‘Spectacular’ renovation breathes new life into historic Biloxi home. Take a look inside
The day in August that they closed on the Glenn Swetman House, a Mississippi landmark in Biloxi, the new owners walked inside to find a portion of the second-story ceiling collapsed onto the entryway floor.
Not to worry. Frank and Tim Lombardi-Benson knew what they were getting into when they bought the house, built in 1926, from the city of Biloxi.
“We knew what we were buying,” Frank Lombardi-Benson said. “The house has great bones.”
In 10 weeks’ time, the home was renovated and is now decked out for the holidays. The Lombardi-Bensons have sent out invitations to an open house where friends and neighbors can view the stately mansion in all its restored glory. A two-bedroom guest house above the garage was completed this week.
“It’s spectacular,” said Chevis Swetman, who grew up in the house, and followed his father Glenn Swetman into the banking business at The Peoples Bank. “I couldn’t have picked anybody better to do it.
“The family is tickled to death.”
Swetmans leave house to Biloxi
The Swetman House was built as a model home for the Miramar subdivision, where more modest homes were eventually added to the central beach neighborhood. It is the city’s only historical example of a Georgian Revival-style home.
Self-described “country banker” Glenn Swetman bought the house in the 1930s. He and wife June willed the house to the city in 1982, hoping it would become a museum. The house and garage were filled with antiques and the artifacts Glenn Swetman collected — everything from uranium glass to Japanese woodblock prints. Those were donated to the Peoples Heritage Foundation and removed when the house was sold.
In the deed to the city, the Swetmans mentioned a bronze plaque by the front door. The plaque begins, “A typical home of a 20th Century country banker” and commemorates the donation in memory of the couple’s parents.
Biloxi sells historic house
The city took ownership of the house in 1999, after June Swetman’s death. A series of nonprofits was located there, including the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. After Hurricane Katrina, the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum temporarily operated from the house, which had taken on 2 feet of water. The house also served as a field office for the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
But the house had been vacant since 2014, according to the city. The City Council voted in December 2022 to declare the house surplus property so it could be sold.
The Lombardi-Bensons lived in New Orleans and owned a weekend home in Miramar. They fell in love with the area and wanted to retire here from New Orleans. The Swetman House sat only two doors down.
“This house has always caught my eye,” said Frank Lombardi-Benson, whose background is in construction.
He added, “It was just deteriorating.”
.jpg "Swetman (1).jpg")
Brick exterior painted, kitchen redone
When the city had the house inspected in 2022, a 47-page report listed a litany of needed repairs.
The electrical system and plumbing have been completely replaced. The house has been remodeled from top to bottom.
One of the most striking new elements of the house is the painted brick exterior. The red bricks are now a beige color with an undertone of gray, while the wide staircase and porch are a wrought iron color.
The kitchen contained little more than a sink. “I can truthfully say that this was probably the world’s worst kitchen,” Chevis Swetman confesses.
The Lombardi-Bensons added a brick archway that looks as if it could be original to the house, cabinets with Carrara marble counter tops and a dining area.
Home renovations add charm
Another unique feature of the house is gone. Glenn Swetman and his brother dug a bomb shelter during the Cold War. It even had a bathroom. The bomb shelter, beneath a covered patio, was in such disrepair that the Lombardi-Bensons had it filled in.
Light pours into the house from multiple sets of French doors with transoms that face the street in the dining and living rooms. An apartment added on the west end of the first floor has been converted into a window-filled sunroom with a bar, a laundry room and a bathroom.
A front door with transom and sidelights opens onto the entryway, where a sleek, black grand player piano sits near the stairway to the second floor. One of four Christmas trees, with all-white decorations, sits beside the piano.
The original oak floors in the house have been refinished. The Lombardi-Bensons converted the home from four bedrooms to three upstairs so they could add a large master bathroom.
Artwork fills the walls, including collectible Mardi Gras posters, limited-edition prints by Louisiana artist George Rodrigue and photographs of iconic New Orleans architecture.
In the fenced backyard, the Lombardi-Bensons have added a swimming pool and greenhouse filled with Frank Lombardi-Benson’s orchids and other plants.
Chevis Swetman said he’s never been a fan of painted brick, but he’ll make an exception here. He thinks the renovated Swetman House is an improvement over the original. And he hasn’t even seen the interior yet.
“I don’t know how they did it, but they did it,” said Swetman, who plans to attend the open house.
This story was originally published December 14, 2023 at 9:03 AM.
