Biloxi Main Street

At least 50,000 visitors stopped each year at the Biloxi Visitor Center, housed in the architecturally intricate Brielmier House on the Town Green. This was the home of the Biloxi Main Street association which promotes local charm and historic beauty. The office of Biloxi Main Street was obliterated by Hurricane Katrina. Its loss included a new box of 500 ChemArt ornaments featuring the Dantzler House, a 150-year-old Historic Register house which also was destroyed in the tragedy along with most other historic buildings.

ChemArt quickly resupplied the current ornament as well as each of the 9 prior years’ ornaments, delivered to a temporary office in the corner of City Hall. Five hundred pieces of the current ornament, as well as all of the prior ones, sold out within 2 weeks as demand for the sentimental pieces created a waiting list of customers.

Annual ornaments are the organization’s sole fundraiser. Biloxi Main Street’s only advertising is an unveiling of the new ornament in the newspaper. “History sells itself,” said Kay Miller, executive director of Biloxi Main Street.

The Dantzler House was planned to be converted to house a Mardi Gras Museum but all that was left of it were eight stained-glass windows found in the rubble.

"Our thoughts are with Biloxi and coastal residents
as they rebuild their lives, their memories, their homes and their towns."

 Download a PDF of the Biloxi Main Street case study