure was recently named to Architectural Digest’s list of top designs in the United States.
The magazine selected one school building in each of the 50 states and the CHS building, constructed in 1937 by the Works Progress Administration, took inspiration from European modernism. The building is highly geometric and its bright white color makes it stand out.
Structures from across the country represented all types of architecture styles from gothic to art deco. Some of the buildings listed were more than 100 years old, while others were new construction.
At last week’s Columbia Board of Trustees meeting, the distinction was mentioned by Board members and administrators alike.
“I’m sure you may have seen that Columbia High School was listed in Architectural Digest as being the prettiest high school in Mississippi,” CHS Principal Sheila Burbridge said. “We’re very excited. It was released on Sept. 12 and we were very excited to be a part of the list.”
The Board then applauded the statement.
Marion County Historical Society Museum Curator Chris Watts said the structure is important to Columbia architecturally as well as educationally. The building was designed by N.W. Overstreet.
“He was the same architect that designed the Columbia Waterworks Building,” Watts said. “It’s a cool building. The students don’t really realize how significant it is to Mississippi history.”
“The front of the building is rumored to spell something out,” Watts said. “Most people think it subtly says U.S.A. – at least that’s the rumor.”
The building nearly faced the wrecking ball in 1998, but a bond issue modernized it to accommodate modern teaching methods, building codes and security requirements.
“It’s a beautiful building, and it is often taken for granted,” Watt concluded.
Noah Webster Overstreet was the first registered architect in Mississippi, designing buildings across the state, including Columbia High School, and in Louisiana and Tennessee throughout his long career. Born in Eastabuchie in 1888, Overstreet graduated from what is now Mississippi State University in 1908 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He earned another bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering in 1910 from the University of Illinois at Urbana. He worked as an architectural designer and engineer in Urbana at the firm of Joseph W. Royer, and then moved to Jackson in 1912, establishing the firm Overstreet & Spencer. Over the next decades he would design courthouses, schools, churches, and private residences, including the First Baptist Church and Lamar Life Building in Jackson.
Pictured Above: Columbia High School’s art deco style makes it the top of Architectural Digest’s list in Mississippi. | File Photo
