Jefferson County’s smallest museum has a new exhibit.
The county’s mini-museum, which is located near the exit on the Jefferson County Courthouse’s first floor, is displaying 47 photographs and postcards that recognize distinctive architectural resources within the community.
The exhibit, called “SPARE Beaumont 1977,” shows then-and-now comparisons of a variety of survey sites across the community.
The photos were taken as a part of a survey to preserve and analyze the resources and environment across the county.
“One of the primary purposes of this survey was to recognize and identify distinctive architectural resources within the community and determine their importance suggesting priorities for their preservation,” reads a news release from the Jefferson County Historical Commission.
Historical commission member Steven Lewis visited all 542 sites included in the survey and made the comparison photographs of each.
“Most of them were houses — private houses, commercial buildings. One of those is the LaSalle Hotel, which was imploded in 1995,” Lewis told The Enterprise. “I got interested in doing this because there are so many older structures that are derelict or have been demolished. The whole point is to show people that you do need to preserve Beaumont.”
He suggested people interested in joining the preservation fight to reach out to the Historical Commission for more information on how to participate.
There have been three other SPARE Beaumont surveys — one each for 1989, 1990 and 1991.
Of the 542 addresses included in the 1977 study, 357, or nearly 66%, have been demolished. That leaves just 185, or 34% intact, according to the release.
The exhibit will remain open through June 15.
The mini-museum is overseen by the Historical Commission, which was established in 1967 to preserve, protect and promote the county’s history.
Previous exhibit subjects include the former Beaumont High School, South Park Schools, the McFadden beach dune restoration project and the LaBelle shipwreck excavation, among many others.
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