Alamo Theater (Mississippi)

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Alamo Theater
The third Alamo
Address	333 N. Farish St.
City	Jackson, Mississippi
Country	United States
Designation	Mississippi Landmark
Owned by	Mississippi Association for the Preservation of Historic Places
Capacity	524
Type	Local authority
Opened	1949
Years active	1949 - Present
	Coordinates: 32°18′13″N 90°11′19″W / 32.30352, -90.18862

The Alamo Theater, located at 333 North Farish Street in Jackson, Mississippi, is a dual purpose theater located in the Farish Street Historic District, which was the mecca of a thriving black professional and trade community before desegregation.

[edit] History

There have been three buildings to bare the Alamo Theater name in Jackson. The first structure was located on Farish Street in the 100 block across from where the McCoy Federal Building now stands and opened in 1915. The second Alamo was located on West Amite Street at Roach Street and opened in 1928.

The third Alamo opened February 26, 1949 seating 750. In its early days, it functioned as a cinema featuring westerns and African American films. The facility also served as a performing arts theater featuring black vaudeville acts, stage bands, and black performing artists including B.B King and Nat King Cole. It was here that longtime Muddy Waters pianist Otis Spann won a talent contest at the age of eight.

The Alamo Theater was one of the last "dual purpose" theaters in the United States.

By 1983 everything came to a halt and the Alamo closed^[1]. It remained shuttered until 1993.

[edit] Present day

A community restoration came about in the hopes of reviving the neighborhood. Realizing the historic significance and its importance to the revitalization of the Farish Street Historic District, Sunburst Bank donated the Alamo Theater to the Mississippi Association for the Preservation of Smith Robertson School in 1992.

During the 1993 Mississippi Regular Legislative Session, $1.5 million was allocated for the renovation of the facility.

The exterior was still in good shape and therefore the plasterwork, windows and corrugated white metal were easily restored.

Everything inside was in shambles with the ceiling and other junk a foot and a half deep on the floors. Nothing could be salvaged. The restoration decided to go from scratch and restore in the interior to its original Art Deco style.

The marquee and the vertical sign were restored to their original design including all the neon. It took over two years to complete the project and the theatre re-opened in 1997. It is now hosting all forms of art, music, dance and theatre.

The Alamo Theater seats 524 and is available for rent for group functions and small theatrical productions.

The Alamo Theater has received a Blues Marker making it part of the Mississippi Blues Trail. ^[2]

[edit] References

1. ^ Mississippi Department of Archives and History: Movie Theaters in Twentieth-Century Jackson, Mississippi
2. ^ Mississippi Blues Commission - Blues Trail. www.msbluestrail.org. Retrieved on 2008-05-27.