MajorNotes i n
t h e
s p o t l i g h t
Architect’s passion keeps past alive, relevant to today Rarely does a company’s name reveal everything about the organization. The firm of Robert Parker Adams, Architect, comes close, telling us the owner’s name and identifying his profession, but the story of Millsaps alumnus Bob Adams, 1959, and his accomplishments requires far more than four words. His work on the preservation and restoration of historic buildings has been carried out over four decades and has itself become a living part of Mississippi’s history. Adams has spent more time in Mississippi public buildings than most of our politicians. A cynic might say that he’s also given taxpayers more for their money. He has twice overseen restoration of the Old Capitol building and did the same for the New Capitol. For good measure, he presided over the restoration of the Governor’s Mansion, the War Memorial Building, Jackson City Hall, and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History’s Historic Preservation Division headquarters, once the GM&O railroad terminal. And those are just the government buildings in the Capital City. Other municipal restoration commissions include Oxford City Hall,
48
millsaps magazine
Meridian City Hall, and county courthouses in Carroll, Lamar, Holmes, Marion, Sharkey, and Stone Counties. He also worked on the Leflore County courthouse, but limited his efforts to the clock tower. Adams is a nationally recognized authority on the preservation and restoration of historic structures. His firm has a policy of not entering awards competitions, but clients and others have often done the nominating, resulting in a significant number of awards. Among these is the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, conferred for a body of work in the field of historic preservation. Born in Jacksonville, Fla., Adams said, “We moved around a lot. My dad was a troubleshooter for a large national company and too valuable to put in one place.” That movement came to a halt in Jackson in 1951, however, and his father went into homebuilding and real estate. A member of the Jackson Central High School class of 1955, Adams credits Richard Bacon, a career counselor and mechanical drafting instructor at the school, for giving him his first insights into design. “I showed a particular interest in his course, which was unusual I suppose for a 17-year-old,” Adams said. “He gave me advanced work to challenge me and tried to talk to me about architecture, whatever that was.” After graduation, Adams entered Millsaps College where he pledged Pi Kappa Alpha. Joe M. Hinds, B.A. 1959, and Adams have been lifelong friends since their days at Central High School and at Millsaps when Adams had a Whizzer bike—a bike with a motor on it—and they rode all over town on it. Hinds said it’s come as no surprise that Adams has built a career in architecture. “Even in high school he was always drawing house plans,” he said. Betty Miller Sadler, B.A. 1958, said the friends she made at Millsaps— including Adams who was her first real boyfriend—are among the best she’s ever