22 THE ROADS OF BROKEN DREAMS
THE ROADS OF BR OKEN DREAMS 23
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“It gives me a lot of satisfaction to save something that was built with someone else’s money,” Luckett says.
One nail at a time In Clarksdale, Bill Luckett toils to rebuild landmarks, economic vitality and pride. By Natalie D ic kson report in g from cl ar ksdale
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It will take a lot of work to fix the McWilliams Building. Once, a doctor had his office here (above and upper left).The halls (upper right) are still littered with debris.
One man, two buildings and 11 stories of rot, dust and cobwebs. The plans to renovate and revive two of Clarksdale’s most iconic buildings will require years of work, crews of men and millions of dollars. None of that seems to daunt Bill Luckett, though. After all, he’s done it dozens of times before, partly as a hobby, partly as acts of historic preservation and partly, as he lightheartedly puts it, “just crazy.” Luckett began building and renovating when he was just a boy. He attended St. Elizabeth Catholic School in Clarksdale until the eighth grade and would build tree houses and cabins across the street. “I just build bigger buildings now,” he said. In fact, he has built three “bigger buildings” in addition to the 32 housing properties he renovated. He’s also working on the renovation of Clarksdale’s four-story Alcazar Hotel and seven-story McWilliams Building. “It gives me a lot of satisfaction to save something that was built with someone else’s sweat and money,” Luckett said. In his work as a lawyer, he helps people or companies on paper. But fixing a building is more tangible. It’s a process you sweat over, and a result you can touch. The results of Luckett’s weekend projects, though, have been much more than some new roof tiles and paint for the town of Clarksdale. As reported in the Mississippi Business Journal on Oct. 22, 2001, Luckett’s properties provide around 100 jobs. And some people consider one of his biggest projects to be a catalyst for Mississippi’s finally recognized tourism jewel: the blues.
“It all went crazy in 2000 when Bill and Morgan opened Madidi, then Ground Zero,” said Guy Malvezzi, another Clarksdale entrepreneur and businessman — an owner of the oddly popular Shack Up Inn. Luckett had served as Academy Awardwinning actor Morgan Freeman’s lawyer for some construction contract issues, and the two were friends. Both were natives of the Delta, and both had a heart for its struggles. They jointly opened a fine dining restaurant called Madidi in downtown Clarksdale. Then Freeman began to notice the tourists Clarksdale was attracting as a mecca for blues lovers, Luckett said. So they, along with Howard Stovall, renovated the old Delta Grocery and Cotton Company Building into the Ground Zero Blues Club. Luckett has helped to renovate Clarksdale, in a way, by renovating Clarksdale properties, providing jobs and a major stimulus to the blues engine of Clarksdale tourism. Now Luckett is trying for a bigger renovation project: the state of Mississippi. When he’s not working at the Luckett Tyner Law Firm or fixing a broken window, he is out campaigning to be the next governor. He sees education and health care as the most important items that need fixing in Mississippi. These are projects that can’t be solved on the weekend, though. Recently Luckett, 62, walked briskly up the seven flights of stairs in the McWilliams Building, explaining they were just now putting in an elevator. Then he walked quickly back down to determine what he should do next. Perhaps fix a broken window or paint a wall, or perhaps, even more daring, fix Mississippi.