Riley Center
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Grand Opera House
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The Grand Opera House's location in Mississippi
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| Location | Meridian, Mississippi |
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| Coordinates | 32°21′50″N 88°42′0″W / 32.36389°N 88.70000°WCoordinates: 32°21′50″N 88°42′0″W / 32.36389°N 88.70000°W |
| Built | 1890 |
| Architect | Gustavus Maurice Torgerson; C.M. Rubush |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian, Empire/Romanesque |
| Visitation | ~63,000 (2007) |
| MPS | Meridian MRA (AD) |
| NRHP Reference # | 72000696 |
| USMS # | 075-MER-0086-NR-ML |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | December 27, 1972 |
| Designated USMS | June 7, 1991 |
The Riley Center, also known as the Grand Opera House and formally as the Mississippi State University Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts, is a performing arts and conference center in Meridian, Mississippi. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
Renovated in September 2006, it has been restored to its original beauty while incorporating the latest in modern technology and amenities. The Grand Opera House and the adjacent Marks-Rothenberg Department store were built in 1889 by half-brothers Israel Marks and Levi Rothenberg. The opera house was a site for entertainment and theatre for decades.
In addition to the extensive theater renovation, the Riley Center project redeveloped the department store as a state-of-the art conference facility. Together the theater and conference space make up the Mississippi State University Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts, owned and operated by Mississippi State University-Meridian Campus.[1]
In the late 19th century, Israel Marks and his half-brothers Levi, Sam, and Marx Rothenberg, expanded their retail operations by opening a new wholesale and retail mercantile store and an adjoining hotel. The site chosen covered almost a half a block — five lots facing 5th Street and three lots consuming the entire length of 22nd Avenue between 5th and 6th Streets. Construction began in 1889, under the direction of C.M. Rubush, a builder from Meridian. The exterior of the building was designed by Gustavus Maurice Torgerson, architect of Meridian's original City Hall. The designs included a mansard roof, establishing the architectural style as late Victorian, Empire/Romanesque.
For an unknown reason, construction of the hotel was interrupted in process, and the brothers decided to develop a Grand Opera House instead. Factors that may have influenced the decision may have been:
Seeking quality work, the Marks-Rothenberg partnership hired J.B. McElfatrick of New York and St. Louis to design the interior of the Grand Opera House. McElfatrick had designed over 200 theaters in the United States, including the National Theater in Washington D.C. and the Metropolitan Opera House of Philadelphia, among others.
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