This Gulf Coast Main Street Feels Like A Movie Set
The Mississippi town of Bay St. Louis looks like a movie set because it once was one. In 1965, Natalie Wood and Robert Redford arrived to film This Property Is Condemned in the Depot District. The crew wanted a small Southern town that still looked like the 1930s and found one here. An old grocery on Blaize Avenue became the boardinghouse where Wood's character lived. The building still stands six decades later, saved by theater volunteers three days before its scheduled demolition.
Residents have maintained the habit of preserving old buildings ever since. Deep-porched houses now hold antique shops and a coffee counter while a 1911 brick courthouse rises above the storefronts on Main Street. Main Street itself ends at a sand beach, and a harbor full of boats, with Gulf oysters served within sight of the water. Plenty of Gulf Coast towns have a beach, and this one still comes with scenery worth filming.
Main Street Leads Straight To The Water
Start at Main Street and Beach Boulevard, where downtown meets the bay. The commercial stretch runs inland toward Toulme Street, with side trips along Second and Court streets. Old Town has a mixture of storefronts and houses converted into businesses, so shopping includes stepping onto porches and into former homes. On Main Street itself, the Hancock County Courthouse adds a broad brick facade and classical columns to the smaller buildings around it.
At the corner of Second and Main, Social Chair marks its porch with colorful Adirondack chairs. Browse statement jewelry and gifts inside. Across Main at number 200, Magnolia Antiques stocks furniture and collectibles; leave time to browse its roughly 3,000 square feet. Continue to the Alice Moseley Folk Art Museum at 220 Main Street for a free look at the local artist's work. Her painting titles include The House Is Blue but the Old Lady Ain't, depicting her blue cottage. The museum currently welcomes visitors Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Movie Boardinghouse Became A Theater
Bay St. Louis played the fictional town of Dodson during filming in 1965. For the 1966 release, This Property Is Condemned, the production used the Depot District and a former grocery building on Blaise Avenue. That building supplied the exterior of the Starr Boarding House, where Natalie Wood's character lived. Most interior scenes were filmed on a Hollywood soundstage.
Today, the building at 398 Blaize Avenue houses the Bay St. Louis Little Theatre. The building nearly disappeared: the theater bought it on December 11, 2007, three days before a scheduled demolition. The restored venue opened in 2010. Check the performance calendar before visiting so a look at the facade can become an evening inside.
Nearby, the mission-style L&N Train Depot makes another stop on the film-location walk. Its broad grounds face Depot Row's shops and restaurants. The Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area publishes a walking-tour map identifying the locations used in the movie.
A Beach Break Beside The Harbor
Back at the foot of Main Street, boardwalk access leads to a sand beach on the harbor's north side. Rutherford Fishing Pier forms the northern wall of the harbor basin, putting a waterfront walk beside the boats without requiring a charter. The city also provides a fish-cleaning station. Bring a beach towel if browsing shops is likely to turn into an afternoon on the sand.
The harbor has a day dock for short stays, so boaters can tie up and walk into Old Town. Visitors arriving by land can use the same waterfront as a lunch stop. The open-air Blind Tiger, at 119 North Beach Boulevard, overlooks the harbor and posts changing Gulf seafood specials on a chalkboard. Oysters and steamed shrimp are among its offerings.
Coastal Woods In Neighboring Waveland
For a longer outdoor break, drive along the coast to Buccaneer State Park in neighboring Waveland. The park combines moss-draped oaks with marshland beside the Mississippi Sound. Its 1.8-mile Pirate's Alley Nature Trail passes through coastal vegetation, including magnolias and pines.
Jackson's Ridge adds an 18-hole disc golf course, and the park has picnic areas and a playground. In summer, Buccaneer Bay waterpark supplies a different afternoon: a wave pool and large waterslides, with separate water-play areas for younger children. The waterpark operates seasonally, so check its calendar before building a visit around swimming. For access, use the entrance at 1150 South Beach Boulevard. The park specifically warns that some navigation systems direct drivers toward South Street, which is not an entrance.
Second Saturday Is A Reason To Stay Late
The second Saturday of each month brings special events and live music to businesses across Old Town and Depot Row. Individual shops set their own schedules, making the merchants' association's monthly listings useful when planning an evening. The celebration has expanded beyond a single fixed afternoon art-walk window.
Mockingbird Café, at 110 South Second Street, is a good place to start early in the day. Its three-sided porch wraps an 1868 building, and the kitchen serves breakfast and lunch alongside locally roasted Coast Roast coffee. The café opened in 2006 as residents and volunteers worked through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Today, it also hosts events. January's Dolly Should Festival celebrates Dolly Parton, with the name expressing the town's wish that she would visit. July's Frida Fest celebrates Frida Kahlo; both events began at the café.
Before leaving Old Town, turn onto Court Street for Ruth's Roots at number 130. This community garden began through the Hancock County Juvenile Drug Court, giving young people a place to learn about growing food. Public artwork shares the space with vegetable beds, and the garden keeps chickens and honeybees. The site once housed Ruth's Cakery, which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina; the garden's name honors the owner's late wife. Her husband, Jim Thompson, donated the use of the land for the project. Volunteers now grow seasonal produce on the former bakery property, and most of the chickens' eggs go to another local nonprofit. Leave time to look at the artwork on the garden's fences and walls before returning to Main Street.
