113 West Pleasant Avenue
Covington, Tennessee
901-290-8225

The Ruffin Theater is an Art Deco style building originally built in the mid 1920s as the Palace Theater, bringing some of the first motion pictures to western Tennessee. After the palace was severely destroyed by fire in 1936, William F Ruffin bought the building, rebuilding it in a more modern style and added it to his collection of theaters, renaming it the Ruffin Theater. Through the years the Ruffin has undergone several renovations, which have modified it from its humble beginnings as a "moving picture house" to a full-fledged 640 seat theater with a large stage. Community theater is now the main focus of the historic Ruffin Theater, and with its freshly redesigned lighting system and a new state of the art sound system. A myriad of talented local actors, actresses, and theater aficionados work tirelessly to bring theatrical plays to Tipton County and rural western Tennessee. The Ruffin Theater also holds many musical events and plays host to many yearly events like the Texaco Country Showdown and Ms. Tipton County Scholarship Pageants. In 1992, Ruffin Theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places and is is operated by the Tipton Arts Council.

Visiting Ruffin Theater
The Ruffin Theater is open during scheduled performances
Admission is charged for the Ruffin Theater performances.
A note about handicap accessibility: The Ruffin Theater’s side door allows for handicap accessibility and is located next to handicap accessible restrooms.