Landmark theatre in Ruston served as a entertainment hub for a century
A landmark theatre in downtown Ruston has served as an entertainment hub for almost a century.
The Dixie Theatre, located at 206 N. Vienna Street, has provided a space for local entertainment and the arts community for generations. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 14, 1993.
It was built in 1928 as the New Astor Theatre and later known as the Rialto, offering showings of silent films and live concerts with tickets ranging from 10 to 50 cents. The building was taken over by the Dixie Theatre Corporation of New Orleans in 1937 and became officially known as the Dixie Theatre.
The theatre has been renovated twice, in 1956 and 1968. The old entrance loggia is now enclosed and the shopfront level bricked over. All of the seating in the theatre has been replaced and the walls of the auditorium have been covered with acoustical cloth. The stage has been reduced in size, raised somewhat, and a plywood paneled wall has been installed across the rear of the auditorium creating a passageway.
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Other notable changes to the space included the addition of air conditioning and the iconic flashing neon star which rises above the marquee.
Prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the theater, like many facilities, was racially segregated. The second-story gallery was exclusively for Black patrons, who could only enter the theatre through a separate entrance on the south end of the building.
The building's three-story façade towered above the surrounding single-story commercial buildings. The first story was comparatively low and, by all indications, never had much in the way of architectural adornment. The taller second and third stories were articulated with a stucco treatment which included two huge segmentally arched panels set within larger panels with keystone-shaped caps. There was also a large bas relief eagle with wings spread. The façade culminated in a shaped parapet with a large central roundel.
Despite the renovations, the theatre still retains most of its historic features including its overall massing with the distinctive fly gallery, its conspicuous façade minus the shopfront, which still towers above the surrounding building; the separate entrance hall and staircase for blacks, and its historic lobby. The space remains completely intact, including its modernistic stair balustrades and lighting fixtures.
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Citizens continued to encourage the use of the theater for local entertainment, such as the weekly Joe Wood's Wildwood Express band and the Dixie Jamboree, under the ownership of James C. Howard during the 1980s and 1990s. By 1994, the theatre fell into great disrepair, and due to out-of-date fire and building safety codes, the Fire Marshall closed it down.
In 1996, a group of Ruston residents began working to restore the theatre as the Dixie Center for the Arts with assistance from the North Central Louisiana Arts Council. The DCA raised funds in the Ruston community for 10 years, won a Rural Developmental Grant in 1997 and received funding from the state in 1999 to aid with restoration efforts.
The theatre reopened in 2006 and now houses DCA offices, as well as the Ruston Community Theatre and its annual shows. It also rents for concerts, meetings and other special events.
This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: Dixie Theatre in Ruston now listed on National Register
