Historic Main Street Oxford

100 East Choccolocco Street 

Built in 1921 by brothers Frank and Jesse Cleckler, the historic building now known as the Oxford Performing Arts Center originally served as the Oxford Loyal Loan School, later renamed Oxford Elementary School. In 1920, local parents and community leaders recognized the need for a proper elementary school and proposed a mill tax to fund its construction. However, facing a 20-year wait to raise the necessary funds, the Loyal Loan School League took a different approach—selling bonds to community patrons to privately finance the $40,000 project.

The school opened in April 1921, serving grades one through six. By 1951, due to overcrowding and deteriorating conditions, the City of Oxford purchased the building for future use as a city hall. Under the leadership of Mayor Hemphill Whiteside, Oxford City Hall officially opened in June 1952, housing the city clerk, mayor, police department, fire department, and municipal court.

In December 2001, municipal offices moved to a new city hall at 145 East Hamric Drive. The police department remained in the old building at 100 Choccolocco Street until 2009, when it relocated to the new Oxford Justice Center.

In 2011, the Oxford City Council awarded a $10.4 million construction bid to Hale Construction Company, Inc., based on architectural plans by Goodwyn, Mills, and Cawood, Inc., with Mike Hamrick as chief architect. The plan preserved the historic character of the original structure—maintaining its pine floors, brick exterior, and columns—while adding a state-of-the-art, 1,200-seat theater extending to Snow Street.

The Oxford Performing Arts Center opened with its inaugural performance by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra on May 17, 2013, marking a new chapter in the building's rich legacy of education, governance, and the arts.