 , and the Meridian Symphony Orchestra . Meridian Little Theatre , one of the South 's oldest subscription @-@ based community theatres , was built in 1932 and currently provides entertainment to residents of and visitors to Meridian and Lauderdale County , entertaining over 22 @,@ 000 guests each season , making it Mississippi 's most @-@ attended community theatre . The Meridian Symphony Orchestra ( MSO ) – founded in 1961 – played its first concert in 1962 and its first full season in 1963 . In 1965 the MSO booked its first international soloist , Elena Nikolaidi , to perform with the orchestra . The Orchestra helped the Meridian Public School District develop its own orchestra and strings programs and also helped develop the Meridian Symphony Chorus . The current conductor is Dr. Claire Fox Hillard , who has been with the orchestra since 1991 . The MSO will celebrate its 50th anniversary in February 2011 with a performance from Itzhak Perlman .   The city 's former Grand Opera House was built in 1889 by two half brothers , Israel Marks and Levi Rothenberg . During its operation the opera house hosted many famous artists and works , the first being a German company 's rendition of Johann Strauss II 's " The Gypsy Baron " . After closing in the late 1920s due to the Great Depression , the opera house was abandoned for nearly 70 years . A $ 10 million grant in 2000 by the Riley Foundation , a local foundation chartered in 1998 , sparked the building 's restoration while $ 15 million came from a combination of city , county , and federal grants . The opera house 's renovation was completed in September 2006 under the new name " Mississippi State University Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts . " The Riley Center , which includes a 950 @-@ seat auditorium for live performances , a 200 @-@ seat studio theater , and 30 @,@ 000 sq ft ( 2 @,@ 787 m2 ) of meeting space , attracts more than 60 @,@ 000 visitors to downtown Meridian annually for conferences , meetings , and performances .   Meridian is rightly considered an architectural treasure trove being one the nations most intact cities from the turn of the last century . Architecture students from around the nation and Canada are known to visit Meridian in groups as part of their coursework due to numerous structures in the city having been designed by noted architects . The only home in the US south designed by noted Canadian born Architect Louis S. Curtiss , famous for inventing the glass curtain wall skyscraper , is extant on Highland Park . The Frank Fort designed Threefoot Building is generally considered one of the best Art Deco skyscrapers in the US and is often compared to Detroit 's famed Fisher Building . Noted California Architect Wallace Neff designed a number of homes in Meridian as well as in the Alabama Black Belt which adjoins the city across the nearby Alabama State line . He had relatives in Meridian and Selma who were executives in the then thriving railroad industry and would take commissions in the area when commissions in California were lean . His work is mostly concentrated in the lower numbered blocks of Poplar Springs Drive where his 2516 Poplar Springs Drive is often compared to the similarly designed Falcon Lair , the Beverly Hills home in Benedict Canyon of Rudolph Valentino . One Neff work was lost to an expansion of Anderson Hospital in 1990 and another in Marion Park burned in the 1950s . The Meridian Post Office with its interior done entirely of bronze and Verde marble is also noteworthy as a very fine example of the type of Post Office structures built in thriving and well to do cities in the 1920s and originally had Lalique lighting which was removed sadly during a 1960s remodeling and which are now in private residences on Poplar Springs Drive and in North Hills .   Meridian has also been selected as the future location of the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center ( MAEC ) . The Mississippi Legislature approved the idea in 2001 and in 2006 promised $ 4 million in funding if private contributors could raise $ 8 million . The city donated $ 50 @,@ 000 to the cause in September 2007 . The MAEC , as proposed , would be located on 175 acres ( 71 ha ) at Bonita Lakes and consist of an outdoor amphitheatre , an indoor concert hall , and a Hall of Fame honoring Mississippi artists . The Hall of Fame will be located downtown in the old Montana 's building . That property and the adjacent Meridian Hotel building were acquired in July 2010 for $ 300 @,@ 000 . In February 2009 , the MAEC revealed its Walk of Fame outside of the Riley Center in an attempt to promote the planned Hall of Fame . The first star on the walk was dedicated to Jimmie Rodgers , a Meridian native . In September of the same year , the second star was revealed , recognizing B.B. King , a famous blues musician from Mississippi . On June 1 , 2010 , authors Tennessee Williams , Eudora Welty , and William Faulkner were added to the walk . Sela Ward was added to the walk on June 24 , 2010 . The MAEC plans to add many more Mississippi
Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠMeridian ĠSymphony ĠOrchestra Ġ. ĠMeridian ĠLittle ĠTheatre Ġ, Ġone Ġof Ġthe ĠSouth Ġ' s Ġoldest Ġsubscription Ġ@ - @ Ġbased Ġcommunity Ġtheat res Ġ, Ġwas Ġbuilt Ġin Ġ1932 Ġand Ġcurrently Ġprovides Ġentertainment Ġto Ġresidents Ġof Ġand Ġvisitors Ġto ĠMeridian Ġand ĠLauderdale ĠCounty Ġ, Ġentertaining Ġover Ġ22 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġguests Ġeach Ġseason Ġ, Ġmaking Ġit ĠMississippi Ġ' s Ġmost Ġ@ - @ Ġattended Ġcommunity Ġtheatre Ġ. ĠThe ĠMeridian ĠSymphony ĠOrchestra Ġ( ĠMS O Ġ) ĠâĢĵ Ġfounded Ġin Ġ1961 ĠâĢĵ Ġplayed Ġits Ġfirst Ġconcert Ġin Ġ1962 Ġand Ġits Ġfirst Ġfull Ġseason Ġin Ġ1963 Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1965 Ġthe ĠMS O Ġbooked Ġits Ġfirst Ġinternational Ġsolo ist Ġ, ĠElena ĠNikol aid i Ġ, Ġto Ġperform Ġwith Ġthe Ġorchestra Ġ. ĠThe ĠOrchestra Ġhelped Ġthe ĠMeridian ĠPublic ĠSchool ĠDistrict Ġdevelop Ġits Ġown Ġorchestra Ġand Ġstrings Ġprograms Ġand Ġalso Ġhelped Ġdevelop Ġthe ĠMeridian ĠSymphony ĠCh orus Ġ. ĠThe Ġcurrent Ġconductor Ġis ĠDr . ĠClaire ĠFox ĠHill ard Ġ, Ġwho Ġhas Ġbeen Ġwith Ġthe Ġorchestra Ġsince Ġ1991 Ġ. ĠThe ĠMS O Ġwill Ġcelebrate Ġits Ġ50 th Ġanniversary Ġin ĠFebruary Ġ2011 Ġwith Ġa Ġperformance Ġfrom ĠIt zh ak ĠPerl man Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġcity Ġ' s Ġformer ĠGrand ĠOpera ĠHouse Ġwas Ġbuilt Ġin Ġ1889 Ġby Ġtwo Ġhalf Ġbrothers Ġ, ĠIsrael ĠMarks Ġand ĠLevi ĠRot hen berg Ġ. ĠDuring Ġits Ġoperation Ġthe Ġopera Ġhouse Ġhosted Ġmany Ġfamous Ġartists Ġand Ġworks Ġ, Ġthe Ġfirst Ġbeing Ġa ĠGerman Ġcompany Ġ' s Ġrendition Ġof ĠJohann ĠStrauss ĠII Ġ' s Ġ" ĠThe ĠGy psy ĠBaron Ġ" Ġ. ĠAfter Ġclosing Ġin Ġthe Ġlate Ġ1920 s Ġdue Ġto Ġthe ĠGreat ĠDepression Ġ, Ġthe Ġopera Ġhouse Ġwas Ġabandoned Ġfor Ġnearly Ġ70 Ġyears Ġ. ĠA Ġ$ Ġ10 Ġmillion Ġgrant Ġin Ġ2000 Ġby Ġthe ĠRiley ĠFoundation Ġ, Ġa Ġlocal Ġfoundation Ġchart ered Ġin Ġ1998 Ġ, Ġsparked Ġthe Ġbuilding Ġ' s Ġrestoration Ġwhile Ġ$ Ġ15 Ġmillion Ġcame Ġfrom Ġa Ġcombination Ġof Ġcity Ġ, Ġcounty Ġ, Ġand Ġfederal Ġgrants Ġ. ĠThe Ġopera Ġhouse Ġ' s Ġrenovation Ġwas Ġcompleted Ġin ĠSeptember Ġ2006 Ġunder Ġthe Ġnew Ġname Ġ" ĠMississippi ĠState ĠUniversity ĠRiley ĠCenter Ġfor ĠEducation Ġand ĠPer forming ĠArts Ġ. Ġ" ĠThe ĠRiley ĠCenter Ġ, Ġwhich Ġincludes Ġa Ġ950 Ġ@ - @ Ġseat Ġauditor ium Ġfor Ġlive Ġperformances Ġ, Ġa Ġ200 Ġ@ - @ Ġseat Ġstudio Ġtheater Ġ, Ġand Ġ30 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġsq Ġft Ġ( Ġ2 Ġ@ , @ Ġ7 87 Ġm 2 Ġ) Ġof Ġmeeting Ġspace Ġ, Ġattracts Ġmore Ġthan Ġ60 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġvisitors Ġto Ġdowntown ĠMeridian Ġannually Ġfor Ġconferences Ġ, Ġmeetings Ġ, Ġand Ġperformances Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠMeridian Ġis Ġrightly Ġconsidered Ġan Ġarchitectural Ġtreasure Ġtrove Ġbeing Ġone Ġthe Ġnations Ġmost Ġintact Ġcities Ġfrom Ġthe Ġturn Ġof Ġthe Ġlast Ġcentury Ġ. ĠArchitecture Ġstudents Ġfrom Ġaround Ġthe Ġnation Ġand ĠCanada Ġare Ġknown Ġto Ġvisit ĠMeridian Ġin Ġgroups Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġtheir Ġcourse work Ġdue Ġto Ġnumerous Ġstructures Ġin Ġthe Ġcity Ġhaving Ġbeen Ġdesigned Ġby Ġnoted Ġarchitects Ġ. ĠThe Ġonly Ġhome Ġin Ġthe ĠUS Ġsouth Ġdesigned Ġby Ġnoted ĠCanadian Ġborn ĠArchitect ĠLouis ĠS . ĠCurt iss Ġ, Ġfamous Ġfor Ġinvent ing Ġthe Ġglass Ġcurtain Ġwall Ġskysc raper Ġ, Ġis Ġextant Ġon ĠHighland ĠPark Ġ. ĠThe ĠFrank ĠFort Ġdesigned ĠThree foot ĠBuilding Ġis Ġgenerally Ġconsidered Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġbest ĠArt ĠDec o Ġskysc rap ers Ġin Ġthe ĠUS Ġand Ġis Ġoften Ġcompared Ġto ĠDetroit Ġ' s Ġfamed ĠFisher ĠBuilding Ġ. ĠNot ed ĠCalifornia ĠArchitect ĠWallace ĠNe ff Ġdesigned Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġhomes Ġin ĠMeridian Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġin Ġthe ĠAlabama ĠBlack ĠBelt Ġwhich Ġad jo ins Ġthe Ġcity Ġacross Ġthe Ġnearby ĠAlabama ĠState Ġline Ġ. ĠHe Ġhad Ġrelatives Ġin ĠMeridian Ġand ĠSel ma Ġwho Ġwere Ġexecutives Ġin Ġthe Ġthen Ġthriving Ġrailroad Ġindustry Ġand Ġwould Ġtake Ġcommissions Ġin Ġthe Ġarea Ġwhen Ġcommissions Ġin ĠCalifornia Ġwere Ġlean Ġ. ĠHis Ġwork Ġis Ġmostly Ġconcentrated Ġin Ġthe Ġlower Ġnumbered Ġblocks Ġof ĠPop lar ĠSprings ĠDrive Ġwhere Ġhis Ġ25 16 ĠPop lar ĠSprings ĠDrive Ġis Ġoften Ġcompared Ġto Ġthe Ġsimilarly Ġdesigned ĠFalcon ĠLair Ġ, Ġthe ĠBeverly ĠHills Ġhome Ġin ĠBenedict ĠCanyon Ġof ĠRudolph ĠValent ino Ġ. ĠOne ĠNe ff Ġwork Ġwas Ġlost Ġto Ġan Ġexpansion Ġof ĠAnderson ĠHospital Ġin Ġ1990 Ġand Ġanother Ġin ĠMarion ĠPark Ġburned Ġin Ġthe Ġ1950 s Ġ. ĠThe ĠMeridian ĠPost ĠOffice Ġwith Ġits Ġinterior Ġdone Ġentirely Ġof Ġbronze Ġand ĠVer de Ġmarble Ġis Ġalso Ġnoteworthy Ġas Ġa Ġvery Ġfine Ġexample Ġof Ġthe Ġtype Ġof ĠPost ĠOffice Ġstructures Ġbuilt Ġin Ġthriving Ġand Ġwell Ġto Ġdo Ġcities Ġin Ġthe Ġ1920 s Ġand Ġoriginally Ġhad ĠLal ique Ġlighting Ġwhich Ġwas Ġremoved Ġsadly Ġduring Ġa Ġ1960 s Ġremod eling Ġand Ġwhich Ġare Ġnow Ġin Ġprivate Ġresidences Ġon ĠPop lar ĠSprings ĠDrive Ġand Ġin ĠNorth ĠHills Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠMeridian Ġhas Ġalso Ġbeen Ġselected Ġas Ġthe Ġfuture Ġlocation Ġof Ġthe ĠMississippi ĠArts Ġand ĠEntertainment ĠCenter Ġ( ĠMA EC Ġ) Ġ. ĠThe ĠMississippi ĠLegislature Ġapproved Ġthe Ġidea Ġin Ġ2001 Ġand Ġin Ġ2006 Ġpromised Ġ$ Ġ4 Ġmillion Ġin Ġfunding Ġif Ġprivate Ġcontributors Ġcould Ġraise Ġ$ Ġ8 Ġmillion Ġ. ĠThe Ġcity Ġdonated Ġ$ Ġ50 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġto Ġthe Ġcause Ġin ĠSeptember Ġ2007 Ġ. ĠThe ĠMA EC Ġ, Ġas Ġproposed Ġ, Ġwould Ġbe Ġlocated Ġon Ġ175 Ġacres Ġ( Ġ71 Ġha Ġ) Ġat ĠBon ita ĠLakes Ġand Ġconsist Ġof Ġan Ġoutdoor Ġamph ithe atre Ġ, Ġan Ġindoor Ġconcert Ġhall Ġ, Ġand Ġa ĠHall Ġof ĠFame Ġhonoring ĠMississippi Ġartists Ġ. ĠThe ĠHall Ġof ĠFame Ġwill Ġbe Ġlocated Ġdowntown Ġin Ġthe Ġold ĠMontana Ġ' s Ġbuilding Ġ. ĠThat Ġproperty Ġand Ġthe Ġadjacent ĠMeridian ĠHotel Ġbuilding Ġwere Ġacquired Ġin ĠJuly Ġ2010 Ġfor Ġ$ Ġ300 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġ. ĠIn ĠFebruary Ġ2009 Ġ, Ġthe ĠMA EC Ġrevealed Ġits ĠWalk Ġof ĠFame Ġoutside Ġof Ġthe ĠRiley ĠCenter Ġin Ġan Ġattempt Ġto Ġpromote Ġthe Ġplanned ĠHall Ġof ĠFame Ġ. ĠThe Ġfirst Ġstar Ġon Ġthe Ġwalk Ġwas Ġdedicated Ġto ĠJim mie ĠRodgers Ġ, Ġa ĠMeridian Ġnative Ġ. ĠIn ĠSeptember Ġof Ġthe Ġsame Ġyear Ġ, Ġthe Ġsecond Ġstar Ġwas Ġrevealed Ġ, Ġrecognizing ĠB . B . ĠKing Ġ, Ġa Ġfamous Ġblues Ġmusician Ġfrom ĠMississippi Ġ. ĠOn ĠJune Ġ1 Ġ, Ġ2010 Ġ, Ġauthors ĠTennessee ĠWilliams Ġ, ĠE ud ora ĠWel ty Ġ, Ġand ĠWilliam ĠFaul k ner Ġwere Ġadded Ġto Ġthe Ġwalk Ġ. ĠS ela ĠWard Ġwas Ġadded Ġto Ġthe Ġwalk Ġon ĠJune Ġ24 Ġ, Ġ2010 Ġ. ĠThe ĠMA EC Ġplans Ġto Ġadd Ġmany Ġmore ĠMississippi