Petal, Mississippi: Ruins of International Checker Hall of Fame (Closed)

For the past 30 years The International Checker Hall of Fame reigned as one of America's greatest anachronisms. For such a humble game -- "The Mind Sport of Kings and Ordinary Men" -- its Hall was flamboyant and flaunting: a 32,000-square-foot Moorish/Tudor edifice, with a seven-story tower, a colonnaded tournament room with 24-foot-high ceilings and the world's two largest checkerboards, a library with checkers books dating back to the 17th century, priceless checkers artifacts scattered throughout, and even a statue, costing more than $10,000, of grand champion Marion Tinsley, who lost only 7 games in 45 years....