Category Archives: Alabama Theater

Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, Alabama Theater, Birmingham Landmarks, BOOK, Carver Theater

Exploring Birmingham’s Jazz Roots and Grand Historic Theaters

Birmingham has a number of historic museums, theaters, and cultural venues to explore that are listed on page 10-11 of Birmingham by the Book: A Guide to the Magic City. An excellent starting point is a visit to one of Birmingham’s three historic theaters.

Tuxedo Junction is a famous historic jazz intersection and neighborhood in the Ensley area of Birmingham, Alabama, that inspired the 1939 hit swing song by Erskine Hawkins. The Jazz Hall of Fame celebrates the great musicians of this era. The museum is now located downtown in the historic Carver Theater, which was originally opened in 1935 as a movie house. A refurbished performance hall hosts live performances as well as movies.

The Lyric and Alabama Theaters face each other on 3rd Avenue North in the City Center. The Lyric is the oldest theatre in Birmingham and was opened in 1914 as a vaudeville house. Following an $11 million restoration it has reopened as a 750 seat performing arts center. The Alabama Theater was built in 1927 by Paramount Studios as an Alabama showcase for Paramount films . It now hosts over 150 events per year and was beautifully restored in 1998.

Alabama Theater, Birmingham Landmarks, Lyric Theater

Lyric Theater once again threatened by a pandemic

The Lyric Theater is one of Birmingham’s Historic Landmarks and is also one of the few remaining theaters that was specifically designed for vaudeville shows. By 1918, four years after it opened, it had an active and popular schedule of events attracting stars including Mae West and The Marx Brothers, and was lauded by Milton Berle to be “as fine a theatre as any in New York.”

But in October 1918, according to booking records carefully preserved since its opening in 1914, it went dark for three weeks. (see below) It’s presumed that the Spanish Flu ravaged the city and forced cancellation of all events. Perhaps because of the very lethal nature of that epidemic, it burned out quickly, and the theater was able to reopen.

However, once again, the theater’s future is threatened by a global pandemic and this time the closing has been much longer than before. The Lyric and Alabama theaters have once again been forced to cancel events, eliminating the income upon which they depend.

According to their website:

WITHOUT YOUR HELP, WE’RE HISTORY

“The Alabama and Lyric Theatres depend on events for income, but the COVID-19 pandemic has jeopardized the future of our historic venues. We need donations more than ever to make sure these Birmingham Landmarks survive this crisis.

If you’d like to help, please invest in the future of these Birmingham landmarks HERE. Or please consider including them in your holiday gift giving. Thanks!