Rust College awarded $500K grant to restore historic Carnegie Hall
May 24—HOLLY SPRINGS — For the second time this spring, a large grant will aid in the restoration of one of Mississippi's closed HBCUs.
Earlier this month, Rust College President Dr. Ivy R. Taylor announced the college had been awarded a $500,000 grant through the National Park Service for the restoration of the historic Carnegie Hall, which sits on the campus of the Mississippi Industrial College (MIC), an HBCU which closed in the 1980s.
Since the school's shuttering, the buildings of MIC, which is located adjacent to the campus of Rust College, have stood empty and have been deteriorating. In 1979, a short time before the doors to MIC closed, four of the buildings — including Carnegie Hall — were entered into the National Register of Historic Places.
In 2008, Rust College assumed control of the buildings in an attempt to save them from further deterioration. Since Taylor's arrival in 2020, it has been her vision to restore the MIC campus back to life and make it part of the Rust College campus community.
Carnegie Hall has major architectural and social significance in the state of Mississippi. Originally funded by a donation from Andrew Carnegie, Carnegie Hall was built in 1923 and contained the largest auditorium and performance venue in Mississippi that was open to Blacks and it was known as the Carnegie Auditorium.
Even in its current condition, Carnegie Auditorium remains one of the best examples of Colonial Revival architecture in Holly Springs. An earlier stabilization project at Carnegie Hall was funded in part by a Mississippi Department of Archives and Heritage Community Heritage Grant.
"The intertwined histories of Rust College and MIC are worthy of preservation," Taylor said in an official statement about the grant. "These recent awards, including $155,000 for a campus masterplan focused on preserving Rust College's historic assets are welcome investments in the past and the future of these HBCUs. Our students and the entire Holly Springs community will benefit from a restored Carnegie Auditorium to showcase the area's artistic and cultural heritage."
Earlier this spring, Rust College received its first congressional special project appropriation recommended by Senator Roger Wicker. This $1 million allocation was awarded to facilitate creation of the Ida B. Wells Social Justice and Interpretive Center on the MIC campus in the Booker T. Washington Hall building, which is also on the National Register of Historic Places.
These efforts are both apart of Taylor's larger vision to restore the MIC campus, which will be a $35-plus million-dollar renovation with the potential to offer new and innovative academic programming to Rust College students, and to serve as a place to restore the arts and meet the needs of the Holly Springs community and surrounding area.
"The African American Civil Rights grants are critical to helping preserve and interpret a more comprehensive narrative of the people, places, and events associated with African American Civil Rights movement," said NPS Director Chuck Sams.
This years' National Park Services grant awards, which total $16.2 million, will benefit 44 projects in 15 states and support the continued preservation of sites and history related to the African American struggle for equality.
