Avon Theater

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The Avon Theater is a former cinema building located at 2829 7th Avenue South in Birmingham's Lakeview district. The building was constructed by the Birmingham Realty Company as an addition to its successful Avon Building to the east. It was designed by architect Charles McCauley. The main space was operated as a theater until about 1960 when it was gutted and a new cement floor slab poured to level the formerly-sloping auditorium. It was used as warehouse storage for the next two decades and the lobby/storefront was adapted for retail tenants.

The building was part of Bayer Properties' redevelopment of the adjacent Avon Building, which had suffered flood damage from pipes that froze during the winter of 1983-84. Straight Furrow Productions relocated from 2nd Avenue North as the renovated building's first new tenant. They hosted members of the "Rolling Stones" in October 1989, filming interviews for Nigel Finch's documentary film 25×5: the Continuing Adventures of the Rolling Stones.

Vazda studios also operated from the theater building before they moved to the Roger's Trading Company Building in 2006. Some of Vazda's crew members created a short documentary about "Frank", the supposed ghost of a former theater employee.

In December 2006 Bayer sold the building to the Redview Group for $2.6 million. Redview leased the former theater space to the Red Mountain Church. The church uses the space for worship and also rents it out for events. Barrett Architecture Studio designed a new courtyard entrance for the church which won an "Merit Award" from AIA Birmingham in 2016.

In 2014 Lotus Properties sold the building to 29th Street Properties for $1.04 million.

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