Missing Angels
City Hall
In 1903 Vicksburg was the largest city in Mississippi. James Riley Gordon, a famous architect, designed the booming town a new "City Hall" that was built for $50,000. Gordon also designed the Arizona State Capitol, at least 20 county courthouses, and many other large structures across the United States. After a dispute with the contractor, who left town, the city attorney and police chief had to break into the building to claim Vicksburg's new "City Hall". Today, this building is still used for its original purpose as Vicksburg's City Hall. In 1940, during renovations, the front of the building was enclosed to gain needed office space.
Lost???
Vicksburg's beautiful city hall was originally topped with three beautiful, detailed heralding angels. During the tornado of 1953, the angels were blown off and supposedly "lost". Rumors and tales abound locally about these "lost" angels and who might have them or where they are located.
Disaster
A massive tornado hit Vicksburg at 5:35 Saturday evening, December 5, 1953. The tornado, with a path of 500 yards wide and 7 miles long, left 38 dead, over 270 injured and 1,200 homeless. The storm totally destroyed four city blocks and almost every building and home in downtown Vicksburg received damage. The 1953 damage estimate was 25 million dollars