Pass Christian's Scenic Drive was once heralded as "The Newport of the South" because of the large number of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century mansions located there. This National Register listed historic district was composed of architecturally significant vacation villas set among live oaks and had the largest and best preserved collection of noteworthy beachfront manors on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. In 2005 Hurricane Katrina destroyed many of the historic buildings, especially in the western half of the district.