HistoricSiteMarkers
Progressive & Modern Era

Old Gulfport High School

Gulfport, Harrison County, Mississippi

Marker Inscription

Old Gulfport High School. The Gulfport High School, built in 1923 by architect N.W. Overstreet, replaced two earlier schools built in 1899 and 1905, both of which burned. Opened in 1924 at a new location on 15th Street, the school was converted to a junior high in 1977 due to consolidation and renamed Central Junior High School. This school closed in 1999. In 2001 the General Services Administration purchased the campus and began a renovation project. The Dan Russell Jr. United States Federal Courthouse Annex was completed in 2003. Mississippi Department of Archives and History, 2014.

Erected by Mississippi Department of Archives and History

The Story

Built in 1923 to a design by noted Mississippi architect N.W. Overstreet, this school replaced two earlier buildings that had each burned. It opened in 1924 on 15th Street, later became Central Junior High, and after closing in 1999 was reborn as a federal courthouse annex.

Why it matters

Its long life — from grand new high school to junior high to federal building — traces how an American city's civic architecture is repurposed rather than lost across a century.

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Related people

  • · N.W. Overstreet

Themes & tags

EducationSchool

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