Biloxi Okay's Use of the Historic
Glenn L. Swetman House for Temporary Ohr-O'Keefe Museum
From: City of Biloxi
Filed 9/27/06
Mayor A.J. Holloway of
Biloxi has donated the use of the historic
Glenn L. Swetman House just off
Beach Boulevard to the
Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art as a transitional location as the museum Board
of Trustees continues plans to rebuild the new Frank Gehry-designed museum
campus in
East Biloxi. The Swetman House, which
is on the National Register of Historic Places, is a city property
formerly used by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation and other area
non-profit organizations.
The museum is talking with local volunteer groups about cleaning the House
before moving in, hopefully by Thanksgiving. Full operations will be held
out of the house, including exhibitions and classes. For the past
thirteen months, a reduced museum staff has been operating out of a
28-foot trailer and at offices at the Jefferson Davis Campus of
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. The former home of the museum,
in the Biloxi Library building downtown, is still awaiting renovation,
including electricity, and the opening of phases of the new Gehry-designed
museum on
Beach Boulevard are
still at least one or more years away. The Swetman House has full
utilities in place and “just needs a bit of gentle cleaning and a few cans
of paint in public rooms”, according to museum officials.
The museum’s valuable collection of George Ohr pottery will remain in an
“undisclosed location” in north
Mississippi for awhile yet,
but other community-based exhibits are under way during this transitional
period. In recent months, demand has returned for the museum’s broad
scope of exhibits, competitions, outreach and
classes.
The Ohr-O'Keefe Museum, (photos right and below) which was under
construction prior to Hurricane Katrina, was severely damaged by the
hurricane.
The Swetman House was built circa 1927 by the renowned founder of Peoples
Bank, the late Glenn L. Swetman, who also happened to have known and
supported the work of the “Mad Potter of Biloxi”, George E. Ohr
(1857-1918). The House at
1596 Glenn Swetman Drive
in central
Biloxi just off Highway 90 is
a Colonial Revival-style home that sustained less than two feet of water
damage in Katrina. Generations of the Swetman family and their friends
grew up playing in the house and enjoying the antiques and items of local
interest collected by the family.
 In addition
to the support of Mayor Holloway, the museum acknowledges the efforts of
Biloxi Senior Planner Bill Raymond, a long-time member of the museum
Board, in securing the House for the museum. This will be the second
historic-house effort by the museum since the hurricane, when the Pleasant
Reed House was lost to the storm: the museum also recently received the
donation from the Imperial Palace, Key Largo Holdings and additional
funding from the Historic Preservation Task Force of the historic Creel
House, an 1895 Biloxi cottage that has been moved from Reynoir Avenue to
Meaut Street just to the north of the new museum construction site.
Museum officials estimate that restoration of the Creel House, which has
been raised to new floodplain requirements, may take a number of months,
and they are pleased that community groups are also enthusiastic about
assisting with the Creel
More Information:
Ohr-O'Keefe Museum Website
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