Historic building in Bruce looks to bring more people into town
BRUCE, Miss. (WCBI) – A historic building in downtown Bruce is getting a facelift.
A local business owner is hoping that, through a little remodeling of a vacant building, the town will be able to draw in more people and give the city an economic boost.
Joel Stevens is a Mississippi Native who said he felt a calling to give back and invest in rural Mississippi after the state had given so much to him.
In the small town of Bruce, he saw an opportunity to do that in a historic building that has sat vacant for many years – The Historic Square Theater.
“There is so much potential here,” Stevens said. “I think it’s about seeing not what something is, but what it was, and what it could be again.”
Honoring the history of the building is one of the goals.
“Almost every day, people stop by and tell me about classic movies they saw here, concerts, and Bill Monroe apparently performed here back in the day,” Stevens said. “We want to honor that. There is also a lot of beautiful brick in this building. We’re keeping that.”
While Stevens is honoring the authenticity, he said there will be some updates to the nearly 100-year-old building.
“The balcony area is going to be a really nice and unique seating area that we’re excited to show folks. We’re going to offer a wide variety of entertainment for all ages. So, we really want this to be family-friendly,” Stevens said.
Stevens said he hopes to offer citizens a unique entertainment destination with classic movies, football games, concerts, podcasts, and more to hopefully draw in not only people from Calhoun County, but also surrounding communities as well.
“For folks that grew up there, it’s going to be a lot of wonderful memories, but they’re also going to see something that’s updated, very nice, but still honors that tradition and still frankly looks a lot like it did probably in the 50s and 60s,” Stevens said. “We’re going to encourage people to come from neighboring communities as well. It’s an easy drive from Oxford, Water Valley, Pontotoc, Grenada, Houston, and even Tupelo is not that far. So we really hope we can serve the whole community, the whole area.”
Mayor Jimmy Hubbard said he saw his first-ever movie at this theater in the 1970s. He says he is excited to see the project come together.
“I can remember as a boy growing up years ago, I would pay something like 25 cents to see a movie, and I can remember smelling the popcorn outside and things like that. There is just a whole lot of history that is going on here, too. It will not only draw people from the Bruce area, but the surrounding counties, and it should have a great impact on our area,” Hubbard said.
Stevens and Hubbard said they hope this project inspires more investment in the town of Bruce and Calhoun County.
The building is still in the renovation phase. Stevens said he is hoping to have the theater open before the holidays.
Stevens said they will also have a coffee shop in the lobby.
For more information, you can visit historicsquaretheater.com or visit their Facebook.
