Alabama Theatre
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| Address | 1817 Third Avenue North Birmingham, Alabama United States |
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| Owner | Birmingham Landmarks, Inc. |
| Type | movie palace |
| Capacity | 2,176 |
| Current use | Performing arts center |
| Opened | 26 December 1927 |
| Website | |
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Alabama Theatre
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| Coordinates | 33°30′53.69″N 86°48′33.04″W / 33.5149139°N 86.8091778°WCoordinates: 33°30′53.69″N 86°48′33.04″W / 33.5149139°N 86.8091778°W |
| Area | 0.4 acres (0.16 ha) |
| Architect | Graven & Mayger |
| Architectural style | Mission/spanish Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 79000386 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 13, 1979 |
| Designated ARLH | February 15, 1977 |
The Alabama Theatre is a movie palace in Birmingham, Alabama. It was built in 1927 by Paramount's Publix Theatre chain as its flagship theater for the southeastern region of the United States. Seating 2,500 people at the time, it was the largest in the Birmingham Theatre district. The district was once home to a myriad of large theaters that featured vaudeville, performing arts, nickelodeons, and large first-run movie palaces. The Alabama is the only district theater still operating today. Built to show silent films, the Alabama still features its original Wurlitzer theater organ. Other than the Alabama, the Lyric Theatre is the only theater still standing in the district.
The Alabama and its historic organ were added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on February 15, 1977 and to the National Register of Historic Places on November 13, 1979. The theater has been surveyed by the Historic American Buildings Survey on several occasions, the last time being in 1996.
Construction plans for the Alabama were announced in 1926, but ground breaking was delayed until April 1, 1927. The grand opening was held as originally scheduled on December 26, 1927. Construction of the concrete and steel building cost approximately $1.5 million.
In 1934, the Loveman's of Alabama department store next door burned to the ground. Thanks to a thick firewall on that side of the Alabama, the theater was unharmed aside from some smoke damage around air vents in the auditorium. These smoke stains would remain until the 1998 theater restoration.
One of the things the Alabama Theatre was known for in its early days was its Mickey Mouse Club, which was formed in 1933. Meetings were held every Saturday, where the children would perform for each other, watch Mickey Mouse cartoons, and participate in other activities. The Club also sponsored food and toy drives for the underprivileged. By 1935, the Club had over 7,000 members, making it the biggest Mickey Mouse Club in the world. Membership eventually peaked at over 18,000 before the Club closed almost ten years after it was formed.
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