NATCHEZ &8212; A sparkling new fa?ade at the Ritz Theater will be under construction soon.

Natchez Preservation Commission members on Wednesday approved the Historic Natchez Foundation application, clearing the way for work to begin on the historic North Commerce Street Art Deco-style movie house.

&8220;We&8217;re excited about lighting up the Ritz again,&8221; said Mimi Miller, HNF director of preservation.

Restoration of the front of the building will include repairs and restorations including to the central tower, marquees, ticket booth, upholstered doors, vitrolite glass panels and a missing poster case.

&8220;We found someone in St. Louis who restores the cararra, or vitrolite,&8221; Miller said. &8220;He is Tim Dunn, well known in preservation circles.&8221;

The vitrolite is no longer manufactured, Miller said. However, Dunn has his own stockpile of the material in the colors needed for the theater.

The marquee will be relighted both from the inside and by neon tubes on the outside and in the pediments on top of each marquee section, Miller said.

Since no color photograph exists to show the original scheme, the Historic Natchez Foundation has chosen red, green, blue and gold for the neon lighting on the marquee &8212; typical neon colors of the mid 20th-century date of the Ritz and also restating the color scheme of the fa?ade.

The original chandeliers that hung in the entrance of the theater are being restored, Miller said.

The fa?ade restoration is the second phase of the project. The first included cleaning out the building and repairing walls.

Edgin Construction of Natchez will do the work, Miller said.

The next project will be a big one &8212; replacing the entire roof.

&8220;When the Historic Natchez Foundation acquired the Ritz, its roof structure had already collapsed,&8221; Miller said.

Real estate developer and Natchez native Burke Baker and Natchez businessman David Paradise bought the theater property and immediately donated it to the Foundation.

In other business, the Preservation Commission also:

4Approved the design of a railing on the Broadway Street side of Bowie&8217;s, 100 Main St., to create an outdoor area for patrons on the sidewalk adjacent to the building.

The iron railing will match the railing on the balcony of the building and will be installed, pending Board of Aldermen approval of the use of the sidewalk, in order to comply with the state Alcohol and Beverage Control agency.

&8220;We have to have some kind of containment to satisfy the ABC,&8221; said Bowie&8217;s applicant John Holyoak. &8220;We want to do it right and make it look right.&8221;

4Approved two sides of a proposed eight-foot wall at the Prentiss Club, 211 N. Pearl St., but asked for new plans for the north wall that would run along Jefferson Street.

Applicant Reuben &8220;Buzz&8221; Harper is the new owner of that building and the adjacent inn at the corner of Pearl and Franklin.

&8220;It&8217;s an extremely important building for downtown,&8221; said Commission member Tony DeAngelis, who had questions about hiding some of the architectural details of the north side of the building with the wall as proposed.

4Approved starting the demolition by neglect process with property owners Alfreda and Phaedra Kirkwood at 815 Martin Luther King St., where the house is &8220;deteriorating on the outside and people are taking things out of the house,&8221; City Planner Andrew Smith said. &8220;It&8217;s in a state now that it can be salvaged if it&8217;s boarded up and secured.&8221;

4Approved the construction by J. Neil Varnell of a concrete sidewalk to replace an existing wooden sidewalk at 205 Clifton Ave.

4Approved construction and renovations by Alvin Shelby at the house at 605 N. Union St.

4Approved the proposed construction of a carport and storage shed by Kurt Ross at 107 Arlington Ave.

4Approved the proposed construction of a patio and parking area by Gwen and David Ball at 311 S. Commerce St.