 convicted in the federal courthouse in Meridian of " depriving the victims of their civil rights " and three were acquitted in the Mississippi civil rights workers murders trial . It was the first time that a white jury had convicted " a white official in a civil rights killing . " In 2005 , the case was reopened by the state , which brought charges in the case for the first time . Edgar Ray Killen was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 60 years in prison . Meridian later honored Chaney by renaming a portion of 49th Avenue after him and holding an annual memorial service .   Starting in the 1960s and following the construction of highways that made commuting easier , residents began to move away from downtown in favor of new housing subdivisions to the north . After strip commercial interests began to move downtown , the city worked to designate several areas as historic districts in the 1970s and 80s to preserve the architectural character of the city . The Meridian Historic Districts and Landmarks Commission was created in 1979 , and the Meridian Main Street program was founded in 1985 .   Meridian Main Street organized several projects to revitalize downtown , including the construction of a new Amtrak Station in 1997 based on the design of the historic train station used during Meridian 's Golden Age ; it had been demolished . Other projects included the renovation of the Rosenbaum Building in 2001 and Weidmann 's Restaurant in 2002 , as well as support for integrated urban design . Meridian Main Street , along with The Riley Foundation , helped renovate and adapt the historic Grand Opera House in 2006 for use as the " Mississippi State University Riley Center for Education and the Performing Arts . "   After ownership of the Meridian Main Street was transferred to the Alliance for Downtown Meridian in late 2007 , the two organizations , along with the Meridian Downtown Association , spearheaded the downtown revitalization effort . The Alliance serves as an umbrella organization , allowing the other two organizations to use the its support staff and housing , and in turn the Alliance serves as a liaison between the organizations . Plans were underway to renovate the Threefoot Building , but newly elected Mayor Cheri Barry killed the plans in early 2010 . Today , the Alliance helps to promote further development and restoration downtown ; its goal is to assist businesses such as specialty shops , restaurants , and bars because these help downtown become more active during the day and at night . The Meridian Downtown Association is primarily focused on increasing foot traffic downtown by organizing special events , and the Meridian Main Street program supports existing businesses downtown .   = = = Hotels = = =   Given Meridian 's site as a railroad junction , its travelers have attracted the development of many hotels . Even before Meridian reached its " Golden Age , " several large hotels , including the Great Southern and the Grand Avenue hotels , were built before the start of the 20th century . With the growth of the railroads and the construction of the original Union Station in 1906 , many hotels were constructed for passengers and workers . The Elmira Hotel was constructed in 1905 , and the Terminal Hotel was constructed in 1910 . Hotel Meridian was constructed in 1907 , and Union Hotel was built in 1908 . Union Hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 , and both Hotel Meridian and Grand Avenue Hotel were listed as contributing properties to the Meridian Urban Center Historic District .   As the city grew , the hotels reflected ambitions of the strong economy , as evidenced by the eleven @-@ story skyscraper Lamar Hotel built in 1927 . Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 , the Lamar Hotel was adapted for use as a county annex building . In 1988 it was listed as a Mississippi Landmark .   The E.F. Young Hotel was built in 1931 . A staple in the African @-@ American business district that developed west of the city 's core , the hotel was one of the only places in the city during the years of segregation where a traveling African American could find a room .   As the city suburbs developed in the 1960s and ' 70s , most hotels moved outside of downtown . Rehabilitation of the Riley Center in 2006 has increased demand and a push for a new downtown hotel . The Threefoot Building has been proposed for redevelopment for this purpose , but restoration efforts stalled with a change in city administrations . The Threefoot Preservation Society was formed in 2013 to raise public awareness and support for the building 's renovation , featuring tours of the first floor and anniversary events .   = = = Historic districts = = =   Meridian has nine historic districts that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places . The Meridian Downtown Historic District is a combination of two older districts , the Meridian Urban Center Historic District and the Union Station Historic District . Many architectural styles are present in the districts , most from the late 19th and early 20th centuries , including Queen Anne , Colonial Revival , Italianate , Art Deco , Late Victorian , and Bungalow . The districts are :   1 East End Historic District — roughly bounded by 18th St , 11th Ave , 14th St , 14th Ave , 5th St , and 17th Ave .
Ġconvicted Ġin Ġthe Ġfederal Ġcourthouse Ġin ĠMeridian Ġof Ġ" Ġdepri ving Ġthe Ġvictims Ġof Ġtheir Ġcivil Ġrights Ġ" Ġand Ġthree Ġwere Ġacquitted Ġin Ġthe ĠMississippi Ġcivil Ġrights Ġworkers Ġmurders Ġtrial Ġ. ĠIt Ġwas Ġthe Ġfirst Ġtime Ġthat Ġa Ġwhite Ġjury Ġhad Ġconvicted Ġ" Ġa Ġwhite Ġofficial Ġin Ġa Ġcivil Ġrights Ġkilling Ġ. Ġ" ĠIn Ġ2005 Ġ, Ġthe Ġcase Ġwas Ġreopened Ġby Ġthe Ġstate Ġ, Ġwhich Ġbrought Ġcharges Ġin Ġthe Ġcase Ġfor Ġthe Ġfirst Ġtime Ġ. ĠEdgar ĠRay ĠKill en Ġwas Ġconvicted Ġof Ġmanslaughter Ġand Ġsentenced Ġto Ġ60 Ġyears Ġin Ġprison Ġ. ĠMeridian Ġlater Ġhonored ĠCh aney Ġby Ġren aming Ġa Ġportion Ġof Ġ49 th ĠAvenue Ġafter Ġhim Ġand Ġholding Ġan Ġannual Ġmemorial Ġservice Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠStarting Ġin Ġthe Ġ1960 s Ġand Ġfollowing Ġthe Ġconstruction Ġof Ġhighways Ġthat Ġmade Ġcommuting Ġeasier Ġ, Ġresidents Ġbegan Ġto Ġmove Ġaway Ġfrom Ġdowntown Ġin Ġfavor Ġof Ġnew Ġhousing Ġsubdiv isions Ġto Ġthe Ġnorth Ġ. ĠAfter Ġstrip Ġcommercial Ġinterests Ġbegan Ġto Ġmove Ġdowntown Ġ, Ġthe Ġcity Ġworked Ġto Ġdesignate Ġseveral Ġareas Ġas Ġhistoric Ġdistricts Ġin Ġthe Ġ1970 s Ġand Ġ80 s Ġto Ġpreserve Ġthe Ġarchitectural Ġcharacter Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġ. ĠThe ĠMeridian ĠHistoric ĠDistrict s Ġand ĠLand marks ĠCommission Ġwas Ġcreated Ġin Ġ1979 Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠMeridian ĠMain ĠStreet Ġprogram Ġwas Ġfounded Ġin Ġ1985 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠMeridian ĠMain ĠStreet Ġorganized Ġseveral Ġprojects Ġto Ġrevital ize Ġdowntown Ġ, Ġincluding Ġthe Ġconstruction Ġof Ġa Ġnew ĠAmtrak ĠStation Ġin Ġ1997 Ġbased Ġon Ġthe Ġdesign Ġof Ġthe Ġhistoric Ġtrain Ġstation Ġused Ġduring ĠMeridian Ġ' s ĠGolden ĠAge Ġ; Ġit Ġhad Ġbeen Ġdemolished Ġ. ĠOther Ġprojects Ġincluded Ġthe Ġrenovation Ġof Ġthe ĠRosen baum ĠBuilding Ġin Ġ2001 Ġand ĠWe id mann Ġ' s ĠRestaurant Ġin Ġ2002 Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġsupport Ġfor Ġintegrated Ġurban Ġdesign Ġ. ĠMeridian ĠMain ĠStreet Ġ, Ġalong Ġwith ĠThe ĠRiley ĠFoundation Ġ, Ġhelped Ġrenov ate Ġand Ġadapt Ġthe Ġhistoric ĠGrand ĠOpera ĠHouse Ġin Ġ2006 Ġfor Ġuse Ġas Ġthe Ġ" ĠMississippi ĠState ĠUniversity ĠRiley ĠCenter Ġfor ĠEducation Ġand Ġthe ĠPer forming ĠArts Ġ. Ġ" Ġ Ġ ĠAfter Ġownership Ġof Ġthe ĠMeridian ĠMain ĠStreet Ġwas Ġtransferred Ġto Ġthe ĠAlliance Ġfor ĠDowntown ĠMeridian Ġin Ġlate Ġ2007 Ġ, Ġthe Ġtwo Ġorganizations Ġ, Ġalong Ġwith Ġthe ĠMeridian ĠDowntown ĠAssociation Ġ, Ġspearheaded Ġthe Ġdowntown Ġrevital ization Ġeffort Ġ. ĠThe ĠAlliance Ġserves Ġas Ġan Ġumbrella Ġorganization Ġ, Ġallowing Ġthe Ġother Ġtwo Ġorganizations Ġto Ġuse Ġthe Ġits Ġsupport Ġstaff Ġand Ġhousing Ġ, Ġand Ġin Ġturn Ġthe ĠAlliance Ġserves Ġas Ġa Ġliaison Ġbetween Ġthe Ġorganizations Ġ. ĠPlans Ġwere Ġunderway Ġto Ġrenov ate Ġthe ĠThree foot ĠBuilding Ġ, Ġbut Ġnewly Ġelected ĠMayor ĠCher i ĠBarry Ġkilled Ġthe Ġplans Ġin Ġearly Ġ2010 Ġ. ĠToday Ġ, Ġthe ĠAlliance Ġhelps Ġto Ġpromote Ġfurther Ġdevelopment Ġand Ġrestoration Ġdowntown Ġ; Ġits Ġgoal Ġis Ġto Ġassist Ġbusinesses Ġsuch Ġas Ġspecialty Ġshops Ġ, Ġrestaurants Ġ, Ġand Ġbars Ġbecause Ġthese Ġhelp Ġdowntown Ġbecome Ġmore Ġactive Ġduring Ġthe Ġday Ġand Ġat Ġnight Ġ. ĠThe ĠMeridian ĠDowntown ĠAssociation Ġis Ġprimarily Ġfocused Ġon Ġincreasing Ġfoot Ġtraffic Ġdowntown Ġby Ġorganizing Ġspecial Ġevents Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠMeridian ĠMain ĠStreet Ġprogram Ġsupports Ġexisting Ġbusinesses Ġdowntown Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠHot els Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠGiven ĠMeridian Ġ' s Ġsite Ġas Ġa Ġrailroad Ġjunction Ġ, Ġits Ġtravelers Ġhave Ġattracted Ġthe Ġdevelopment Ġof Ġmany Ġhotels Ġ. ĠEven Ġbefore ĠMeridian Ġreached Ġits Ġ" ĠGolden ĠAge Ġ, Ġ" Ġseveral Ġlarge Ġhotels Ġ, Ġincluding Ġthe ĠGreat ĠSouthern Ġand Ġthe ĠGrand ĠAvenue Ġhotels Ġ, Ġwere Ġbuilt Ġbefore Ġthe Ġstart Ġof Ġthe Ġ20 th Ġcentury Ġ. ĠWith Ġthe Ġgrowth Ġof Ġthe Ġrail roads Ġand Ġthe Ġconstruction Ġof Ġthe Ġoriginal ĠUnion ĠStation Ġin Ġ1906 Ġ, Ġmany Ġhotels Ġwere Ġconstructed Ġfor Ġpassengers Ġand Ġworkers Ġ. ĠThe ĠElm ira ĠHotel Ġwas Ġconstructed Ġin Ġ1905 Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠTerminal ĠHotel Ġwas Ġconstructed Ġin Ġ1910 Ġ. ĠHotel ĠMeridian Ġwas Ġconstructed Ġin Ġ1907 Ġ, Ġand ĠUnion ĠHotel Ġwas Ġbuilt Ġin Ġ1908 Ġ. ĠUnion ĠHotel Ġwas Ġlisted Ġon Ġthe ĠNational ĠRegister Ġof ĠHistoric ĠPlaces Ġin Ġ1979 Ġ, Ġand Ġboth ĠHotel ĠMeridian Ġand ĠGrand ĠAvenue ĠHotel Ġwere Ġlisted Ġas Ġcontributing Ġproperties Ġto Ġthe ĠMeridian ĠUrban ĠCenter ĠHistoric ĠDistrict Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAs Ġthe Ġcity Ġgrew Ġ, Ġthe Ġhotels Ġreflected Ġambitions Ġof Ġthe Ġstrong Ġeconomy Ġ, Ġas Ġevidenced Ġby Ġthe Ġeleven Ġ@ - @ Ġstory Ġskysc raper ĠLamar ĠHotel Ġbuilt Ġin Ġ1927 Ġ. ĠL isted Ġon Ġthe ĠNational ĠRegister Ġof ĠHistoric ĠPlaces Ġin Ġ1979 Ġ, Ġthe ĠLamar ĠHotel Ġwas Ġadapted Ġfor Ġuse Ġas Ġa Ġcounty Ġannex Ġbuilding Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1988 Ġit Ġwas Ġlisted Ġas Ġa ĠMississippi ĠLand mark Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠE . F . ĠYoung ĠHotel Ġwas Ġbuilt Ġin Ġ1931 Ġ. ĠA Ġstaple Ġin Ġthe ĠAfrican Ġ@ - @ ĠAmerican Ġbusiness Ġdistrict Ġthat Ġdeveloped Ġwest Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġ' s Ġcore Ġ, Ġthe Ġhotel Ġwas Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġonly Ġplaces Ġin Ġthe Ġcity Ġduring Ġthe Ġyears Ġof Ġsegregation Ġwhere Ġa Ġtraveling ĠAfrican ĠAmerican Ġcould Ġfind Ġa Ġroom Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAs Ġthe Ġcity Ġsuburbs Ġdeveloped Ġin Ġthe Ġ1960 s Ġand Ġ' Ġ70 s Ġ, Ġmost Ġhotels Ġmoved Ġoutside Ġof Ġdowntown Ġ. ĠRehab ilitation Ġof Ġthe ĠRiley ĠCenter Ġin Ġ2006 Ġhas Ġincreased Ġdemand Ġand Ġa Ġpush Ġfor Ġa Ġnew Ġdowntown Ġhotel Ġ. ĠThe ĠThree foot ĠBuilding Ġhas Ġbeen Ġproposed Ġfor Ġredevelopment Ġfor Ġthis Ġpurpose Ġ, Ġbut Ġrestoration Ġefforts Ġstalled Ġwith Ġa Ġchange Ġin Ġcity Ġadministrations Ġ. ĠThe ĠThree foot ĠPreservation ĠSociety Ġwas Ġformed Ġin Ġ2013 Ġto Ġraise Ġpublic Ġawareness Ġand Ġsupport Ġfor Ġthe Ġbuilding Ġ' s Ġrenovation Ġ, Ġfeaturing Ġtours Ġof Ġthe Ġfirst Ġfloor Ġand Ġanniversary Ġevents Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠHistoric Ġdistricts Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠMeridian Ġhas Ġnine Ġhistoric Ġdistricts Ġthat Ġare Ġlisted Ġon Ġthe ĠNational ĠRegister Ġof ĠHistoric ĠPlaces Ġ. ĠThe ĠMeridian ĠDowntown ĠHistoric ĠDistrict Ġis Ġa Ġcombination Ġof Ġtwo Ġolder Ġdistricts Ġ, Ġthe ĠMeridian ĠUrban ĠCenter ĠHistoric ĠDistrict Ġand Ġthe ĠUnion ĠStation ĠHistoric ĠDistrict Ġ. ĠMany Ġarchitectural Ġstyles Ġare Ġpresent Ġin Ġthe Ġdistricts Ġ, Ġmost Ġfrom Ġthe Ġlate Ġ19 th Ġand Ġearly Ġ20 th Ġcenturies Ġ, Ġincluding ĠQueen ĠAnne Ġ, ĠColonial ĠRevival Ġ, ĠItalian ate Ġ, ĠArt ĠDec o Ġ, ĠLate ĠVictorian Ġ, Ġand ĠBung al ow Ġ. ĠThe Ġdistricts Ġare Ġ: Ġ Ġ Ġ1 ĠEast ĠEnd ĠHistoric ĠDistrict ĠâĢĶ Ġroughly Ġbounded Ġby Ġ18 th ĠSt Ġ, Ġ11 th ĠAve Ġ, Ġ14 th ĠSt Ġ, Ġ14 th ĠAve Ġ, Ġ5 th ĠSt Ġ, Ġand Ġ17 th ĠAve Ġ.