I mainly went to hear what advice was being offered to local collectors, but couldn't help but admire the building. It was built in the late 1800s, a remnant of the railway wars between the Choctaw and Memphis Railroad and the Iron Mountain Railroad.
The Clinton School is in what used to be the old passenger station. The freight station also survived until 2001, but they tore it down for the Clinton Library. It is a shame really because the surviving building is a beautiful example of the craftsmanship that used to go into brickwork.
Notice the thin mortaring, the perfectly executed pediments over the windows, and all that ornamental decoration in the frieze of fruit and the elaborate cornice. I looked it up when I got home and apparently the contract went to Charles W. Clark of Clark Pressed Brick in Malvern, AR. These buildings were local brick, local craftsmen, and the one that remains is something to see.
2 comments:
slow food, slow clothing, slow building... its all quite beautiful!
My families from Malvern. They have good clay deposits for making brick and started producing it on a large scale in the teens and twenties. Malvern proclaims itself "The Brick Capital of the World." Although I am pretty sure there are some countries producing more brick these days Malvern still produces more brick than any other city in the USA. Every summer they hold Brickfest to celebrate the industry with events like the best dressed brick, the brick car derby (think pinewood derby if you were in cubscouts) and the brick throw (shotput) http://www.malvernbrickfest.com/
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