Biloxi ([bəˈlʌksi]) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the U.S.. The 2000 census recorded the population as
50,644. Biloxi is co–county seat with the larger city Gulfport, in the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi
Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical
Area.
The beachfront of Biloxi lies directly on the Mississippi Sound, with barrier
islands scattered off the coast and into the Gulf of Mexico.
Keesler Air Force Base lies within the city and is home to the 81st Training
Wing of the U.S. Air Force.
Geography
Biloxi is located at 30°24′43″N, 88°55′40″W (30.412029,
-88.927829)1 and has an elevation of
feet ({{formatnum:{{rnd/+|20*0.3048
|Expression error: unrecognised punctuation character "{"|}}}} m)3.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area
of 46.5 mi²(120.5 km² ). 38.0 mi² (98.5 km²) of it
is land and 8.5 mi² (22.0 km²) of it is water. The total area is 18.27% water.
Colonial era
Biloxi Lighthouse (of 1848)
The history of Biloxi, Mississippi, spans more than 300 years.
The first permanent settlement in French Louisiana was founded at Biloxi in
1699, under the direction of Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, with Louisiana
separated from Spanish Florida at the Perdido River near Pensacola (founded 1559 & again 1698). In 1720, the capital of French Louisiana was moved to Biloxi from Mobile, which
was the first capital of Louisiana, from 1702.
1999 saw the celebration of Biloxi's Tricentennial, with numerous events taking place throughout the year as organized by the
Biloxi Tricentennial Commission, including a live broadcast of the nationally-syndicated Travel World Radio Show, during which
program co-host Willem Bagchus interviewed numerous local luminaries.
Due to fears of tides and hurricanes, the capital of French Louisiana was later moved by colonial governor Bienville, in 1723, from Biloxi to a new inland harbor town named
Nouvelle-Orléans (New Orleans), built for the purpose in 1718-1720.
In 1763, France had to cede French Louisiana east of the Mississippi River, except for New Orleans, to Great Britain. At
that same time, the king Louis XV of France sold Louisiana west of the Mississippi,
including New Orleans, to Spain.
Recent History and Hurricane Katrina
-
Biloxi beach near casinos, before cleanup
Beauvoir, home of Jefferson Davis, being restored after Hurricane Katrina
St. Michael's Church in
Biloxi (before clean-up)
Sharkheads shop:
Katrina example for over 1 year
With the introduction of gambling in Mississippi in the 1990s, Biloxi became an important center for casinos; the hotels and complexes brought millions of dollars in tourism revenue to the city. The more famous
casino complexes were the Beau Rivage casino resort, the Hard Rock Casino Biloxi ,Casino
Magic, Grand Casino, Isle of Capri
Casino, Boomtown Casino, President Broadwater Casino
Resort, and Imperial Palace. Like Tunica County in the northern part of the state, Biloxi and the surrounding Gulf Coast region
was considered a leading gambling center in the Southern United States until many
casinos were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Of the casinos that were located in Biloxi, six have reopened since
Katrina. They are the Isle of Capri Casino and Resort, the Palace Casino resort, the Imperial Palace, Treasure Bay Casino,
Boomtown Casino, and the Beau Rivage, which re-opened on the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.[1]
On August 29 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast with
high winds, heavy rains and a 30-foot storm surge, causing massive damage to the area. Katrina came ashore during the high tide
of 6:56AM, +2.3 feet more.[2] Commenting on the power
of the storm and the damage, Mayor A.J. Holloway said, "This is our tsunami" [1]. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour was quoted as saying the destruction
of the Mississippi coastline by Hurricane Katrina looked like an American
Hiroshima.
On the morning of August 31 2005, in an interview on
MSNBC, Governor Barbour stated that 90% of the buildings along the coast in Biloxi and neighboring
Gulfport had been destroyed by the hurricane. Several of the "floating" casinos
were torn off their supports and thrown inland, contributing to the damage. All coastal churches were destroyed or severely
damaged.
Many churches were damaged, including St. Michael's Catholic Church (see photo at right), which was gutted by the storm surge,
breaking the entry doors and stained-glass windows along the first floor; however, the interior was later removed, and the
structure was still solid enough to allow repairing the church.
Hurricane Katrina damaged over 40 Mississippi libraries, flooding several feet in the Biloxi Public Library and breaking
windows, beyond repair, requiring a total rebuild.[3]
Hurricane-force winds persisted for 17 hours and tore the branches off many coastal oak trees, but the tree trunks survived
the 30-foot flood and many have since regrown smaller branches. Some reconstructed homes still have the antebellum appearance, and miles inland, with less flooding, shopping centers have re-opened.
Harrison County Coroner Gary T. Hargrove told the mayor and City Council that Hurricane Katrina had claimed 53 victims in
Biloxi, as of January 30, 2006. Of the 53 confirmed fatalities
in Biloxi, a figure that includes one unidentified male, Hargrove said the average age was 58, with youngest being 22 and oldest,
90; and 14 were females and 39 were males.
Biloxi is also the site of a well-known memorial to the Katrina victims, built by the crew and volunteers of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. [2]
Multiple plans have been laid out to rebuild the waterfront areas of Biloxi, and the federal government has recently announced
that it is considering giving up to 17,000 Mississippi coast homeowners the option to sell their properties so that a vast
hurricane-protection zone can be implemented.[4] Meanwhile,
the city of Biloxi is rapidly implementing plans to allow the redevelopment of commercial properties south of highway 90.[5]
Hurricane Katrina pushed houses inland on Mississippi coast, including at Biloxi.
Biloxi beach after cleanup
Demographics
Biloxi is the smaller of two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi,
Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the
Gulport-Biloxi-Pascagoula Combined Statistical Area.
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 50,644 people, 19,588 households, and 12,379 families
residing in the city. The population density was 1,331.8/mi² (514.2/km²). There were
22,115 housing units at an average density of 581.6/mi² (224.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 71.43% White, 19.04% African American, 0.49% Native American, 5.11% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 1.43% from other races, and 2.38% from two or more races. 3.65% of the population
are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 19,588 households, out of which 31.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were
married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and
36.8% are non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who is 65 years of
age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size is 3.02.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 14.3% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from
45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 101.9 males.
For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,106, and the median income for a family was $40,685.
Males had a median income of $28,046 versus $21,267 for females. The per capita
income for the city was $17,809. 14.6% of the population and 11.2% of families lived below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 19.6% of those under the age of 18 and 11.7% of those 65
and older were living below the poverty line.
Biloxi is served by Gulfport, Mississippi's Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport.
Education
The City of Biloxi is served by the Biloxi Public School District and
the Harrison County School District.
Religion
Casinos
Biloxi has become home to several casino resort hotels, with 24-hour gambling, concert entertainment shows, and several
restaurants. Some of the casino resorts are the following:[1]
- Imperial Palace re-opened as IP Hotel
& Casino[6] on Dec. 22, 2005;
- Isle of Capri Casino Resort re-opened in late December 2005 as
The Isle;
- Palace Casino Resort re-opened in late December 2005;
- Beau Rivage Resort & Casino re-opened August 29,
2006, on the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina;
- Boomtown Casino re-opened in 2006;
- Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, which had initially hoped to open for
post-Katrina business in Summer 2006, but opened later than expected in June of 2007.
- Treasure Bay Casino Resort, which re-opened in summer 2006;
- Grand Casino (Biloxi),
- Bacaran Bay Resort has begun construction on Caillavet Street between IP Hotel and Casino and The Beau Rivage.
- Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Casino & Resort, announced by Harrah's to be built on the
old Grand Casino Biloxi and the Casino Magic property.
- Island View Casino Resort is nearby Gulfport's only casino and home to one of world-famous
chef "Emeril's" restaurants.
- The Silver Slipper is the first land-based casino to open following Hurricane Katrina. This
beachfront resort is located in Bay St. Louis, west of Biloxi.
- Casino Hollywood is also a Bay St. Louis property that includes an on-site golf course and
movie cinema decor.
- The Pine Hills Resort is a new Bay St. Louis casino resort project underway by The Isle of Capri corporation.
- Biloxi's neighbor D'Iberville will be home to former MGM exec
Peter Simon's newly approved casino The
Monarch.
- D'Iberville will also be the future home of The
Royal D'Iberville Casino Resort. A newly approved project.
- Bayview Casino Resort will begin construction in January 2008 on the Back Bay of Biloxi.
- Vue Crescente Resort has begun it's application to house a casino within it's new twin 30
floor condo towers that are being built on the Back Bay of Biloxi.
- Tivoli Resort, The Ocean Club, and a Long Beach project are
recently proposed casino additions to the metro area.
Transportation
Biloxi's main highway is U.S. Highway 90 (Beach Boulevard), which runs along the beach
and by the casinos. It connects the city to Gulfport and points westward and to Ocean Springs and Pascagoula to the east.
Currently, the Biloxi-Ocean Springs Bridge across Biloxi Bay is undergoing reconstruction following the destruction of the
original bridge by Hurricane Katrina. It is expected to open to traffic in phases between November 2007 and March 2008.
Through the northern sections of the city, Interstate 10 passes through, connecting the
city to New Orleans, Louisiana, Houston,
Texas, Mobile, Alabama and Jacksonville,
Florida. Interstate 110 splits off from I-10 at D'Iberville and heads south across the Back Bay of Biloxi to U.S. 90 near Beau Rivage,
providing the city with an important hurricane evacuation route.
Other highways serving the area include:
Sports
In the center of what fisheries biologists term "The Fertile Fisheries Crescent", Biloxi offers some of the finest
sportsfishing along the entire northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Spotted seatrout,
red drum, Spanish and king mackerel, flounder, snapper,
grouper, sharks, and more are all available to anglers during the
fishing season. It is not known how Hurricane Katrina affected this ecosystem.
The city is home to the Mississippi Sea Wolves, an ECHL minor league hockey team.
Notable residents
- Fred Haise, Apollo 13/Space Shuttle Enterprise astronaut
- Chris LeDoux, country singer
- Eric Roberts, actor
- Jessica Alba, actress
- Belladonna, adult film star
- John Ceallach, actor and writer
- Hector Camacho, former world champion boxer
- Jefferson Davis, US Army General and West Point graduate; first and only President
of the Confederate States of America
- Jimmy Buffett, singer and writer
- George E. Ohr, artist who broke new ground in the late 1890s with his experimental
modern clay forms
- Edward Charles Edmond Barq, entrepreneur and co-creator of Barq's Root Beer
- Robin Roberts,TV/Radio/Media ersonality for ABC and ESPN.
- 3 Doors Down, rock band
In fiction
- Biloxi is the setting of John Grisham's novel The
Runaway Jury, and it also appears in The Summons, The Firm and The Last Juror by the same author.
- In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great
Gatsby, a man named "Blocks" Biloxi from Biloxi, Mississippi crashes Tom and Daisy Buchanon's wedding.
- Biloxi is also the setting of Neal Simmon's play and movie which starred Mathew Broderick "Biloxi Blues". "Biloxi Blues" is
the story of army recruits training at Keesler Field, the former name of the present day Keesler Air Force Base during World War
II.
- The G.I. Joe character Marvin F. Hinton (aka Roadblock) was born in Biloxi, Mississippi.
References
- ^ a b "Tentative re-opening plans for Biloxi casino resorts" (2006), City of
Biloxi, www.Biloxi.ms.us, webpage:Biloxi-Casinos.
- ^ "2005 NOAA Tide Predictions: Biloxi (Cadet Point), Biloxi Bay" (2005), tide
on 29-Aug-2005, NOAA, web: NOAA-tide-tables.
- ^ "Hurricane Katrina Related Damages to Public Libraries in Mississippi"
(September 2005), Mississippi Library Commission, web:ALA-Katrina.
- ^ Gov't May Buy
Thousands of Miss. Homes AP via Google News. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
- ^ Beachfront Development On Biloxi's Front Burner WLOX News. Retrieved on October 17, 2007.
- ^ "IP Hotel & Casino" (2006), IPBiloxi.com, web: IP-Casino.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Coordinates:
30.412029° N 88.927829°
W
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