Friday, April 2, 2010

A Ride through Belhaven

I recently had some time to kill before an appointment in Jackson, Mississippi, and rode through one of my favorite neighborhoods in Jackson -- Belhaven. Centered around Belhaven College, the houses in Belhaven range from large colonials to charming little to cottages that stand out because of their uniqueness.

The most famous house in Belhaven is the home where Mississippi's beloved Eudora Welty lived for over 76 years of her life.

Miss Welty wrote stories about the South, and her book, The Optimist's Daughter, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Her house is a National Historic Landmark and open to the public as a museum.

Here's another impressive house that caught my eye ...

But as I drove through the charming streets of Belhaven, I found myself drawn to some of the more, shall we say "unique" houses and "yardscapes."

This boldly painted little cottage is my favorite ...

Just look at that sweet little table and chairs. It looks as if they are expecting company for a tea party at any moment.

And I love the imagination and ingenuity that went into the creation of this fence made of sticks ...

Down the street and around the corner, I found this pretty little cottage, and did a double take when I saw the "yard art" displayed in the front yard. I would love to know the story behind that "fish lady."

The pretty red door and shutters on this little house caught my attention at first glance ...

And then I noticed its yard art, and slowed down for a closer look.

I love cobalt garden accessories, and this "yardscape" called for a closer look, too.

And here's the unusual, but pretty, house it belongs to ...

And speaking of cobalt, everything on the porch of this house was cobalt blue, including the metal chairs, blue swing, cobalt planters, and a bottle tree with cobalt bottles. I thought it was interesting that the shutters and steps were painted purple.

I hope you enjoyed my little tour of this charming area of Jackson. I plan to go back again soon when I have more time to explore it.

5 comments:

Dot Moore said...

The purple house with the blue bottle tree may be a Frank Lloyd Wright home. If so, it was built about 1953-56. The owner who built the Frank Lloyd Wright home in that area had young men about my age and we all (my group of teenagers) enjoyed spending time in the unique home. Cannot remember their last names. Beautiful pictures and I remember the Belhaven area and have always considered it to be one of the areas I would love to live in if I ever returned to Jackson to live. Thank you for sharing with us.

Stacey said...

Love to do drive bys! I really like the little gray house witht he red door and shutters. I'll bet that in an old town you can drive around all day!

Hope you and your family have a very Happy Easter together.

Marjorie (Molly) Smith said...

I love all of your shots. I really need to go by myself one day to Jackson. I'd love to ride around and take pictures of some of the old neighborhood, but my DH won't let me go to Jackson alone..Grrr. He says it's to dangerous. He, sadly is one of those 1/2 empty types. So negative. He said I might get car jacked, robbed or even shot up there by myself, but he won't take time to ride and get beautiful pictures like these.
I love all of the bottle trees. I still want one so bad.
Hope you have a blessed Good Friday.
Molly

Tonja said...

Great houses all...but my fav is the yellow cottage! So bright and cheery. And, the blue cottage, too! Jackson is quite an interesting town. I used to take Alex there to see a Dr. at University of Ms.

Hope you have a blessed Easter!

Deb said...

great houses...and love the yard art...you have a great eye...