by DAVID HAMILTON

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — The City of Natchez plans to update the historic Rhythm Night Club monument that has sat on the bluff for nearly eight decades.

The monument consists of a bronze plate, which memorializes the names of the more than 200 Rhythm Night Club fire victims, and a concrete structure that holds the plate. Both were given to the city by the Natchez Social Club of Chicago, which Natchez Mayor Darryl Grennell said is now called the Natchez Breakfast Club.

Due to deterioration of the concrete structure, the city approved a project to replace the concrete with a new, granite structure using funds left over from the Natchez Tricentennial Fund.

Officials, however, also want to preserve the original structure. The board of aldermen approved unanimously Tuesday a proposal to house the concrete structure in the Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture, also known as the NAPAC Museum.

At first, Grennell proposed that the base of the moment be placed in the museum, as contractors had told him the rest of the structure would likely crumble in the removal process.

Ward 6 alderman Dan Dillard, however, requested the entire monument be salvaged and housed at NAPAC. Dillard said he would “hate to see” part of the monument that shows age and history be lost.

Grennell agreed with Dillard and said he was fine with moving the structure if it stays intact.

“If we can salvage the top part of the structure, then let’s go for it,” Grennell said.

If only the base can be salvaged, however, Grennell wants pictures taken before and during the removal so a collage can be created for the museum. That way, visitors would be able to see how the original monument looked.

Grennell said the NAPAC museum is the perfect place to hold the weathered monument because it would no longer be subjected to harsh weather conditions.

The original base of the monument reads, “This monument was erected by the Natchez Social Club, September 15, 1940.” Grennell said this exact wording, down to the font style, would be transferred to the new granite structure.

Grennell said the project’s total cost is approximately $10,500, and contractors are authorized to relocate the monument immediately.