What once stood as a block of abandoned warehouses is now transforming into a home for the up and coming arts scene in downtown Opelika.
Rising up as The Lebanon Art District, the area encompasses the 700 block between 7th and 8th Street.
The district is already home to several music venues, a recording studio, a coffee shop known for its creative vibes and more; but it continues to grow with the persistence of the growing artistic community.
"It came about initially when I bought the [Lebanon Arts District] property and was deciding what to do with it," said Richard Patton,
"Then we decided that Cottonseed Studio would go in there, which kind of naturally led to an arts district.
"We wanted to place that could become a hub where creatives could come together and collaborate and build and create and design and perform. We also wanted to give that place to the masses so they can come and see and be a part of it."
With concerts lined up throughout the fall and names such as Dawes and Nicki Bluhm coming through, there will be plenty of opportunities for the masses to become involved.
Chandler Jones, a senior in RTVF who spent the summer interning with Patton says the eventual goal of Lebanon Art District is to have an entire community existing within it.
This would mean artist lofts, living spaces, additional music venues, coffee shops, bars and more.
"The big vision is having a space for creatives to co-exist because when artists co-exist in one place, they can't help but draw inspiration from one another," said Jones "Essentially it creates better work in a better community."
Part of Jones' role in helping to develop the community involved discovering and historically researching the original Lebanon settlement from which Opelika sprang and for which the arts district is named. According to Jones, the reasoning behind why the Lebanon Art District will carry the name Lebanon is largely because of Opelika's history.
"Only Creek Indians used to live where Opelika is now," Jones said. "Then they got drawn out and the Europeans moved there. The original settlement they had was called Lebanon."
The families that settled there would meet in a cabin where they would discuss politics and hold church services said Jones.
"They were a bunch of people coming together, collaborating and making this artistic community, and eventually forming something greater than themselves that benefitted an entire community," Jones said.
"That's essentially what Lebanon (Art District) is because not only will Lebanon benefit those who work there, it will benefit the entire area of Opelika, of Auburn, of students coming to Auburn University so they can be a part of this creative movement that's there."
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