Smithfield Community Center

The Smithfield Community Center (built 1937 as the Smithfield Court Community House was an "amusement and cultural center" constructed in 1937 at 150 Reverend Abraham Woods Jr Boulevard (8th Avenue North) as part of the federally-funded Smithfield Court housing project in Birmingham's Smithfield neighborhood.

The one-story tile-roofed building was designed by architect D. O. Whilldin to serve the larger community surrounding the housing project. It had an auditorium with a capacity of 660 with a stage "large enough for dramatic and operatic performances". It also houses social rooms, a kitchen, and an office for a project manager. The front of the building, facing 8th Avenue, is marked by brick quoins at the corners and flanking three large arched openings with pairs of doors and semi-circular transoms. Pre-cast concrete keystones and plaques contrast with the red brick.

References

• "Amusement Center in Smithfield Court." (October 21, 1935) The Birmingham News, p. 9