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The Historic Natchez Foundation is working to restore the former Ritz Theatre, pictured here in 1947.
Groups work to restore the Ritz Theatre
Published Saturday, July 26, 2008
NATCHEZ — With no roof and barely consisting of more than walls, the improvements on the façade of the Ritz Theater may not be immediately noticeable — but they are there.
Newly installed thin strips of neon lights run up the top of the building and new sheet metal has been put on the marquee.
The work, which should be completed by fall, is a collaborative effort between the Historic Natchez Foundation and two local companies.
Photo by Steve VanGunda
Natchez veterinarian Orrin James walks past the Ritz Theater on Commerce Street Friday afternoon. Edgin Construction is currently restoring the marquee on the front of the theater.
The foundation’s director of programs, Mimi Miller, said the most recent work is meant to improve the exterior appearance of the building — and hopefully make it more attractive to potential buyers.
“Historic Natchez Foundation wants to preserve the façade,” Miller said.
Miller said the Ritz is the best example of Art Deco architecture in the city.
In the not so distant future Miller said she would like to be able to use the neon lights, currently being installed to show off the building’s exterior.
The building currently has no electricity and Miller said she would have to collaborate with the city to find a way to power the building.
Southern Signs Inc. of Natchez has been hired to install the new lighting and the company’s owner Glen Wisner said work on buildings as old as the Ritz is not always easy.
The building was constructed in 1869 and was last used as a theater in the 1960s.
But Wisner said while the work comes with challenges, he enjoys restoration projects like the Ritz.
“If it can be salvaged, I like to use it,” he said.
Wisner said one challenge in working on the Ritz’s neon has been getting the new work to match the old work as closely as possible.
“It’s almost impossible to be exact,” he said. “But we’re trying to get it as close as possible.”
Another problem Wisner has encountered is finding a spot to hide the neon’s transistors within the marquee to keep them safe from the weather.
Wisner also said one last element of the installation will simply have to wait for cooler weather.
The protruding section of the marquee that displays the theater’s name is essentially a hollow metal tube Wisner said. To install the lettering workers need to be on the inside of the tube.
“We can’t work in there right now,” he said.
Richard Edgin Jr., owner of Edgin Construction Co., is doing most of the exterior work including helping to restore the old ticket booth and install new glass on the marquee.
And while Miller is currently focused on getting the exterior of the building restored, the next owner will have an extensive restoration project.
In 2000 the building’s roof collapsed, with no protection from the elements the floor then rotted, then it collapsed and fell into the basement.
The interior of the building has since been cleared and is now only a shell — but a shell with tremendous potential Miller said.
“It’s a great space,” she said.
Miller said the foundation also wants the public’s input on what types of uses the building could be developed for.
The foundation has currently spent slightly more that $100,000 on the building.
The Natchez Downtown Development Association is planning to help out.
NDDA director Carrie Lambert said there is a plan in the works to donate a portion of proceeds from ongoing outdoor movie nights to the HNF for the Ritz’s expenses.
The next movie night is Aug. 2.
Comments
Posted by lilredhead (anonymous) on July 26, 2008 at 12:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
My grandmother got her first job at 14 working in this theater. She had so many wonderful stories that she would tell. I have the perfect thing! It should be turned into a theater with old movies on the weekends that serves dinner for couples or families. They could have fixed tables with chairs that swivel so you can eat and watch a movie. It could offer movies for date nights three weekends a month and family night one weekend a month. They had one on the in Biloxi that was fun.
Posted by NtzMom55 (anonymous) on July 26, 2008 at 1:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"DEMOLITION BY NEGLECT"
Posted by prouddaughter (anonymous) on July 26, 2008 at 6:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Would this not be the perfect place for the Natchez Little Theater?
Posted by sobeit (anonymous) on July 26, 2008 at 7:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The Natchez Little Theater could share the building with the "old moives" dinner theater since NLT doesn't always have a production in process (or I do not think they do).
Posted by lilredhead (anonymous) on July 26, 2008 at 8:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I forgot about Natchez Little Theater. They could share the building.
Posted by SandraSue (anonymous) on July 26, 2008 at 10:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I worked there as a teenager. We were required to count the soda cups at the end of the day to see how many were sold and to insure that the employees weren't sneaking a cup of Coca Cola without paying! Does anyone remember when the folks of Natchez picketed the Ritz Theater? It was because the movie, "The Moon Is Blue", was playing and one of the actresses was shown in her slip.What a change from the movie scenes today!
Posted by FHSbulldog (anonymous) on July 26, 2008 at 10:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It's a shame these two groups were not around when the beautiful Baker Grand Theatre was torn down and replaced by another building on Pearl Street. This was truly a "grand" theatre. To me, there was no comparison between the Ritz and Baker Grand. As for the managers counting cups at the Ritz, I worked several years for the Arcade in Ferriday and I, as an employee, had free cokes and popcorn as long as I did not overdo it.
Posted by dixiemama (anonymous) on July 26, 2008 at 1:36 p.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by ksuplady15 (anonymous) on July 26, 2008 at 2:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
How much will the total renovation cost?
Will the NPD be able to control/eliminate crime in the area where families/people will feel safe so they will be able to watch movies in the theatre?
Posted by FHSbulldog (anonymous) on July 26, 2008 at 4:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
None of the other theaters in Natchez, in my opinion, could ever compete with the "Grand" and I went to every one of them. I was very young when I went to the "Star" and don 't remember too much about it, but do remember the others. There are a lot of younger people in our area who probably don't even know there ever was a "Baker Grand". Well, they truly missed out.
Posted by Bobaloo (anonymous) on July 26, 2008 at 6:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
i got my first viewing of Gone With The Wind and many other classics in the Baker Grand. A grand old house it was too.... too bad it fell to such senseless as we look at today, demise.
Posted by oldschool (anonymous) on July 26, 2008 at 7:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If they have spent $100,000 and there is no roof or interor done, Something is wrong. Where is the finish product or even half of it? Man what have they done with the money. I know glass does not cost that much and lights????
Posted by jammin1 (anonymous) on July 26, 2008 at 8:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I remember the Baker Grand. I was told that it started out as an Opera House when it was first built. It was beautiful inside.
Posted by dramamama (anonymous) on July 26, 2008 at 10:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Wow! It would so cool if they could really resurrect this theatre! My husband and I were just talking the other day, about what a shame it was, that the old building had been neglected, and it would be great if they could restore it. And not only would it be a good place to have movies and The Natchez Little Theatre, maybe it could be a small venue for music concerts as well. Just an idea.
Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on July 26, 2008 at 10:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Why would any one in their right mind spend $100,000 dollars of somebody elses money or tax payers monies on a building that when completely rebuilt might not draw a single person,who knows? The taxpayers monies are spent so where is there a return for these monies and to whom?
This historic thing carries with it a certain form of insanity to a point. With gas 4 dollars a gallon and climbing, I guess when they cut off folks electricity they might come to their senses,but putting 100K into a building that has fallen to the basement seems like something only an extremist would do unless it,s not their money that,s being spent.
Strange,strange ....o well same ole same ole..historic to the last light being turned out around here i guess...good luck
Posted by bombingeight (anonymous) on July 26, 2008 at 10:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
My memory is not really great, but I do believe the Clark was on Main in the block and on the opposite side just up from St Mary's. There also was the Star on Franklin (not the drive-in), and the Star was the location of the showing in Natchez of "Thirty Seconds over Tokyo".
Posted by seeemeeego (anonymous) on July 26, 2008 at 11:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
bombingeight, you are right - the Clark was catty-corner from St Mary's. Agree with the other posters that the Baker Grand was the best and should have been preserved. Great memories of times spent at those two movie theaters.
I hope the resurrection of the Ritz turns out to be more of a success than the State Theater restoration in McComb. After several years without a modern movie theater, the Arts Council started showing movies this spring at the renovated State Theater, and it just didn't go over at all. The Little Theater uses the building for the few plays a year they put on, one area school puts on a yearly musical, but that's about the extent of it. Very uncomfortable to sit through anything there as the original seats are not sized for modern-day sized rears! LOL
Posted by fire39212 (anonymous) on July 26, 2008 at 11:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We just got back from Pigeon Forge and a mystery dinner would be great here...
Posted by noneya (anonymous) on July 27, 2008 at 12:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Art Deco isn't in line with the rest of Natchez architecture! What is NHF thinking? They force everyone else go by certain guidelines but not themselves. Wonder if Fat Mama's wanted to have a art deco facade if they would have been granted a permit? Remember folks, rules are rules....so some of you say.
Posted by frogprincenessntz (anonymous) on July 27, 2008 at 1:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The Clark was on the alley beside Mainstream Fitness. Is it still boarded up? I remember the floor slanted deeply away from Main. I also remember going to the Baker Grand and the Clark as a child. It cost ten cents to go to the Saturday matinee in the early 50s. We were given the choice of going to the movie with our dime allowance or we could stretch it a bit by going twice to Smoot's Grocery on Broadway. A cone of the best chocolate ice cream I have ever eaten could be bought there for five cents. I remember the Ritz also, but Mama did not like our going there.
Posted by hopefloats (anonymous) on July 27, 2008 at 4:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I remember them all,those were fun times. We had the Lucky Theatre in Meadville. I won a talent show and got free tickets to see an Elvis movie. The Ritz had those funny mirrors out front and the Baker Grande had that grand staircase..wasn't it 3 stories?
Posted by prouddaughter (anonymous) on July 27, 2008 at 6:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I, too went to all of the theaters around...including the Pat & the Rio Drive Ins in Vidalia...wonderful memories...I'm still angry about the Baker Grand....always will be...what a Grand old lady she was!
Posted by natcheznative (anonymous) on July 27, 2008 at 2:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
noneya, the community center on the corner of franklin and wall was restored as art deco and won an award from the state preservation people. Fat Mamas is a shack. I am sure it would have cost much more money to build an art deco building.
Posted by freedom42 (anonymous) on July 27, 2008 at 6:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I think some people are getting the Baker Grand confused with Memorial Hall. The BG was next door to the Memorial Hall. It was completely torn down and rebuilt as a bank. I think at one time it was the Old South Credit Union. Memorial Hall was originally built as a theatre and Opera House, then became Fisk Public Library, and then began falling apart when the Armstrong Library was built and the building abandoned. It has recently been rebuilt as the Federal Court House. I was trying to remember just the other day the name of the movie theatre on Main. That is where the Beatles first movie played, and where I saw my first Horror movie - "The Secrets of the Black Museum" starring Vincent Price! SCARY!
Posted by dixiemama (anonymous) on July 27, 2008 at 10:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
frogprincenessntz
you have me wondering who you are because I also would go to Smoot's for ice cream. He had the best chocolate ice cream ever! We would go to the old ice house & get a block of ice then buy some ice cream & go to the bluff to eat.
hopefloats
I had forgotten about the mirrors at the Ritz.
Posted by steveholmes (anonymous) on July 28, 2008 at 2:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I WORK AT THE RITZ FOR ABOUT 10 YRS. THE OBERLIN FAMILY WOULD LET ALL THE POLICE, SHERIFF, AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS SEE THE MOVIES FOR FREE. THE NATCHEZ CHILDRENS HOME KIDS HAD FREE ACCESS TO THE MOVIES WHEN THEY WERE ALLOWED TO GO..THE RITZ HAD DRAWINGS FOR PRIZES WHERE THEY WOULD GIVE AWAY JEWLERY, WATCHES, RINGS EVERY SATURDAY. A BOX OF POPCORN WOULD HAVE A DRAWING TICKET IN IT, AND THE POPCORN WAS THE BEST. THEY WOULD BABY SIT YOUR KIDS FOR ABOUT 25 CENTS EACH FOR THE AFTER NOON, YOUR CHILD GOT IN THE SHOW FOR A DIME, COKE, FIVE CENTS, BAG OF POPCORN 5 CENTS, BIG BABY RUTH 1 NICKEL, 5 CARTOONS, DOUBLE FEATURE, 2 SHOWS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE.
Posted by richcrook (anonymous) on August 30, 2008 at 5 p.m. (Suggest removal)
In the late eighties my friend and I used to sneak into the old Clark theatre and the Ritz. We found and took a lot of the old movie posters that were left there to rot. We eventually framed them and to us we got a really nice reminder of the past. We were only about 13 or 14 when we did all of this too. I'm glad the place is gonna have a bit of life brought back to it. You give me a hundred thousand dollars and I guarantee you would see more than just neon lights and a new ticket booth in front of a facade.
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