Hattiesburg, one of the original Mississippi Main Street com-munities, is enjoying a renewed commitment to revitalizing theheart of our city.As we celebrate the 125th anniversary of theincorporation of our city, we have an opportunity to review arich history and the founding of our community.It all startedwith a dream and a vision.The leaders today have a vision andare working to make Downtown Hattiesburg the center of cul-ture and entertainment for our area combined with unique shop-ping and dining experiences. Downtown continues to be a desti-nation for people of all ages.Downtown events such as Art Walk in the spring, fall andwinter attract visitors in record numbers.Live after Five out-door concerts in April and October are a new addition to theever-increasing line-up of special activities for visitors to down-town.The Area Development Partnership continues to presentHubFest, which brings thousands to the streets of downtown.Eaglepalooza is an outdoor street concert presented by USM and brownstone’s and is a resounding success each year with thou-sands of students converging on downtown.2009 marks the27th year of the October Brown Bag Noonday concerts offered bythe Hattiesburg Arts Council, one of the longest-running eventsin downtown Hattiesburg.The Annual Mobile StreetRenaissance Festival is now part of the Historic Blues Trail of Mississippi and joins an elite group of festivals being presentedacross our state this year in celebration of our Blues Heritage.Downtown is a place of high-style historic architecture origi-nally developed in the 1890 era.“Cornerstone” buildings are being renovated for continued use into the new century.The Saenger Theater, in the heart of downtown, has beenrestored to its 1929 splendor.Under the management of theHattiesburg Convention Commission, programming in this facili-ty is impressive for a community our size.Another downtown cornerstone is the renovated historiclibrary, now the Hattiesburg Cultural Center, home to theHattiesburg Arts Council office and gallery, the HattiesburgArea Historical Society Museum and the HHDA office.Visitors will find a treasure of shopping, dining and entertain-
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betsy rowell
Betsy Rowell of Hattiesburg is atwo-term member of the HattiesburgCity Council. She holds membershipin the Area Development Partnershipand the Forrest/Lamar RepublicanWomen Betsy is the Director of theHattiesburg Historic DistrictAssociation.She can be reached atrowell@downtownhattiesburg.com
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