This 147-acre property with its 2,000-foot waterfront began as the Mississippi Centennial Exposition, built but never opened due to the outbreak of World War I. In 1922, the state sold the land to the U.S. Veterans Bureau, which demolished the temporary exposition buildings and erected seven buildings for its hospital complex, which opened in 1923. The largest structures line three sides of a central quadrangle, and an irregularly gridded street plan allows for large green lawns and live oaks around each building. Visitors originally entered through an arched gateway from the beach road, which had a trolley line. Designed by staff architects in a Mediterranean style, the stucco buildings have red tile roofs, shaped parapets, and long screened porches, many now enclosed. Campaigns in 1928, 1931, 1937, and 1946 built out the front campus to include two hospitals, four ward buildings, kitchen and dining hall, infirmary, chapel, and administration building.
In a major renovation during the early 1990s all but the administration building were covered in synthetic stucco, obscuring original ornament. Hurricane Katrina’s storm surge spelled doom for the institution, which merged its operations with the less-damaged Biloxi campus (400 Veterans Avenue). The City of Gulfport now owns the property.