Mississippi Power's General Office weathered Hurricane Camille
Many Mississippi Power employees were still in the process of unpacking boxes from their move into the company’s new General Office building when Hurricane Camille roared ashore the Mississippi Gulf Coast on Aug. 17, 1969.
Nearly 2,300 people had attended an open house for the building on April 24, 1969. Less than four months later, a lady named Camille came knocking with fierce 205 mph winds and a 25-foot storm surge that devastated the coastline and resulted in more than 250 hurricane-related deaths.
The first and second floors of the General Office under construction in 1968.
The September 1969 edition of Power Lines – Mississippi Power’s employee newsletter – described how the new facility fared during Camille:
“During the night, employees and other residents in the area had heard an erroneous radio report that described the building as being stripped of all glass. Fortunately, however, only four of its Twindows (twin windows) were completely broken, and the outer panes of five others were broken. It seemed like a miracle!
“Inside the building, carpets, some equipment, and acoustical ceiling boards sustained water damage, and one partition was blown down. A considerable amount of water leaked into the building through broken windows, from a hole left exposed when a ventilator blew off the roof, and between seams around the window walls. Wednesday morning, Aug. 20, electric service was restored to the building. When the elevator circuits were energized on Thursday, they resumed automatic operation without any maintenance.
“The building’s exterior lighting system was also relatively undamaged, and on Friday, Aug. 29, the lights were once again turned on….as a symbol of the spirit not only of the company but also of the people of this area who have so courageously turned their eyes from the tragedy of past weeks and are dedicating themselves to the building of a new, unified and beautiful Gulf Coast.”
In January 1965, Mississippi Power President Jack Watson announced at a Gulfport Chamber of Commerce meeting that the company was planning to construct a multi-story General Office building in downtown Gulfport. Mississippi Gov. Paul Johnson and Southern Company President Harllee Branch were among those in attendance to hear Watson’s big news.
According to a press release highlighting that announcement, Watson described the building as “dignified but also modern and utilitarian,” and a structure “all citizens of Gulfport, the Gulf Coast and the state can be proud of.”
Curtis and Davis Architects of New Orleans designed the new facility, with a total area of nearly 76,000 square feet. Initial plans show about half of that space was to be used directly, with another 13,500 square feet available for future use.
Ground was officially broken at the construction site on Aug. 4, 1967. Watson was joined at the ceremony by Gulfport Mayor R.B. Meadows and D.W. Snyder, chairman of the Mississippi Public Service Commission.
Breaking ground at the General Office are (l to r) Public Service Commissioner D.W. Snyder, Gulfport Mayor R. B. Meadows and Mississippi President Jack Watson.
In the July-Aug. 1967 edition of Power Lines, Watson said, “This new building will materially assist us in continuing to provide our customer with dependable, low-cost electric service. We greatly need this functionally-designed office space to more efficiently carry out the many essential general office and division office tasks that must be performed.”
Construction continued for the remainder of 1967 and all of 1968. Employees began moving from the Hancock Bank building in downtown Gulfport into their new home in April 1969.
In a letter to Leo Seal, president of Hancock Bank, Watson thanked Seal for their partnership and expressed the “sense of regret over leaving what was ‘home’ to us for so many years.”
The company’s original headquarters was housed in the nearby Gulf & Ship Island Building.
Mississippi Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), produces safe, reliable and environmentally responsible energy for more than 188,000 customers in 23 southeast Mississippi counties. With nearly 160 megawatts of approved solar energy capacity, Mississippi Power is the largest partner in providing renewable energy in the state of Mississippi. Visit our website at mississippipower.com, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
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