Boutwell Auditorium
- This article is about the current municipal auditorium. For the 1890s civic auditorium, see Birmingham Auditorium.
Boutwell Auditorium (also known as Boutwell Memorial Auditorium, Historical Boutwell Municipal Auditorium, and formerly Municipal Auditorium) is a city-owned 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena located on the eastern half of Block 7, at 1930 8th Avenue North, facing Linn Park. The total capacity of the hall, utilizing floor seating, is 6,000.
The auditorium is home to the Birmingham Power basketball team. Alicia Johnson-Williams serves as director of Boutwell Auditorium along with the Negro Southern League Museum and Birmingham Crossplex. Michael Moore is facilities and operations manager.
History
The need for a public auditorium had been recognized for decades. The Birmingham Auditorium on the northwest corner of 17th Street and 3rd Avenue North had been completed in 1896, but was sold two years later to Vaudeville promoter Jake Wells and had closed, albeit temporarily, in 1915.
In 1916 architect Eugene Knight prepared a proposal for completing the unfinished Roden Hotel as a new city auditorium with space for city hall functions, including the Birmingham Public Library and Birmingham City Jail on the upper floors. The Birmingham Chamber of Commerce endorsed the proposal, but it was not carried out and the hotel's bare structure was sold for scrap in 1917.
A campaign to inspire community support for a bond issue to fund a municipal auditorium was initiated by the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce in 1919. Morris Bush chaired the auditorium committee which recruited campaign workers from area businesses. The chamber funded the campaign at a cost of $1,500. On the day of the referendum, business owners were encouraged to send their workers to the polls. The issue passed by a 3 to 1 margin. A separate advisory committee, chaired by Chamber president Robert A. Brown worked with the Birmingham City Commission to select a site and develop plans for the building. In 1921 the city acquired the eastern half of Block 7 for $91,000.
Proposals for the new auditorium's capacity ranged from 3,500 to 10,000 seats. The design of the facility was given over to a committee dubbed the "Associated Architects of Birmingham". They engaged nationally-known theater designer Thomas W. Lamb as a consultant. A second bond referendum was passed, providing $500,000 for construction of the auditorium and for new schools and renovations to schools, libraries, parks and playgrounds.
In the 1922 Birmingham municipal election a new slate of city commissioners was elected on the "larger is better" ticket and the 10,000-seat option was pursued. Harry Breeding's design, which included a corner stage and a 70-foot diameter domed roof, was initially favored by city leaders from a number of designs submitted by September 1, but was later rejected as impractical. The architects' committee resumed work under the leadership of Harry Wheelock and eventually settled on a flexible arrangement which could accommodate 6,000 for staged events or could be opened up for exhibitions.
The style of the facade, possibly influenced by David O. Whilldin and Bem Price, was simplified into a brick "Lombard" or Northern Italian style with shallow blind arches and a raked cornice projecting slightly on corbels spanned by small arches. The less expensive design differed from the idea championed by Frank Anderson, William Warren and Eugene Knight for a unified Municipal Plaza surrounded by monumentally-scaled limestone-clad Classical buildings.
The auditorium itself was set back from the street to allow for the future addition of an entry pavilion, the design of which might better compliment the hoped-for assemblage of Classical structures. Day & Sachs were given the construction contract. The face bricks were "Red Range Orientals" furnished by the Stephenson Brick Co.
The completed auditorium was dedicated on June 1, 1924. A statue entitled "Spirit of the American Doughboy", donated to the American Legion, Birmingham Post No. 1 by the city's Greek-American citizens, was dedicated at the front entrance in November 1923. In the 1930s a project to "complete" the Birmingham Municipal Auditorium was undertaken under the auspices of the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA).
A 1957 renovation, executed by Charles McCauley, added to the lobby and meeting room space in front of the brick facade, giving the street view of the auditorium a decidedly modernist marble, aluminum and glass look. Ingalls Iron Co. erected the steel frame for the addition. Construction of the new entrance was interrupted by a labor strike. The exhibition area has a maximum capacity of 1,000.
The building was later renamed for former mayor Albert Boutwell. In 1996 the first sections of a the Birmingham Urban Mural were erected on a steel framework on the exterior east wall of the auditorium. Kevin Arrington was appointed facility director in 1998.
Notable events
Status
Master plans for the future of the Birmingham Museum of Art, which adjoins Boutwell Auditorium, have included expanding onto its current site. The possibility was made part of the Regional Cultural Arts Master Plan in 2002.
In December 2007, Mayor Larry Langford asked the Birmingham City Council to demolish the building, which he claimed had an annual operating deficit of more than $1 million. He recommended that the site be donated to the Museum for future expansion. According to Langford the city spends $1.2 million each year operating and maintaining the structure and only takes in $200,000 in revenues.
The City Council has delayed voting on Langford's proposal until more information can be gathered, including recent and scheduled bookings and fees and cost estimates for demolition.
In late September 2008, the city architect released a report stating that repairing safety hazards, providing access for the disabled and correcting building code violations at Boutwell would cost the city more than $4 million to repair.
Meanwhile, Boutwell is one of the sites identified as important to the understanding of Birmingham's role in the Civil Rights Movement and is listed among properties included in a proposal for Alabama's Civil Rights Churches to be added to UNESCO's roster of World Heritage Sites.
In 2024 the "Tamika Hall Sensory Room", developed in connection with KultureCity, was dedicated at Boutwell Auditorium in memory of Tamika Hall.
References
- "Birmingham's Proposed New City Hall-Auditorium" (April 29, 1916) Birmingham Age-Herald
- "Vigorous Campaign Lands Auditorium for Birmingham" (September 1919) Birmingham magazine - accessed via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
- White, Marjorie Longenecker (1977) Downtown Birmingham: Architectural and Historical Walking Tour Guide. Birmingham: Birmingham Historical Society
- Bryant, Joseph D. (February 19, 2006) "Boutwell has history, but not considered historic." The Birmingham News
- Boulard, Garry. (June 24, 1997) You can go home again." The Advocate
- Wolfson, Hannah (December 19, 2007) "Birmingham City Council delays vote on Boutwell Auditorium demolition; more information sought." The Birmingham News
- Eskew, Glenn T. (January 13, 2008) "Saving history: Auditorium an important part of nation's past." The Birmingham News
- Whitmire, Kyle (April 25, 2008) "Langford sports sackcloth, ashes, Rolex" Birmingham Weekly
- Baggett, James L. (May 2008) "Rock 'n' Roll is Here to Stay." Birmingham Magazine. Vol. 48, No. 5, p. 246
- Bryant, Joseph D. (September 29, 2008) "Boutwell Auditorium safety, code problems top $4 million." The Birmingham News
- Shelby, Thomas Mark (2009) D. O. Whilldin: Alabama Architect. Birmingham: Birmingham Historical Society ISBN 0943994330
- Eskew, Glenn T. (October 9, 2011) "Boutwell's history should earn venue its preservation." The Birmingham News
- Sharpe-Jefferson, Keisa (April 17, 2024) "City of Birmingham Unveils Boutwell Auditorium’s First-Ever Sensory Room." The Birmingham Times
External links
- Boutwell Auditorium at birminghamal.gov
- Photograph of the Municipal Auditorium audience for the 1942 "Sgt. Gene Autry" radio program in the Alabama Media Group collection at the Alabama Department of Archives and History