Glass Inc. - Reflections 1999-2019

MSURILEYCENTER MERIDIAN,MISSISSIPPI In the late 1800s, the Rothenberg family saw tremendous potential in Meridian, so they built a Grand Opera House and the Marks Rothen- berg department store as complements to each other in the heart of downtown Meridian. The opera house was host to some of the most popular traveling shows of that time, including vaudeville and even some of the earliest silent movies. Like other opera houses of its day, it was adversely affected by the introduction of movie theaters and closed its doors in 1927. Tied up in lawsuits for decades, the Grand Opera House was left virtually untouched from the time of its closure. In the early 2000s, the owners, who were trying to market the building, called Robert Smith to repair some broken windows. Apparently, pi- geons had infested the building. When Smith and his colleague Mitchell Moffett entered the neglected building, what they encountered was like a time capsule. The theater was largely intact, with exquisite woodwork, wainscoting, remnants of over 60 different wall coverings, and the original lambrequin hanging above the stage. On a wall behind the stage, the team from Glass, Inc. discovered old playbills and a backstage wall with signature from performers, including Mae West. Glass, Inc. repared the windows to keep the pigeons away, and several years after their “discovery,” the company handled the glass work on the renovation that ultimately transformed downtown Meridian.