Collections are an extension of memories in tangible form.
When something piques interest, evokes special and sentimental memories, connects thoughts to tangible objects, and brings immense joy to a collector a collection is born.
Summer is right around the corner, and if treasure hunting did in fact have a season I honestly believe we are entering said season.
Tucked away antique shops, flea markets, estate sales, fairs and festivals, and the 127 Yard Sale immediately spring to mind as treasure troves to visit.
From great works of fiction to classic novels to great poetry works to cookbook special editions and all reads in between, bibliophiles (those who collects books) recognize the volumes of worth found in a prized collection.
In our auction days we often purchased box lots brimming with vintage and antique tools. There was always some level of demand for them, and the wonder of provenance and purpose made for an excellent history lesson.
Collections featuring pottery pieces from such companies as McCoy and Hull have long been in high demand among collectors.
Unique shapes, distinct designs, and matte pastel finishes make these pieces instantly recognizable as well as increase the desire factor of these collectibles that remain both affordable and sought after treasures.
Halloween collectibles continue to be highly sought after by collectors.
Charles Kirchhof founded his Kirchhof Patent Co. in 1852. Making and developing patents, Kirchhof Patent Co. specialized in toys and Christmas candleholders eventually trademarking tin ratchet Halloween noisemakers.
Kirchhof Patent Co. added rattlers, whistles, clangers, and tambourine noisemakers to the market much to the joy of kids and collectors alike.
Hesitation on buying this appealing jug when I first saw it resulted in me missing out on acquiring it for my collection.
As it goes more often than not in the treasure hunting game you will learn the best time to buy antiques is when you first see them.
Distinctive architectural aspects of hotels and motels, for that matter, often play host to the moments and mementoes responsible for making a lasting impression of a memorable stay.
One of my favorite historical landmark hotels, Hotel Bentley, is a hometown legend.
Built by timber baron Joseph Bentley at a cost of $700,000, Hotel Bentley is a stunning hometown testament to classic Renaissance-style with its opulent grand foyers, crystal chandeliers, and marble staircases.
Designed by architect George R. Mann, Hotel Bentley is arguably the architectural gem of DeSoto Street.
Notable guests in its 116 year old history include Major General George Patton, Lieutenant Colonel Omar Bradley, Colonel Dwight David Eisenhower, and Henry Kissinger.
When the last owner decided to shutter Hotel Bentley I was able to acquire a few of the items to add to my collection of hotel silver and dinnerware.
Welcome additions to my collection include an etched seltzer bottle, lithograph from the hotel art collection, and a dinnerware charger from the Venetian Room.
Even with non-smoking laws and policies in place, matchbooks remain a highly collectible item.
This very small collection of matchbooks collected from Las Vegas hotels and restaurants we frequented over the years remains a well guarded matchbook collection.
Power outages, fire pits, birthday candles, or barbecue grills need not apply- these vintage matchbooks are for admiring purposes only.
Today’s Fetching Friday is in regal remembrance of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
I am opting to stay the course of interior design and interior decorating, thus the images denoting in regal remembrance place the emphasis on interiors steeped in British influence.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II leaves a lasting impression, and her beauty and majesty lives on through traditions, interiors, architecture, pageantry, and regal influence.
Exquisite exterior entryways standout as the focal point feature that most contributes to the desired effect of curb appeal- an aesthetic that beautifully welcomes style home.
Today’s A Most Fetching Design Friday features impressive images from the design portfolios of T.S. Adams Studio, Architects and Residential Designer William T. Baker.
Striking images from design portfolios gifts the house and home enthusiast designs to admire and interiors by which to glean inspiration from.
Although many decor accessories and furnishings know no season, particular colors, textures, and patterns do in fact typify a particular season. There’s something so fall about a wild turkey illustration, antique copper water cooler, and a rustic painted hoop back bench chair inspired by an 18th century Hickory original design.
The Delia 8-Light foyer pendant in bronze and the Currey & Company Beesthorpe Lantern in golden Pyrite Bronze-finished wrought iron possess the qualities of well designed jewelry- fashionable, brilliant, and graceful.
Inspiration is everywhere, and the architecture of the Louisiana low-country serves the architectural detailing of this William T. Baker designed home. Seeing as I have a strong affinity for Louisiana architecture and herringbone brick floors, this image immediately caught my eye and my heart.
I hope you enjoyed today’s A Most Fetching Friday featuring a selection of impressive images from the design portfolios of T.S. Adams Studio, Architects and Residential Designer William T. Baker.
Updating and refreshing blog posts is a necessary exercise in relevancy just as updating and refreshing our decor is.
A recent discovery of original images of the Broadwater Beach Hotel and Resort by architectural photographer Ezra Stoller and the video Biloxi Memories and the Broadwater Beach Hotel highlighting the heyday of the Broadwater Beach Resort is an exciting development (the video is posted towards the end of the post) and the main reason for updating Souvenirs: The Architecture and Interior Design Of The Broadwater Beach Hotel.
In compliance with licensing and copyright permission, the usage of the Ezra Stoller images was only approved for use in Pinterest board format.
Provided link to the Pinterest board is also towards the end of the post.
If the story of the glamour days of a Mississippi Gulf Coast beach hotel, the architecture and interior design features that impressed and inspired, and the who, what, when, where, and why that made it the pleasure dome on the Coast captures your imagination, then I’ve got a blog post for you.
The decorating wheels of my mind are always turning, especially while on vacation.
Checking in and checking out the architectural, interior design and decorating features of the hotel we are staying at mixes business with pleasure.
Inspiring design and decorating features of the lobby, dining room, swimming pool area and grounds of the hotel and of course, the well appointed hotel room, become impressive souvenirs.
Over the summers of the early and mid 1970s, my family attended American General Contractors conventions in Biloxi, Mississippi.
I fell head over heels in love with the aesthetic of the buildings and interiors of our summer home away from home at 2110 Beach Boulevard on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the Broadwater Beach Hotel and Resort aka the Broadwater.
Through words, Biloxi memories, Ezra Stoller images and decor accessories and accents in the style of, I invite you along on this tour of the architecture and interior design of the Broadwater Beach Hotel.
The Broadwater Beach Hotel began as a modest hotel property in comparison to what the Broadwater would become under the ownership of its second owner, Mrs. Joe W. (Dorothy Dorsett) Brown.
Pete Martin Sr., the original builder and owner, was known as a well-known gambler and rum runner along the coast.
He opened the Art Deco style hotel in 1939, but the desire to invest in a Las Vegas hotel brought about the need to raise the funds to pursue this endeavor.
Enter Texas oilman Joe Brown.
Mr. Brown purchased the property from Pete Martin, Sr. in 1958, but unfortunately Mr. Brown passed away the next year.
Mrs. Joe W. (Dorothy Dorsett) Brown wholeheartedly embraced the task at hand of transforming the Broadwater into a travel destination contender.
Mrs. Brown, with a keen vision and staunch attention to architectural detail, brought to fruition a premier flagship beach hotel and resort property.
Dorothy Dorsett Brown launched a new Sea·Sun-Food·Fun architectural and mid-century modern interior design renovation complete with architectural enhancements, renovations and additions to the property.
Stunning on all beach fronts, the newly completed and modernly improved Broadwater Beach Hotel and Resort raised the hospitality stakes as the foremost host on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
I have diligently tried to locate fixtures, fabrics and finery original to the Broadwater to little or no avail.
I’ve selected a few accents and accessories to illustrate the juxtaposition between yesteryear and today’s interior decorating tastes and trend.
Standing out among the other properties along Beach Boulevard Highway 90, a half circular exposed aggregate palm tree lined driveway and signature concrete canopy glamorously greeted guests.
As coastal day turned to coastal night, exterior recessed, spotlight and pathway lighting illuminated the Broadwater in shades of yellow tinted white.
As an extra-added “front of the house” visual treat, colored bulbs were added to the landscape spotlights in the front landscape beds.
Showcase pieces in the lobby included Terrazzo flooring, framed artwork, Italian chandeliers, mid century modern table lamps and walls dressed in mid century style contemporary walnut paneling.
Extensive grounds encompassing of the Broadwater included Lanai rooms, brick cottages, a resort triple play of swimming pools complete with waterfalls, diving board (remember when hotel pools had a diving board?) and postcard worthy panoramic views of the Gulf of Mexico, family friendly offerings such as a playground and train, elegant dining options featuring live musical entertainment, tennis courts, riding stables and premier Sun and Sea golf courses.
Terrazzo – Exposed Aggregate – Quartzite – Natural Stone
Regarded as a state of the art jewel of the Coast, the Broadwater Marina made its property debut to the boating public in 1965.
Dorothy Dorsett Brown spent $3,000,000.00 to build the marina.
That’s a lot of clams for 1965!
The Broadwater Marina could host up to 150 sail and powerboats.
Hotel shore to ship services such as boat or yacht housekeeping and room service was offered to the marina occupants.
Broadwater Hotel and Marina staff, with effortless precision, mastered the art of hotel and southern hospitality.
No pedometer was needed to record the number of steps taken or distance walked around the sprawling grounds of the Broadwater.
Miles.
Trust me.
We clocked hours swimming under the waterfalls of the Lanai pool, holding court poolside from the swim up tables bedecked with fringed umbrellas in resort festive colors, and sipping Shirley Temples made to order with extra long stemmed cherries and crushed ice.
Room service delivered to the patio of Lanai room 127 was a daily treat enjoyed by the members of our future ladies who lunch club.
The room key from Lanai room 127 is a forever souvenir from the Broadwater Beach Hotel.
Traditionally the objective of a hotel or resort is to treat guests to a memorable vacation and hospitality experience.
One of my most endearing memories of the Broadwater is the The Royal Terrace dining room.
Opulent yet accessible, the interior design and decorating accent mark was fittingly placed over swank and service.
Curved floor to ceiling wall of windows adorned in Austrian shades overlooking the pools and patio all done against the backdrop of deep pink and white color palette perfection.
These will forever be a few of my favorite hotel interior design and decorating things.
Destruction and devastation is the calling card of a hurricane, and the states in the Gulf Coast region have had their fair share come to call.
Dave the Builder’s sister, her husband who was stationed at Keesler Air Force Base, their toddler daughter, and her in-laws rode out Hurricane Camille at The Broadwater Beach.
Her mother-in-law worked at the Broadwater, and feeling the structure sound she suggested the young military family take refuge at the hotel.
Evacuation confusion ensued along the Mississippi Gulf Coast as hurricane coverage of the category 5 hurricane was thought to be aimed at Florida.
Hurricane warnings for the area were issued by 5:00 p.m. CST on Sunday, August 17, 1969.
The window of opportunity for them to safely evacuate slammed shut sooner than later, forcing them to seek protection in the motel rooms on the back part of the property.
Hurricane Camille’s landfall presence was unforgiving.
The storm surge was brutal, flooding and fires consumed and destroyed properties, and the death toll startling.
The Broadwater Hotel suffered storm surge flooding, and the Broadwater marina saw moderate damage.
The Broadwater weathered the storm and survived the damage of Hurricane Camille, coming out on the other side of nature’s wrath repaired and renewed.
This time.
I last visited the Broadwater Beach Hotel in 1998.
Financial neglect, design and decor disrepair, and changing times were now guests with no intention of checking out.
The bones of the main building were as I remembered, but an attempt at updating the once glorious interiors looked to be an epic fail.
Post Katrina Damage to Main Pools & Dining Room
Hurricane Katrina barreled through, and what parts of the Broadwater Hotel she didn’t destroy the wrecking ball did.
On this side of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the economic downturn of 2008 comes hope for a Broadwater revival.
Broadwater Development, LLC hopes to once again create resort magic on the Mississippi Gulf Coast where exceptional hospitality leaves a lasting impression- one that invites you back time and time again.
News of the revival of the Broadwater is exciting as is the discovery of Biloxi Memories and the Broadwater Beach Hotel highlighting the heyday of the Broadwater Beach Resort.
Biloxi Memories and the Broadwater Beach Hotel
Please find the link to the Pinterest board below:
Part II of our Louisiana Parade of Homes features local residential properties reminiscent of Louisiana history and culture.
Bayous and stately homes line the brick streets of the historic Garden District.
Louisiana history is a melange of varied cultures and influences.
The accent mark is well placed over the French and Spanish influence that frames our architectural elements, Créole and Cajun cuisine and the law of the Louisiana land.
Louisiana law is different from the other 49 states.
Our state Civil Code is adopted from the Napoleonic Code.
Originally based on ancient Roman law, the Napoleonic Code deals in civil law with French and Spanish codes.
What is known as counties in the other 49 are known as parishes here in Louisiana.
You say antiquated, I say unique.
History and tradition holds a court of a different kind here in Louisiana.
Southern opulence, historical influence and phenomenal curb appeal brings it all home.
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Be still my heart!
Terrazzo – Exposed Aggregate – Quartzite – Natural Stone
Corinthian Columns
Spanish Colonial
