OAK GROVE — The West Carroll Chamber of Commerce and the Tulane School of Architecture recently donated two copies of the book “The Fiske Theatre: A Case Study for the Preservation of Mid-Century Theaters in North Louisiana” to the West Carroll Parish Library in Oak Grove, La. in order for them to be available to the public for years to come.

A team of four students and two professors from the Tulane School of Architecture in New Orleans spent a weekend in Oak Grove this past April studying the theatre from the roof to the basement while at the same time interviewing local citizens who had memories of the theatre and going through the Fiske Family archives that are stored at the theatre and records at the Clerk of Courts office to compile this very in-depth book.

“This is something we as the W.C. Chamber wanted to do from the time we found out the depth of the project that Tulane was conducting at the theatre.” W.C. Chamber Special Events and Historic Preservation Coordinator Adam Holland said. “By donating these two copies to the library they will not only be available for the public today but for our posterity in years to come.”

The book takes an in-depth look at the history of Carroll Parish, the theatre and goes into details of the impressive architecture and the role it played in theatre construction throughout the Mid-Twentieth Century.

“We as citizens of Northeast Louisiana take for granted how important our theatre was and is,” Holland said. “When the ‘New Fiske Theatre’ was built in 1950 she was the model for theatre construction of her day with all of bells and whistles movie goers could only imagine being able to enjoy.”

The Fiske Theatre which was designed by Architect B.W. Stevens of New Orleans won the “Merit Award” from the 1951 Motion Picture Exhibitors Catalog for being the most modern and well equipped theatre constructed in the nation in 1950. B.W. Stevens also designed the Joy Theatre located on Canal Street in New Orleans which is an almost twin to Oak Grove’s Fiske.

The Fiske is on the agenda for the November 21 hearing of the Louisiana Historic Preservation Board’s meeting to be considered for nomination to the Nation Registry of Historic Places which will put her in the same league as such structures as The Myrtle Plantation in St. Francisville, Bedienhorn Gardens in Monroe, and the Old State Capital Building in Baton Rouge

The chamber also has copies of the book available for $20 by calling the chamber office at 318-428-8283 or by sending an email to westcarrollchamber@gmail.com.

The funding for the study conducted by Tulane was provided by the Tulane School of Architecture Fund for Excellence Grant in 2013.