Police Say Beauvoir Fire Was Arson

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Restoration work begins on Beauvoir House
Donations are most welcome

Biloxi, MS - At an estimated cost of $77,000 restoration of Beauvoir
House is currently underway. Cleaning of the house and painting of the front porch began earlier in the week. Insurance will cover the entire cost of damage caused by fire discovered in the early morning hours of
June 5th.

The restoration process has included consultations with Mississippi
Department of Archives and History and has involved local cleaning
companies that specialize in smoke and fire damage, painting
contractors, glass contractors, architects and conservators for both the textiles and paintings.

Blake Vonder Haar, President of The New Orleans Conservation Guild has
been given the large task of cleaning and restoring the oil paintings of President Davis, Winnie Davis, Joseph Davis, Amanda Davis Bradford and the "La Bella de Tiziano" among others. These paintings will be removed and cleaned off site.

The front doors of Beauvoir House will be removed and replaced with
temporary solid core doors. The restoration will be handled by McNeil
Cabinet and Millwork Inc. of Bay Springs and Ash Millworks Inc. of
Petal. The doors with their original etched glass panes; will be
restored and broken panes replaced with reproductions. Supervision of
this portion of the restoration will be handled by Hattiesburg
architect, Larry Albert.

This restoration of the house and cleaning comes as a silver lining in
an otherwise hectic month. The house is now receiving a thorough
"spring cleaning" from the ceilings to the flooring. Visitors should be able to enjoy the house and its furnishings by the July 4th holiday
weekend.