An old post card shows the likeness of the Lamar Hotel in downtown Meridian. Photo courtesy of Anne McKee

Historic records indicate the Lamar Hotel, an 11-story skyscraper, was built in 1927 by Sam and Joey Meyer, successful grocers, on the corner of 5th Street and 21st Avenue. The hotel was named after Lucius Quintus Cincinatus Lamar II, a former U.S. Senator, cabinet member and justice of the Supreme Court. There were two grand openings to welcome the luxury hotel to Meridian – one for local and state officials, and a second for the general public. They  must have been a grand affairs. There are numerous accounts of the celebrations recorded in historical periodicals and newspapers.

The expected success of the plush hotel was hampered by the horrific Great Depression, which descended upon the entire nation during the 1930s. There were few survivors in the business world, especially a lavish enterprise in Mississippi such as the Lamar Hotel, but, against all odds, the hotel did survive and was in business until the late 1960s.

The late 1950s is when my Lamar Hotel memories began. You see my uncle was the manager at that time – Berry M. Brooks. Uncle “B” we called him. I can remember stopping by the hotel with my daddy and Uncle B. would be in a flurry of movement. If the chef had not arrived, Uncle B would be in the kitchen, if the front desk was empty, Uncle B would be registering guests, and on and on. I suppose he was known as a “hands-on” manager, but more than likely, Uncle B ran a tight ship – no slacking, even if he was the one to take on the duty.

But what was really special was when my Granny Brooks was invited as a guest. It would just be occasionally and only for a few days, but sometimes, just sometimes, I went along.  Usually my daddy would drive us down. I’m sure someone helped with the baggage, but all I remember is the splendor of it all and the air conditioning. Yeah!  Oh, and taking our meals in the fancy dining room.

I suppose by today’s standards, our room was small, but, oh, so nice. My granny and I were given special notice and respect as family members of “the boss.” These are precious memories of a little girl who felt just like a “princess,” if only for a short time.

Eventually Uncle B. was transferred to a “sister” hotel in Tupelo. My parents, granny and I traveled there a few times, but it was never the same.  Oh, Hotel Tupelo was nice enough, but it was not the Lamar Hotel in Meridian. And I must add that Hotel Tupelo is, even until today, a plush hotel.

Oh, there had been several hotels prior to The Lamar, most located near the railroad station. Beginning in the early 1900s, and even prior to that time, there was a great need to provide lodging for railroad passengers. Those hotels included the Jones House located on the corner of 25th Avenue and 5th Street; the Ragsdale House, built just after the Civil War as a three story building with a covered walkway that led to the train station; the Phoenix Hotel at 26th Avenue and 7th Street, built in the 1870s and destroyed by fire in 1876; the St. Charles Hotel and St. Bernard Hotel, both built in 1881; and the International Hotel built in 1884. The International Hotel was built by Felix Weidmann founder of Weidmann’s Restaurant, which he opened in 1870. Weidmann’s Restaurant is the oldest operational restaurant located in Mississippi. I enjoyed lunch there last Friday – their lemon almond pie is the very best.

But, back to historic Meridian hotels, the “Golden Age” of Meridian, (1890-1930) enjoyed 40 years of Meridian growth and development. The Grand Avenue Hotel was built in 1890, located one block from the train station, and suffered extensive damage by the March 2, 1906, tornado, when a large portion of downtown Meridian was destroyed. The hotel was rebuilt and eventually listed as a contributing property to the Meridian Urban Center Historic District in 1979.

Also built in 1890 was the Great Southern Hotel – oh, what excitement this fancy hotel brought to Meridianites. It was five stories and contained 150 rooms located at 6th Street and 23rd Avenue. At the time, the building was the largest and most expensive in Meridian. There was a restaurant on the roof, ceiling fans and reading lamps in every room, plus ornate oak woodwork throughout the building.

Hotel Meridian was built August 1907 and was two blocks from the railroad station. It was known for fine dining, operated as a hotel until the 1930s and later converted into apartments, located on the corner of 22nd Avenue and Front Street. The building was demolished in 2011. The Elmira Hotel was built in 1905 and Terminal Hotel in 1910, Union Hotel in 1908, all located on Front Street.

The E. F. Young Hotel opened in 1931. It was located in the African American business district and listed in the famous Green Book. The book’s primary duty was a listing of hotels and restaurants that would lodge and/or serve African Americans during the Jim Crow era. The complex developed into a hotel, two restaurants, movie theater, beauty shop, two barber shops, a shoe shine parlor and hair product manufacturing shop. Talk about entrepreneurs – the Young family and their business expertise helped to put Meridian, Mississippi, on the map.

Everything that I have written today can be researched and read online at various Meridian historic sites. Take some time and learn more about our city. It will make you proud.

It was in 1969 when Lauderdale County purchased the Lamar Hotel building.  Since the eleven story hotel was located conveniently across from the Lauderdale County Court House, the building was converted into the Raymond P. Davis County Annex Building.  Only until 2024 was this true, but today the Lamar Hotel, I understand, finds itself on the market. If it could only open its doors again as a part of Meridian’s hospitality industry, the city would more than thrive.

In 1979, the Lamar Hotel building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and added as a Mississippi Landmark in 1988 as well. When the Meridian Downtown Historic District was created in 2007, the Lamar Hotel building was added to that distinction as well.

My best and favorite Lamar Hotel memory — when it was time for my high school graduation tea, we booked the Lamar Hotel. What a thrill – to invite my girlfriends to such a lovely party, but, at that time, the grand hotel was in its last days as a large and luxurious meeting place.

At that time I thought then the city needed an additional plushy hotel in downtown Meridian soon and my dream came true with the opening of the Threefoot Hotel.

However today the Lamar Hotel sits lonely, and it could be so much. The beautiful, previous place of lodging, with a wonderful restaurant, is located in (or near) the cultural district of the city, as it should be, but why is a place of detention nearby? Think about it. In my opinion the jail should be moved outside of the city’s cultural district, a cultural district which is booming.

Anne McKee is executive director at Meridian Railroad Museum.