FERRIDAY — The old Arcade Theater, a historic downtown Ferriday building demolished in January, will begin its official resurrection Wednesday with a groundbreaking ceremony.

The groundbreaking will be at 10 a.m., and Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne will be master of ceremonies, Delta Music Museum Judith Bingham said.

Construction of the new Arcade, which will be an extension of the Delta Music Museum, has been underway for about three weeks, Bingham said.

Construction will likely be completed in early 2008, she said.

The building will seat about 350, and will be used by the community and to host concerts, Bingham said.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to play old movies in it,” she said.

The plans for the building were drawn to make it resemble the original Arcade — built in 1926 — as much as possible, and the original sign from the building was saved during the demolition and will be restored to the front of the building, Bingham said.

The restored theater will also likely play host to two traveling exhibits the museum is slated to have, the New Harmonies Smithsonian exhibit — a tribute to American roots music — in 2008 and an LSU sports exhibit in 2009, Bingham said.

The construction is expected to cost about $1 million, and is funded by the Secretary of State’s office.