Nearly a century after audiences used a Mesquite Street entrance to walk into the Ritz Theatre, that historic piece of the original complex is once again part of the theater.The Ritz Theatre, Inc. has purchased 720 N. Mesquite S treet, a building constructed as part of the original Ritz complex when the theater opened on Christmas Day 1929.The building originally contained a secondary entrance, box office, access hall and shops. The purchase comes just weeks after the Ritz acquired an adjacent vacant property where its new annex will be built.Jillian Baquet, development and program manager, said the Mesquite property will serve several purposes as the restoration moves forward.It's going to provide some really valuable first floor public entry space for the program, so we can have some office staff here day to day, as well as the majority of it being our education center. A surviving piece of the original RitzHistorical records show the Ritz was designed to stretch from Chaparral Street to Mesquite Street. People could purchase tickets and enter from the Mesquite side before making their way into the auditorium.A piece of that original passageway still survives.The original arch is still there, so when you walk down the center of this building, you're walking the footsteps of how people walked to get into the Ritz almost 100 years ago, and it feels historic, Baquet said.The secondary entrance was deactivated in 1939. The building later served different purposes, including as a tobacco warehouse. Architectural firm Brock Mabrey and Partners purchased the vacant wing in 1974, restored it and used it as its headquarters.Baquet said the property is also part of the Ritz's National Register nomination.One other thing, this building is part of our National Register nomination, so it has all of the same designation on it that the historic Ritz Theater does. It is part of the same whole in terms of historical recognition. Creating space for education and performancesThe Ritz plans to transform much of 720 N. Mesquite into classrooms and administrative space.Baquet said the organization has already started performing arts education programming in area schools.We already have started, um, some programming in schools for performing arts education. So the first launch program is kind of theater and storytelling and um then we'll go into all things performing arts.The property will also provide an important backstage function. Baquet said access behind the building will allow tour buses and 18-wheelers to reach a planned loading dock while staying off surrounding streets. The Mesquite building will work alongside the new annex planned next to the historic theater. The annex is intended to provide modern amenities, including additional lobby space, ADA-accessible restrooms and elevators, food service and event space, without forcing those additions into the historic theater.Neighbor welcomes Ritz's returnAcross the street, House of Rock owner Casey Lain said he believes another operating music venue will benefit Corpus Christi's music scene. Yeah, I mean, opportunity for more music is always good for us, you know, I, I think Corpus Christi has a good ecosystem. There's a lot of good venues, a lot of good musicians, and, and just a really a, a good scene.Lain said historic buildings come with challenges, but their character is difficult to reproduce.You can't replicate it, you know, it's such a cool vibe and a cool feel.Current tenants at 720 N. Mesquite will remain through April 2027 while design and preconstruction work continues. The building will then begin transitioning into its future role within the Ritz complex. The Ritz restoration and expansion is currently planned around the theater's 100th anniversary in 2029.As Executive Director Art Seago described the latest acquisition:For years, we have talked about bringing the Ritz back. Today, we can say something even more meaningful: were putting the Ritz back together.For the latest local news updates, click here, or download the KRIS 6 News App. ...read more read less