Effort underway to save historical building in Brownsville

BROWNSVILLE, Tenn. — A historical building, damaged from the recent winter storm, has left residents wondering about its future.

On Feb. 22, snow and ice that accumulated on the roof of the Ann Marks Performing Arts Center started to melt. But that melting caused the roof of the building to collapse.

Now, Haywood County officials are trying to save the historic building.

“It is a very nostalgic thing. Very few communities have such a theatre,” said Haywood County Mayor David Livingston. “We have always cherished it. It’s utilized tremendously.”

“A lot of history here on these grounds. Our building is used throughout the whole entire West Tennessee area. We’re probably one of the only counties that still actually host a theatre of this magnitude,” said Brownsville-Haywood County Parks and Recreation Department Director Undrae Johnson.

Immediately after the roof collapse, county leaders contacted insurance companies and two engineers. Both agreed that the building can be repaired.

“Right now we are shoring the building up. As you can see, we got the braces up to ensure that the walls stay intact, the remaining roofing stay intact around the damaged area,” Johnson said.

The repair cost is in the hands of the county executive and county commission. For now, they are still in the process of assessing the damage and getting bids for the repair.

“The county exec is looking at the timeline right now. Anytime you’re doing rehab, it’s all about money, it’s all about timing, getting the right people in to make sure the building is being taken care of properly,” Johnson said.

Johnson asks for patience in this process. These fences are here for your safety, but he says they will be replaced with a ribbon for a reopening ceremony.

“It is tailored to really create a community atmosphere to where our children have somewhere to display their talent. Being able to take that talent to God knows where because we are a historical town that comes from talent,” Johnson said.

“We intend on a systematic basis to restore the building not just as it was, but better than it was,” Mayor Livingston said.

Mayor Livingston expects to receive the final engineers report this week. As soon as he receives that, he will be able to determine the cost of repairing the building.