Discover 5 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Ruston (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Joe Aillet Stadium, Ruston Farmers Market, and Dixie Center for the Arts. Also, be sure to include First Presbyterian Church in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Ruston (Louisiana).
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Joe Aillet Stadium
Stadium in Ruston, Louisiana. Joe Aillet Stadium is a college football stadium in Ruston, Louisiana and the home field of the Louisiana Tech University Bulldogs football team, which competes in Conference USA. The football stadium replaced the original Tech Stadium where the school's football program played its home games on campus until 1967.
Originally called Louisiana Tech Stadium, Joe Aillet Stadium opened in 1968 and was renamed for retired Louisiana Tech head football coach and athletic director Joe Aillet in 1972.[1]
Address: 1450 W Alabama AVE, 71272-0001 Ruston
Ruston Farmers Market
Top attraction, Farmer's market, Shopping, Food and drink, Market
Address: 220 E Mississippi Ave, 71270 Ruston
Dixie Center for the Arts
Theater in Ruston, Louisiana. The Dixie Center for the Arts, also known as the Dixie Theater or simply the Dixie, is a theater-style venue located at 212 North Vienna Street in Ruston, Louisiana.
The venue originally opened as the Astor Theater in 1928. The Astor offered showings of silent films and live concerts with tickets ranging from 10 to 50 cents. In 1932 the Astor Theater underwent lite renovations with the most notable being the addition of a crystal chandelier and a change in identity from the Astor to the Rialto.
In the early 1950s, the theater underwent one last name change. After being purchased from the famous Dixie Theater Corporation of New Orleans, the space was officially known as the Dixie Theater. The corporation renovated the space and re-opened in 1956. The most notable renovation to the space was the addition of air conditioning and the iconic flashing neon star which rises above the marquee.
After years of neglect and disrepair, the space underwent an extensive renovation to preserve the historic venue. The Dixie Center for the Arts held a grand re-opening for the space in 2006 and has remained the proprietor of the property since.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 14, 1993. It was also declared a contributing property of Downtown Ruston Historic District at the time of its creation on January 31, 2017.[2]
Address: Ruston, 212 North Vienna Street
First Presbyterian Church
Basilica in Ruston, Louisiana. The First Presbyterian Church is a Late Gothic Revival-style basilica plan historic church located at 212 North Bonner Street in Ruston, Louisiana.
Built in 1923–24, its walls are Flemish bond brick trimmed with limestone. It has a side tower with a crenelated top and a needled spire made of sheet metal. It a crenellated porch topped by a lancet window.
The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 12, 1984.[3]
Address: 212 N Bonner St, 71270 Ruston
Louisiana Tech University
Public university in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech University is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".
Louisiana Tech opened as the Industrial Institute and College of Louisiana in 1894 during the Second Industrial Revolution. The original mission of the college was for the education of students in the arts and sciences for the purpose of developing an industrial economy in post-Reconstruction Louisiana. Four years later in 1898, the state constitution changed the school's name to Louisiana Industrial Institute. In 1921, the college changed its name to Louisiana Polytechnic Institute to reflect its development as a larger institute of technology. Louisiana Polytechnic Institute became desegregated in the 1960s. It officially changed its name to Louisiana Tech University in 1970 as it satisfied criteria of a research university.
Louisiana Tech enrolled 12,463 students in five academic colleges during the Fall 2018 academic quarter including 1,282 students in the graduate school. In addition to the main campus in Ruston, Louisiana Tech holds classes at the Louisiana Tech University Shreveport Center, Academic Success Center in Bossier City, Barksdale Air Force Base Instructional Site, and on the CenturyLink campus in Monroe.
Louisiana Tech fields 16 varsity NCAA Division I sports teams (7 men's, 9 women's teams) and is a member of Conference USA of the Football Bowl Subdivision. The university is known for its Bulldogs football team and Lady Techsters women's basketball program which won three national championship titles (1981, 1982, 1988) and made 13 Final Four appearances in the program's history.[4]