Pride of Atmore’s ongoing project to save the Strand Theatre is one step closer to completion as construction on the theater’s roof ended earlier this week.

Pride of Atmore President Bub Gideons said it took two years for the local non-profit organization to raise the funds to replace the roof.

Fundraising from the community and donations between $100-$500 a piece helped in the effort, Gideons said.

“The roof might not be the fun part, but it’s the most important part,” Gideons said. “We had to focus on what didn’t show first.”

The roof needed to be replaced so efforts can continue on cleaning up the inside, Gideons said.

“Through a community-wide effort and from individuals, this is a culmination of two years of work,” he said.

Gideons said the organization received bids from contractors ranging from $32,000-$38,000 to fix the roof.

Because Pride of Atmore is a non-profit organization, T-Roys Relief Roofing out of Spanish Fort stepped up to the plate and was able to fix the roof for a lot less, Gideons said.

It took T-Roys some two weeks to complete the roof construction, Gideons said.

“The roof is 50-feet wide and 100-feet long,” he said. “That’s a lot of roof. We had the rain break Thursday of last week, and it took less than two weeks with a day-and-a-half of rain.”

With the roof complete, the Pride of Atmore’s focus has now shifted to the theater’s front exterior.

Gideons said designs have already been drawn up to bring back the original marquee and perpendicular sign. He said the “Theatre” sign will be lighted with LED lights and spelled in the European spelling.

“Understand that those things are expensive, too,” he said, adding that the organization is back to raising funds for the signs.

Pride of Atmore is a 501 (c) 3 organization dedicated to preserving and renovating the downtown area.

Those who would like to make a donation can mail a check made out to Pride of Atmore to P.O. Box 122, Atmore, AL, 36502.