Diamond Theater

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The Diamond Theater was a movie theater that operated on the "Blue Front", a group of shops at 23rd Avenue and 7th Street in downtown Tuscaloosa that catered to African American customers. The theater and adjacent Diamond Drugs were owned by Snow Hinton, later the mayor of Tuscaloosa. They served as a nucleus of entertainment for blacks throughout West Alabama who came to Tuscaloosa on Saturdays to shop and enjoy the bustle of the city. Both businesses closed in the 1960s.

The theater's Art Deco-style marquee was salvaged by the city of Tuscaloosa prior to demolition of the block for an intermodal transit facility. Bill Snowden, the city's director of planning and economic development, hopes to see the sign restored and has discussed it with the art and engineering departments at the University of Alabama.

References

  • Dewitt, Robert (October 16, 2007) "Tuscaloosa marquee from racist era set to be restored." Birmingham News.