 largest healthcare organization in the region , employing 2 @,@ 610 people , followed by East Mississippi State Hospital with 1 @,@ 500 and Anderson Hospital with 1 @,@ 475 . There are three hospitals in Meridian , as well as many other healthcare @-@ related facilities . Jeff Anderson Regional Medical Center provides cardiovascular surgery , a Level II newborn intensive @-@ care unit , and a health and fitness center . Rush Foundation Hospital and the related Rush Health Systems operate a Specialty Hospital of Meridian , which offers long @-@ term care for non @-@ permanent patients who require more recovery time in a hospital setting . Riley Hospital has two centers for stroke treatment and rehabilitation services . Other healthcare facilities in Meridian include the Alliance Health Center and East Mississippi State Hospital , the latter of which has been in operation since 1882 .   Retail is another major employer in the county , with 5 @,@ 280 people employed in April 2010 . Nearly $ 2 billion annually is spent on retail purchases in the city . The 633 @,@ 685 @-@ square @-@ foot ( 58 @,@ 871 m2 ) Bonita Lakes Mall offers over one hundred shopping venues , including department stores , specialty shops , restaurants , eateries , and United Artists Theatres . Phase I of the construction of Meridian Crossroads , a 375 @,@ 000 @-@ square @-@ foot ( 34 @,@ 800 m2 ) shopping center in the Bonita Lakes area , was completed in November 2007 , providing a major boost to retail in the area . Also , the shopping district on North Hills Street has continued to expand , and in March 2007 , additional retail and office space was opened near the Highway 19 Walmart Supercenter .   The area is also served by two military facilities , Naval Air Station Meridian and Key Field , which supply over 4 @,@ 000 jobs to residents of the surrounding area . NAS Meridian provides training for naval carrier pilots and other enlisted personnel . Also housed at the base is the Regional Counter @-@ Drug Training Academy ( RCTA ) , which provides narcotics training for law enforcement in many southeastern states . Containing the first local Department of Homeland Security in the state , the city is the leader in a nine county regional response team and a twenty @-@ nine county regional response task force . Key Field is the site of the famous flight by brothers Fred and Al Key , who set a world endurance flight record in 1935 . Key Field is now home to the 186th Air Refueling Wing of the Air National Guard and a support facility for the 185th Aviation Brigade of the Army National Guard . The site also contains an exhibit reviewing the history of aviation , and is the home of Meridian 's Aviation Museum .   The total manufacturing employment of Lauderdale County in April 2010 was 2 @,@ 850 people . Peavey Electronics Corporation , which has manufactured guitars , amplifiers , and sound equipment since 1965 , operates its headquarters in the city . Other businesses in the area include Avery Dennison , Structural Steel Services , Sara Lee , Tower Automotive , and Teikuro Corporation . The city is also home to four industrial parks .   In downtown , the MSU Riley Center provides revenue from tourism , arts , and entertainment sales . The Riley Center attracts more than 60 @,@ 000 visitors to downtown Meridian annually for conferences , meetings , and performances . Loeb 's Department Store on Front St has remained a Mississippi clothing landmark , having passed through four generations of family ownership . The store has been selling fine men 's and women 's clothing since 1887 , when the store was first opened by Alex Loeb .   = = Culture = =   = = = Arts = = =   Known for more than a century of arts , Meridian contains many art and cultural organizations and hosts many cultural events . One of the first art organizations in the city , The Meridian Art League , was established in February 1933 . Art exhibitions were originally held in Lamar Hotel in downtown Meridian , but after a name change to Meridian Art Association in 1949 , exhibitions were held at various locations around the city . After the Carnegie library at 25th Ave and 7th St was closed , the Art Association remodelled the building into the Meridian Museum of Art to serve as a permanent home for exhibits . The museum was opened in 1970 and has since featured rotating exhibitions as well as many educational programs for both students and adults . Over thirty exhibitions are held annually , ranging from traditional decorative arts to ethnographic and tribal materials , photography , crafts , and many other works of art . The collection also includes 18th and 19th century portraits , 20th century photography , and several sculptures .   The Meridian Council for the Arts ( MCA ) was founded as Meridian 's and Lauderdale County 's official arts agency in 1978 . MCA operates its Community Art Grants program , the annual Threefoot Festival , several workshops , and other special events each year . MCA is partnered with many arts organizations in the city and county including the Meridian Museum of Art , the Meridian Little Theatre
Ġlargest Ġhealthcare Ġorganization Ġin Ġthe Ġregion Ġ, Ġemploying Ġ2 Ġ@ , @ Ġ610 Ġpeople Ġ, Ġfollowed Ġby ĠEast ĠMississippi ĠState ĠHospital Ġwith Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ500 Ġand ĠAnderson ĠHospital Ġwith Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ475 Ġ. ĠThere Ġare Ġthree Ġhospitals Ġin ĠMeridian Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġmany Ġother Ġhealthcare Ġ@ - @ Ġrelated Ġfacilities Ġ. ĠJeff ĠAnderson ĠRegional ĠMedical ĠCenter Ġprovides Ġcardiovascular Ġsurgery Ġ, Ġa ĠLevel ĠII Ġnewborn Ġintensive Ġ@ - @ Ġcare Ġunit Ġ, Ġand Ġa Ġhealth Ġand Ġfitness Ġcenter Ġ. ĠRush ĠFoundation ĠHospital Ġand Ġthe Ġrelated ĠRush ĠHealth ĠSystems Ġoperate Ġa ĠSpecial ty ĠHospital Ġof ĠMeridian Ġ, Ġwhich Ġoffers Ġlong Ġ@ - @ Ġterm Ġcare Ġfor Ġnon Ġ@ - @ Ġpermanent Ġpatients Ġwho Ġrequire Ġmore Ġrecovery Ġtime Ġin Ġa Ġhospital Ġsetting Ġ. ĠRiley ĠHospital Ġhas Ġtwo Ġcenters Ġfor Ġstroke Ġtreatment Ġand Ġrehabilitation Ġservices Ġ. ĠOther Ġhealthcare Ġfacilities Ġin ĠMeridian Ġinclude Ġthe ĠAlliance ĠHealth ĠCenter Ġand ĠEast ĠMississippi ĠState ĠHospital Ġ, Ġthe Ġlatter Ġof Ġwhich Ġhas Ġbeen Ġin Ġoperation Ġsince Ġ18 82 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠRetail Ġis Ġanother Ġmajor Ġemployer Ġin Ġthe Ġcounty Ġ, Ġwith Ġ5 Ġ@ , @ Ġ280 Ġpeople Ġemployed Ġin ĠApril Ġ2010 Ġ. ĠNearly Ġ$ Ġ2 Ġbillion Ġannually Ġis Ġspent Ġon Ġretail Ġpurchases Ġin Ġthe Ġcity Ġ. ĠThe Ġ6 33 Ġ@ , @ Ġ6 85 Ġ@ - @ Ġsquare Ġ@ - @ Ġfoot Ġ( Ġ58 Ġ@ , @ Ġ8 71 Ġm 2 Ġ) ĠBon ita ĠLakes ĠMall Ġoffers Ġover Ġone Ġhundred Ġshopping Ġvenues Ġ, Ġincluding Ġdepartment Ġstores Ġ, Ġspecialty Ġshops Ġ, Ġrestaurants Ġ, Ġeater ies Ġ, Ġand ĠUnited ĠArtists ĠThe at res Ġ. ĠPhase ĠI Ġof Ġthe Ġconstruction Ġof ĠMeridian ĠCross roads Ġ, Ġa Ġ375 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġ@ - @ Ġsquare Ġ@ - @ Ġfoot Ġ( Ġ34 Ġ@ , @ Ġ800 Ġm 2 Ġ) Ġshopping Ġcenter Ġin Ġthe ĠBon ita ĠLakes Ġarea Ġ, Ġwas Ġcompleted Ġin ĠNovember Ġ2007 Ġ, Ġproviding Ġa Ġmajor Ġboost Ġto Ġretail Ġin Ġthe Ġarea Ġ. ĠAlso Ġ, Ġthe Ġshopping Ġdistrict Ġon ĠNorth ĠHills ĠStreet Ġhas Ġcontinued Ġto Ġexpand Ġ, Ġand Ġin ĠMarch Ġ2007 Ġ, Ġadditional Ġretail Ġand Ġoffice Ġspace Ġwas Ġopened Ġnear Ġthe ĠHighway Ġ19 ĠWalmart ĠSuper center Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġarea Ġis Ġalso Ġserved Ġby Ġtwo Ġmilitary Ġfacilities Ġ, ĠNaval ĠAir ĠStation ĠMeridian Ġand ĠKey ĠField Ġ, Ġwhich Ġsupply Ġover Ġ4 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġjobs Ġto Ġresidents Ġof Ġthe Ġsurrounding Ġarea Ġ. ĠNAS ĠMeridian Ġprovides Ġtraining Ġfor Ġnaval Ġcarrier Ġpilots Ġand Ġother Ġenlisted Ġpersonnel Ġ. ĠAlso Ġhoused Ġat Ġthe Ġbase Ġis Ġthe ĠRegional ĠCounter Ġ@ - @ ĠDrug ĠTraining ĠAcademy Ġ( ĠR CT A Ġ) Ġ, Ġwhich Ġprovides Ġnarcotics Ġtraining Ġfor Ġlaw Ġenforcement Ġin Ġmany Ġsoutheastern Ġstates Ġ. ĠCont aining Ġthe Ġfirst Ġlocal ĠDepartment Ġof ĠHomeland ĠSecurity Ġin Ġthe Ġstate Ġ, Ġthe Ġcity Ġis Ġthe Ġleader Ġin Ġa Ġnine Ġcounty Ġregional Ġresponse Ġteam Ġand Ġa Ġtwenty Ġ@ - @ Ġnine Ġcounty Ġregional Ġresponse Ġtask Ġforce Ġ. ĠKey ĠField Ġis Ġthe Ġsite Ġof Ġthe Ġfamous Ġflight Ġby Ġbrothers ĠFred Ġand ĠAl ĠKey Ġ, Ġwho Ġset Ġa Ġworld Ġendurance Ġflight Ġrecord Ġin Ġ1935 Ġ. ĠKey ĠField Ġis Ġnow Ġhome Ġto Ġthe Ġ186 th ĠAir ĠRef uel ing ĠWing Ġof Ġthe ĠAir ĠNational ĠGuard Ġand Ġa Ġsupport Ġfacility Ġfor Ġthe Ġ185 th ĠAviation ĠBrigade Ġof Ġthe ĠArmy ĠNational ĠGuard Ġ. ĠThe Ġsite Ġalso Ġcontains Ġan Ġexhibit Ġreviewing Ġthe Ġhistory Ġof Ġaviation Ġ, Ġand Ġis Ġthe Ġhome Ġof ĠMeridian Ġ' s ĠAviation ĠMuseum Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġtotal Ġmanufacturing Ġemployment Ġof ĠLauderdale ĠCounty Ġin ĠApril Ġ2010 Ġwas Ġ2 Ġ@ , @ Ġ850 Ġpeople Ġ. ĠPe ave y ĠElectronics ĠCorporation Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhas Ġmanufactured Ġguitars Ġ, Ġampl ifiers Ġ, Ġand Ġsound Ġequipment Ġsince Ġ1965 Ġ, Ġoperates Ġits Ġheadquarters Ġin Ġthe Ġcity Ġ. ĠOther Ġbusinesses Ġin Ġthe Ġarea Ġinclude ĠAvery ĠD enn ison Ġ, ĠStruct ural ĠSteel ĠServices Ġ, ĠSara ĠLee Ġ, ĠTower ĠAutom otive Ġ, Ġand ĠTe ik uro ĠCorporation Ġ. ĠThe Ġcity Ġis Ġalso Ġhome Ġto Ġfour Ġindustrial Ġparks Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġdowntown Ġ, Ġthe ĠMS U ĠRiley ĠCenter Ġprovides Ġrevenue Ġfrom Ġtourism Ġ, Ġarts Ġ, Ġand Ġentertainment Ġsales Ġ. ĠThe ĠRiley ĠCenter Ġattracts Ġmore Ġthan Ġ60 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġvisitors Ġto Ġdowntown ĠMeridian Ġannually Ġfor Ġconferences Ġ, Ġmeetings Ġ, Ġand Ġperformances Ġ. ĠLo eb Ġ' s ĠDepartment ĠStore Ġon ĠFront ĠSt Ġhas Ġremained Ġa ĠMississippi Ġclothing Ġlandmark Ġ, Ġhaving Ġpassed Ġthrough Ġfour Ġgenerations Ġof Ġfamily Ġownership Ġ. ĠThe Ġstore Ġhas Ġbeen Ġselling Ġfine Ġmen Ġ' s Ġand Ġwomen Ġ' s Ġclothing Ġsince Ġ18 87 Ġ, Ġwhen Ġthe Ġstore Ġwas Ġfirst Ġopened Ġby ĠAlex ĠLo eb Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠCulture Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠArts Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠKnown Ġfor Ġmore Ġthan Ġa Ġcentury Ġof Ġarts Ġ, ĠMeridian Ġcontains Ġmany Ġart Ġand Ġcultural Ġorganizations Ġand Ġhosts Ġmany Ġcultural Ġevents Ġ. ĠOne Ġof Ġthe Ġfirst Ġart Ġorganizations Ġin Ġthe Ġcity Ġ, ĠThe ĠMeridian ĠArt ĠLeague Ġ, Ġwas Ġestablished Ġin ĠFebruary Ġ1933 Ġ. ĠArt Ġexhibitions Ġwere Ġoriginally Ġheld Ġin ĠLamar ĠHotel Ġin Ġdowntown ĠMeridian Ġ, Ġbut Ġafter Ġa Ġname Ġchange Ġto ĠMeridian ĠArt ĠAssociation Ġin Ġ1949 Ġ, Ġexhibitions Ġwere Ġheld Ġat Ġvarious Ġlocations Ġaround Ġthe Ġcity Ġ. ĠAfter Ġthe ĠCarnegie Ġlibrary Ġat Ġ25 th ĠAve Ġand Ġ7 th ĠSt Ġwas Ġclosed Ġ, Ġthe ĠArt ĠAssociation Ġremod elled Ġthe Ġbuilding Ġinto Ġthe ĠMeridian ĠMuseum Ġof ĠArt Ġto Ġserve Ġas Ġa Ġpermanent Ġhome Ġfor Ġexhibits Ġ. ĠThe Ġmuseum Ġwas Ġopened Ġin Ġ1970 Ġand Ġhas Ġsince Ġfeatured Ġrotating Ġexhibitions Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġmany Ġeducational Ġprograms Ġfor Ġboth Ġstudents Ġand Ġadults Ġ. ĠOver Ġthirty Ġexhibitions Ġare Ġheld Ġannually Ġ, Ġranging Ġfrom Ġtraditional Ġdecorative Ġarts Ġto Ġethn ographic Ġand Ġtribal Ġmaterials Ġ, Ġphotography Ġ, Ġcrafts Ġ, Ġand Ġmany Ġother Ġworks Ġof Ġart Ġ. ĠThe Ġcollection Ġalso Ġincludes Ġ18 th Ġand Ġ19 th Ġcentury Ġportraits Ġ, Ġ20 th Ġcentury Ġphotography Ġ, Ġand Ġseveral Ġsculptures Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠMeridian ĠCouncil Ġfor Ġthe ĠArts Ġ( ĠM CA Ġ) Ġwas Ġfounded Ġas ĠMeridian Ġ' s Ġand ĠLauderdale ĠCounty Ġ' s Ġofficial Ġarts Ġagency Ġin Ġ1978 Ġ. ĠM CA Ġoperates Ġits ĠCommunity ĠArt ĠGrants Ġprogram Ġ, Ġthe Ġannual ĠThree foot ĠFestival Ġ, Ġseveral Ġworkshops Ġ, Ġand Ġother Ġspecial Ġevents Ġeach Ġyear Ġ. ĠM CA Ġis Ġpartnered Ġwith Ġmany Ġarts Ġorganizations Ġin Ġthe Ġcity Ġand Ġcounty Ġincluding Ġthe ĠMeridian ĠMuseum Ġof ĠArt Ġ, Ġthe ĠMeridian ĠLittle ĠTheatre