Old Greyhound Bus Station (Jackson, Mississippi) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Jackson Greyhound Bus Station
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U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
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Greyhound Bus Station, Jackson Mississippi, December 1939 (MDAH photo)
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 Jackson Greyhound Bus Station
Location in Mississippi
Jackson Greyhound Bus Station
Location in the United States
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| Location | 219 N. Lamar St., Jackson, Mississippi |
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| Built | 1938 |
| Architect | W.S. Arrasmith or Mahan & Van Powell |
| Architectural style | Streamline moderne |
| Restored | 1989 |
| Restored by | Robert Parker Adams |
| Part of | Farish Street Neighborhood Historic District (ID80002245) |
| Designated CP | March 13, 1980 |
The Greyhound Bus Station at 219 N. Lamar Street in Jackson, Mississippi, is a very important historical building. It was a key location during the Civil Rights Movement in May 1961. Many people were arrested here during the Freedom Rides.
Today, this special Art Deco style building has been carefully saved. It is now used as an architect's office.
Building the Bus Station
In 1937, the Greyhound Lines company decided to build a new bus station in Jackson, Mississippi. The building was designed in a cool, modern style called Streamline Moderne, which is part of the Art Deco movement.
It had a tall, lit-up sign that said "Greyhound." What made it really special was its outside walls made of glass. When it was a busy bus station, it even had a coffee shop and places for people to wash up. There are different ideas about who designed the station. Some say it was W.S. Arrasmith, while others think it was George Mahan Jr. and Nowland Van Powell.
Freedom Rides Arrive in Jackson
Freedom Riders were brave people who worked for civil rights. In 1961, and in the years that followed, they rode buses across different states. They traveled into the southern United States, where public places were still separated by race.
The Riders wanted to challenge these unfair rules. They knew the U.S. Supreme Court had said that segregated public buses were against the law. But these laws were not being followed.
Jackson, Mississippi, was a planned stop for the Freedom Rides in May 1961. On May 28, nine Freedom Riders arrived at this very Greyhound Bus Station. Other groups had arrived a few days earlier. When they got there, the Riders would try to use areas that were only for white people, like "Whites Only" waiting rooms.
Over the next four months, 329 people were arrested in Jackson. About half of them were Black, and half were white. About a quarter of those arrested were women. A big part of the Freedom Riders' plan was to fill up Jackson's jails. They did this by refusing to pay bail after being arrested. When the jails in Jackson became full of Riders from both Trailways and Greyhound stations, the Freedom Riders were sent to the Parchman penitentiary.
Saving the Station
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The old Greyhound Bus Station is located in the Farish Street Neighborhood Historic District. In 1988, an architect named Robert Parker Adams bought the building. His company worked to restore both the outside and inside of the station.
Today, the state of Mississippi has placed a special marker at the site. This marker helps explain the important history of the building.
