Alabama Theatre

This is the link to THE ALABAMA THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS

http://archives.state.al.us/emblems/st_theat.html

hello i would like to know if you could tell me when some auditions were being held. i would really appreciate it. thank you

This is a great theatre to see a movie. The owner/organ player plays the organ before holiday movies and has a sing along.

Classic Southern style!

The architects who designed the Alabama were Graven and Mayger. The Alabama Theatre and the Tennessee Theatre in Knoxville are the only two movie palaces designed by this firm that are still intact.

In reference to MikeRadio's comment. This theatre was designed by Chicago architects, and financed by a company from New York City. The organ came from a factory outside of Buffalo. There are movie palaces all around the country that show classic movies with organ preludes and such, so how is it rated as "Classic Southern Style"?

I grew up in Birmingham, 1954-1963, and have many fond memories of Saturday aftenoons at the Alabama. It has to be seen to be believed.

I know there are some bigger ( seat more ) but there is none more spectacular.

I don't like to burst anyone's bubble, and the Alabama IS a gorgeous and spectacular theatre, but there are, in fact, plenty that are more spectacular. The Loew's in Syracuse and Columbus, the Paradise in the Bronx, the Fox in Detroit and St. Louis, the Uptown and Oriental in Chicago. Just to name a few.

The Alabama’s sister theatre The Tennessee is pretty darn spectacular especially after the $24 million restoration is completed in January. But I have personally been to many Movie Palaces including the Alabama and I can not rate one as more spectacular than the other. I can remember the big debate over which is the greatest movie palace ever built, the NYC Roxy, or the San Francisco Fox. I think that ALL true movie palaces are special and spectacular in their own way. And I am thankful for all of them that we still have standing.

I'm grateful for all the ones left standing too, including the Alabama. I just think it's odd that it's described as "classic southern style" (see my comment from 9/14), and that people think there's none more spectacular. The Alabama is, after all, an average movie theatre for a mid-size city in the 1920's. So, don't get me wrong. The Alabama is a great theatre, but no greater than its peers, and not as great as some others.

I recently attended a free Wurlitzer organ concert at the Alabama in October 2004. After the event I introduced myself to a Alabama Theatre staff member. He happily obliged to give me an in-depth 40 minute tour of the entire facility. We started in the basement below the stage where he showed me the dimmer room which has been stocked with decent NSI Dimming to replace the original system of which a few remnants remained. Next in the basement was a screening room where musicians in the silent movie-era could screen movies before their performance. Down the hall were a few dressing rooms and trap space under the stage for more elaborate productions. He also showed me the screw-jack organ lift and the organ blowers which send wind to the pipes resulting in beautiful symphonic sounds. After the basement tour we ascended several flights to the dressing rooms. Next was the fly grid and main air conditioning room with a massive fan than was suprisingly still working and original to the building. This delightful gentleman also showed me the intricate pipes on the stage left side of the theatre. WOW! The Theatre organ society has done a terrific job maintaining the pipes. At the conclusion of the tour he told me about the little known Lyric Theatre across the street from the Alabama. The gentleman told me the Lyric was much larger than the Alabama but was in terrible shape. Would love to post info on the Lyric but no info yet. Email me at longshore@email.com if you have any info

Sorry for using such words as " more spectacular " I was using my pride in Birmingham, especially for them saving such a great place. I too have done much traveling and have seen some great theatre palaces, but I have not seen all that there is to see. Birmingham has for the past several decades sat in the shadow of that city in Georgia, so some think. And I have defended Birmingham as a city of its own. I have on occasion been to the Fox and many rave about its beauty ( which I do not deny ), but the true " Show Place of the South " belongs to the Alabama.

Can any Birmingham oldtimer confirm that there was a movie theater in downtown Bham called the Empire Theater in the 1960s? Or am I mis-remembering?

The downtown theaters in the '60s were: The Alabama, The Ritz (equipped for Cinerama movies), the Melba, and I think The Empire. Right?

There was an Empire, in 1960 at least. I went to it ( I was 10 at the time). The Melba, Lyric, and Empire were all on the same street if I remember correctly. All were pretty neat places to watch a movie. I saw the "Last Emperor" at the Alabama about 20 years ago, and you could really appreciate a big screen movie in such a big screen venue.

The main downtown Birmingham theaters in the 1950s-60s were the Melba on 3rd Avenue North (North of the L&N railroad tracks that is) and the Empire on 2nd Avenue N (or maybe it was the other way round), both near 21st St; the Newmar, later renamed the Strand, on 2nd Avenue N between 19th and 20th; the Ritz, on 2nd Avenue N between 17th and 18th; and the Alabama and the Lyric on opposite sides of 3rd Avenue N at 18th St. All were still open as late as 1960. The Lyric closed in the mid-60s, then later sacrificed its right-angle lobby on 3rd Avenue N, built a boxoffice in one of the fire escape doors at the rear of the auditorium on 18th St., and reopened briefly as the "Grand Bijou." It folded for good in the late 1960s or thereabouts. I saw "Earth Versus the Flying Saucers" and "The Land Unknown" there in 1958. In the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Sally Field classic "Stay Hungry," besides having Ms. Field's only known nude scene, in the end credit sequence they have a bunch of body-builders posing on the ornate 18th St. fire escapes of the Lyric. I also remember seeing the original "King Kong," the original "Mighty Joe Young," "The Mouse that Roared," and "The Amazing Colossal Man" among many others at the Newmar/Strand in the 50s, but it was gone without a trace by the mid-60s, replaced by a bank I believe. The Melba and the Empire lasted into the early 1980s. Both were still operating--or at least still standing--when I returned to B'ham in 1983, but were demolished shortly afterwards. The Ritz had gone a little earlier. In the mid 80s I got to tour the Alabama projection booth and the projectionist said some of the Melba/Empire equipment had been saved and taken to the Alabama. The Alabama and the Lyric remain, but another web site states that the Lyric has been completely gutted inside and is used to store equipment for the Alabama. It and the Newmar were by far the oldest, both being pretty run-down even in the 1950s, so that's not surprising. In the unfortunate era of segregation, there were two or three African American theaters on 4th Avenue N near 16th St., including the Carver, the Famous, and (I think) the Frolic. Can't tell you much about them. I think the Carver is still functioning as a multicultural performance/concert venue, and last I heard (a long time ago) the Famous had become a civil rights center, but they had kept the facade and the box office. There was also the Homewood Theater in the suburb of the same name, listed elsewhere on this site and now a Schwinn bicycle store. Since I lived in Homewood, I went there a lot as a kid--then later even bought a bicycle there. I guess what goes around comes around.

I really appreciate rabbi's comments on what a fine city Birmingham is. Sure it's had its problems, but these days at its heart is a strong artistic community and a lot of forward-thinking people who support art and culture in the region. We have a sucessful film festival, Sidewalk, which shows films at the Alabama, The Lyric and the Carver among others.

I mainly wanted to mention that the Alabama Theatre is also a great venue for concerts, with superb acoustics and an intimate setting. I've personally seen Bob Dylan, The Black Crowes, Allison Kraus and many other shows there. I'll pay extra for a show at the Alabama, because it's always been a memorable experience. And speaking of films, I also saw Pink Floyd's "The Wall" there. Too cool.

Photo of the front facade, marquee and the vertical.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y147/Chuck1231/Alabama%20Theatres/AlabamaTheatreBirminghamAl1999.gif

Here is a photo of the Alabama Theater in Birmingham.

This is a nice interior view of the Alabama Theater.

That's very nice: I remember it being much darker. Must be during or post-restoration.
Now I have to look up 'scagliola.'
Thanks for the post.

I grew up in Birmingham. I am not old enough to have seen first run. I seen alot of classics there. Best place in the south to see Rocky Horror at.

This link has 106 photos of the theater:
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?hh:46:./temp/~ammem_aLLm::

And this link has one recent photo of the Alabama Theater.

Here is an article about the organist at the Alabama:
http://tinyurl.com/rlu62

I remember seeing the local opening of "The Shining' at the Alabama. Great place to see such an atmospheric movie. I still have my 'Helped Save the Alabama' t-shirt from the campaign back in the mid 80s. Garrison Keeler's Prairie Home Companion was there in March of '93. The reason I remember was because they were post-poned 2 weeks by the Birmingham Blizzard of '93, which surprised the Minnesotans.

This is a recent photo of the Alabama Theater.

The following web site that I just discovered:

http://www.birminghamrewound.com/features/bhamtheaters_main.htm

is a real treasure-trove of Birmingham lore. A 3-part section covers the B'ham theater scene for almost the entire 20th century, with information on the transition from "legitimate" theater to vaudeville to silent movies to talkies to the inevitable decline and fall.

Many of the theaters changed names and identities through this period. For example: the Strand on 2nd Ave. N., built about 1914 and one of the first dedicated silent-film theaters in town, was right next to the Capitol which had previously been named the Alcazar. In the late 1940s the Capitol renamed itself the Newmar, then later took over the Strand and took the name with it. That's why I remember it as the Newmar in the 1950s. Then in the early 1960s it was renamed back to the Strand--perhaps the old signage was still there under the plaster? Also, the Melba was on 2nd Ave. N. right next to the Comer (later City Federal) building; and the Empire was on 3rd Ave. N. It opened in 1927 as a silent film house, but they put in dressing rooms just in case these new-fangled "movies" didn't catch on.... (See my previous post above.)

The site has excellent historical notes on the Alabama, Lyric, Ritz, Melba, Empire, and Temple theaters, including period photographs and statistics. By all means check it out if you are into old Birmingham theaters.

And thanks very much to Lost Memory for the link immediately above. It lead to some photos of the interior of the old Lyric, which I hadn't seen in nearly 50 years. They are planning to restore it at a cost of $11 mill, and I'm glad--but they've got their work cut out for them.

Best wishes.

Here is another recent photo of the Alabama Theater.

This photo claims to be a 1927 photo taken during the construction of the Alabama Theater.

Added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1979

Alabama Theatre ** (added 1979 - Building - #79000386)
1811 3rd Ave., N, Birmingham
Historic Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Architect, builder, or engineer: Publix Theatres, Graven & Mayger
Architectural Style: Mission/Spanish Revival
Area of Significance: Architecture, Entertainment/Recreation
Period of Significance: 1925-1949
Owner: Private
Historic Function: Recreation And Culture
Historic Sub-function: Theater
Current Function: Recreation And Culture
Current Sub-function: Theater

Here is a link:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?hh:121:./temp/~pp_M8T1::

Those are obviously pre-restoration photos. The place looks like it was a time capsule, with the exception of some dirt on the walls.

Quite a photo collection. Thank you for sharing.

Here is a recent view of the Alabama Theater stage.

This is a photo of the Alabama Theater with a date given of 1934. Here is a photo of the candy counter display from the 1950s.

Another recent photo of the Alabama Theater can be seen here.

This is more recent photo of the Alabama Theater.

Here is a recent night view of the Alabama Theater.

This is another recent photo showing the Alabama Theater.

Happy Holidays.

This photo is circa 1948:
http://tinyurl.com/376qm3

Romance on the High Seas with Jack Carson and Janis Paige was released in July of 1948.

This is a 2008 view of the Alabama Theater.

Here is another recent view.

I moved away from home about 4 years ago and have missed the Alabama Theatre ever since. I am also I movie theatre junkie and a horror film buff as well. I decided to get a tattoo to honor my home, my home's theatre and my favorite horror film of all time Night Of The Living Dead. When I did a promotion with Weinstein Co for Diary of the Dead this Feb. I finally showed George Romero the tattoo, he just humbly shook his head and smiled. He and Bill Hinzman from NOTLD said that they had been to the theater with a film in one of the many great film festivals Birmingham has. Here's to the Alabama. Here is a picture of the tattoo. http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=75638103&albumID=742092&imageID=5538442


http://www.zombiefriends.com/view/vwGalleryPic.asp?pi=43652&zid=179

I moved from Birmingham in 2007. I grew up in the 60's and 70's going to the Alabama, Empire, Melba and Ritz. I saw many animated Disney movies at the Alabama. And I saw the original DR. DOOLITTLE there. Sitting near the front, the giant pink snail nearly blinded me with the brightness. I also saw the first HERBIE THE LOVE BUG movie there as a kid and they had the HERBIE CAR OUTSIDE when we came out. The last first run I saw there was the 70's remake of King Kong.... what a waste of grand theater usage. When I was in High School in early 1980's it was the site for the Cult Classic Rocky Horror Picture Show... every weekend it seemed.

My mother was a product of the Depression and WWII. She went to the Mickey Mouse Club at the Alabama every Saturday, and she has told me that the high back balcony of the Alabama was used by the Black community before desegregation.
Now living near Knoxville, the Tennessee (last surviving sister of the Alabama is still functional in much the same way as the Alabama is today) is used for classic festivals, live entertainment, etc.

The Lyric is just a legend to me. It was gone before I was born.

By the 1970's the other downtown theaters were basicly B run theaters... showing Chinese KungFu movies, Blacksploitation films, etc; along with occasional classic re- releases. There were the African American theaters like the Carver... that are still used as African American Cultural Centers

Can anybody tell me about other theaters in Birmingham... I know about the Homewood.. (Homewood Cycle and Hobby through my lifetime; but there were also theaters on Southside, East Lake and West End at one time. I think the Southside theater was the Jupiter. It was still operational in 1990s as a XXX venue but I think it too is gone. And I think the East Lake theater is still also operational as a XXX venue. But what about West End? I think I remember a defunct theater near Princeton Hospital. There were other neighborhood theaters scattered around town I am sure. Ensley and Hueytown are noted in this website.

There was an ABC theater in Roebuck Shopping Center. It was also originally a widescreen theater. It also showed alot of First run Disney movies. It was converted to a church in the 1980's. I am not sure what is in the site now. Several twin and quad theaters came and went throughout the city between 1970 and 2000...not worth noting too much... they were pretty cookie cutter.

And the Eastwood Mall Theater... built in the mid 1960's was originally a cinemascope venue and had super plush rocking chair seats. It converted to a twin (think proto-multiplex) somewhere around 1980. The last fullscreen show I saw there was Raiders of the Lost Ark. It closed a few years ago and was demolished along with Eastwood Mall and replaced with a Walmart in 2006 or 07. The Eastwood was not particularly elegant in any form or fashion, but it was unique in that it was one of the first IN-mall theaters in the country, and it was NOT A twin or multiplex. A similar theater was built in Jackson, Tennessee at the Old Hickory Mall a few years later.

This is a new link for the 106 b/w photos from the Library of Congress. Here is a link to 20 color photos from the same source.

Here is a September 2008 photo.

Can anyone tell me whether the Melba Theatre in Birmingham still exists today as I have read that it is "closed" on Cinema Tour and elsewhere that it was demolished? It premiered the movie, To Kill A Mockingbird with Scout (Mary Badlam) and Jem (Philip Alford) as they were both Birmingham residents at the time the movie was filmed in Los Angeles CA.

The Melba is not listed on CT, but it is listed on Cinema Tour with no information other than it is supposedly "closed" so hopefully it hasn't been demolished.

This is a close-up view of the Alabama.

Vintage Photo of the Alabama.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=123&CategoryID=3281&List=1&SortField=ProductName%2cProductName&catpageindex=2&Level=1&ProductID=23186
Another Vintage Photo of the Alabama.
http://americanclassicimages.com/Default.aspx?tabid=123&CategoryID=3281&List=1&SortField=ProductName%2cProductName&catpageindex=2&Level=1&ProductID=23187

The best views of the Alabama are at its official website, which includes this one of the auditorium:
http://www.alabamatheatre.com/Default.aspx?tabid=74

What might be the best in one persons eyes might be different in another persons, why not share any photos that are out there so all can see and decide.

Open House FREE!

Start Date: 6/7/2009 2:00:00 PM
Details
Tours will include the new Hill Arts Center Banquet Hall, the new Hill Center Meeting Room still under construction and tours of the Alabama and Lyric Theatres. Walk on the Lyric stage and walk back in history where the greats of Vaudeville walked.
You will hear music from the Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ all afternoon played by members of the theatre organ staff. Our organ crew chief Larry Donaldson will be on hand to answer questions and let you peek into the secret organ chambers to see how it all works. Our Technical Director Jeff Kizziah will be in the projection booth to let you see how the picture gets on the screen. Volunteers will be stationed throughout the theatre to answer questions.

Refreshments will be in the Alabama Theatre and Hill Center. Holly Burrow of the Hill Center will be available to answer questions and provide literature about the new center.

** From the Alabama Theatre Calendar (5/19/09)

Here are two 1980 photos:

Photo1

Photo2

LM, as already mentioned above, those are not the best photos, the best photos are on the Alabama Web Site.

This is the best exterior photo Chuck. Partly because I posted it. LOL

Oh, really? It looks to me like "Dystopos" posted it, and that "Lo Mem" just poached it from their scrapbook. Or is "Dystopos" another pseudonym being used by the amnesiac phantom? WMWL!

Good God Warren, that comment was totally unnescessary. When will you ever stop you nonsense with your useless and deflamitory comments. Stick to what CT was meant for and not your personal attacks on others.

Lost Memory, I really appreciate all the wonderful photos you post. Thank you!

What a stunning theatre! I am so glad it was restored and will be seen by many generations to come.

Indeed I too enjoy viewing these marvelous photographs. Your contributions are very much appreciated Lost Memory. Do not be discouraged by the verbal assault of one disgruntled person. When an individual resorts to name calling that person has already admitted defeat.

Yes ERD, the Alabama Theatre is a beautiful theatre. If you have the opportunity to attend the Alabama Theatre please do so. You will not be disappointed.
George

Wasn't this theatre part of the Civil Rights Movement since the Alabama at the time was segregated at the time Birmingham was catching hell during the 1950's and early 1960's.

Here is a May 1960 news item about the original marquee being replaced that year.

Another 2009 photo is here.

This is a July 2009 photo.

On July 18th, accompanied by two assistants, I had the opportunity extensively photograph the Alabama and Lyric Theater (across the street). The photos were taken to compare and contrast the condition of the two theaters and includes a number of wide angle, long exposure images that bring out the detail and vivid color on the inside of both grand old theaters. I'll post links here to the site the images will be uploaded to. Over 400 photos were taken between the two sites, including backstage, below the stage, storage and mechanical areas, balconies and more. It's taking a bit to sort out.

Here is an architectural sketch:
http://tinyurl.com/lkmqnd

Who was the artist that did the sketch, it seems to be cut off at the botton.

No, thst's the architectural firm, Graven & Mayger.

And what is the source for that sketch?