As citizens began to move away from downtown in favor of new subdivisions north of downtown, strip commercial interests began to move downtown. To attempt to save the historic nature of the city's downtown district and other areas, several areas were designated historic districts in the 1970s and 80s. Meridian now contains nine historic districts, all listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Meridian Historic Districts and Landmarks Commission was created in 1979 and the Meridian Main Street program was founded in 1985. In 1997 Meridian Main Street helped organize the construction of a new Amtrak Station based on the design of the historic train station used during Meridian's Golden Age which had been demolished. The construction of the Amtrak station and linking of transportation modes sparked a citywide effort to restore downtown to its lively prosperity of the early 20th century. In 2001, the Rosenbaum Building was renovated and reopened containing condominiums on the upper floors and retail stores on the street level. Weidmann's restaurant, built around 1870, was sold to a group of local investors and reopened in fall 2002 after extensive renovations. Meridian Main Street, along with The Riley Foundation, helped renovate the historic Grand Opera House in 2006 into the "Mississippi State University Riley Center for Education and the Performing Arts." A 6-story parking garage, built to provide parking for the future Riley Center, opened in 2005. Meridian Main Street was handed over to the Alliance for Downtown Meridian in late 2007 after the Mississippi Main Street Association, the statewide coordinator of all local Main Street organizations, ordered local governments operating these organizations in the public sector to turn them over to the private sector. The downtown revitalization effort is now spearheaded by a collaboration of three privately owned organizations: the Alliance for Downtown Meridian, Meridian Main Street, and the Meridian Downtown Association. Though the three organizations are separate entities, the Alliance serves as an umbrella organization, allowing the Meridian Downtown Association and Meridian Main Street to use its support staff and housing, and in turn the Alliance serves as a liaison between the organizations. Plans were underway for the Alliance to renovate the Threefoot Building into a mixed-use development before the end of 2009; however, as of January 2010, Mayor Cheri Barry has ended the city's relationship with HRI Properties. Today the Alliance helps to promote further development and restoration downtown and has