Our History
In September 1929, Southside Elementary School opened to serve the children of Opelika. The building designed by noted Montgomery architect Frank Lockwood.
In the 1940s, Southside Elementary School was renamed in honor of beloved principal Miriam S. Brown. In 1989, after a new Southside Primary School opened, the building became the Opelika Learning Center. After the Center relocated in 2002, the school board transferred ownership of this building to the City of Opelika in 2003.
Envision Opelika Foundation, Inc., then undertook a multi-phase restoration to develop a community cultural arts center. With support from the Arts Association of East Alabama, the City of Opelika, grants, and donations, the facility partially reopened in 2008 as the Opelika Cultural Arts Center.
It was renamed the Southside Center for the Arts in 2019. In 2023, the City and the Lee-Russell Council of Governments opened a Senior Center in the renovated north wing. Subsequent improvements included new performance and exhibit spaces. In 2025, the building was renamed to honor patron of the arts Barbara H. Patton, mayor of Opelika from 1996 to 2004.
Southside Center for the Arts 