Threefoot Building | |
Threefoot Building in 2009 | |
Location | Meridian, Mississippi |
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Coordinates | 32°21′52″N 88°42′2″W / 32.36444°N 88.70056°W |
Built | 1929 |
Architect | Claude H. Lindsley, principal architect; Frank Fort, associate architect; Threefoot Realty Co. |
Architectural style | Art Deco |
MPS | Meridian MRA |
NRHP reference No. | 79003408 |
USMS No. | 075-MER-0146.2-NR-ML |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | December 18, 1979[2] |
Designated USMS | July 10, 2008[1] |
The Threefoot Building (sometimes referred to as simply "The Threefoot") is a historic office building located in downtown Meridian, Mississippi named after the Threefoot family who owned and operated a business in downtown Meridian during the late 19th century and early 20th century. Designed by Claude H. Lindsley and completed in 1929 in the Art Deco style, the 16-story building is still the tallest in the city. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 18, 1979, under the Meridian Multiple Property Submission of buildings contributing to the historic nature of the city's downtown. In 2008 the Threefoot was recognized by the state as a Mississippi Landmark.
Despite the completion of the building preceding the onset of the Great Depression, leading to the bankruptcy of the Threefoot family, the building was occupied by many different tenants until the 1990s, by which time suburban development had drawn off most of them in favor of peripheral locations. Hoping to attract new tenants to the building and the rest of downtown, in 2002 the city started the annual Threefoot Arts Festival, naming it after the building. After attracting some interest in the mid 2000s, the city's plans for redevelopment foundered with changes in city administration in 2009, resulting in the National Trust for Historic Preservation listing the building in 2010 in its annual group of "America's Most Endangered Places." In 2015 after extensive efforts by a newer administration, an agreement was reached in which the building was sold to a private developer. As of 2024, it is the Threefoot Hotel, operated by Marriott as part of its Tribute Portfolio hotels.