WEST POINT, Miss. (WTVA) -- A popular tourist attraction in West Point may soon have a new location.
Plans call for the Howlin' Wolf Blues Museum to relocate to inside the McClure Building, which is not far from its current location.
Not only will the museum be in a high traffic area, it will have at least ten times the space, allowing it to show more memorabilia.
"To be able to have the whole bottom floor of this will be tremendous," said Cynthia Wilson, the director for community development at the West Point Clay County Community Growth Alliance. "[There] are a number of things that people have not had the opportunity to see simply because there is not enough room where they're located now."
Despite the McClure Building being vacant for several years, it's still a sound structure. But before the Howlin' Wolf Blues Museum and the Arts Council can come in and set up shop sometime within the next year, a lot of work needs to be done to the interior of the building.
"We're going to have to get some new stairs, elevator to be able to access the second floor," added Stephens Daniel, an architect with Pryor & Morrow Architects and Engineers. "We're going to break out some of the concrete in the back for new plumbing, bathroom fixtures."
With the Arts Council moving in upstairs, that will enable the group to do more for the city and for tourists.
"They're looking forward to having a place to have events," said Justin Estis, the city's projects coordinator, ["where we can] teach other people how to paint, draw and doing things like that. Also, [it's] a place to be able to sell their artwork."
"Part of what we want to have or what has been discussed is having a gift shop where not just Howlin' Wolf memorabilia or souvenir type items can be sold but also some of the artwork that's done by local artists," added Wilson.
Some funding has been secured in the form of a grant, but the project is looking for additional grants to help cover extra costs.
The McClure family donated the building to the city so that it can be used to help promote the arts and increase tourism.
