SUMMER MOVIES
The 2006 Summer Films Series is behind us and this year the movies were very successful as well as the Saturday afternoon children's matinees, which were new for us this summer. For Cinderella we had about 200 little Cinderella's and for Wizard of Oz we had about the same number of little Dorothy's. The children really get into the movies.
NEW PROJECTION BOOTH EQUIPMENT
Our new projection equipment, provided by Regal Entertainment Group, is performing very well and now we are going to install new Dolby 5.1 digital stereo sound to bring our booth up to state of the art standards just in time for the new films that will be shown at the Sidewalk Moving Picture festival.
NEW BANQUET FACILITIES
Our long awaited banquet and reception hall has been on hold while our architects found a way to raise the roof 6 feet which will make the ceiling 16 feet high. Our worry was that when a bride tossed her bouquet it would hit to the low ceiling. The new facilities will include an elevator, a catering kitchen, stage, dance floor and a new high tect sound system. We hope it will be available for holiday parties and receptions.
2006 HOLIDAY FILMS
The 2006 holiday film schedule dates are December 15 thru the 22 with an afternoon children's matinee at 2PM on December 16th. Last year we had 8500 people in attendance for the week and this year we hope for an even bigger crowd. The large 16 ft. Christmas tree will be in the lobby and we hope to have many other surprises. The names of the films will be announced in September and may include:
- White Christmas
- It's A Wonderful Life
- Christmas Vacation
- A Christmas Story
- Elf
USHERS
Ushers are badly needed for the many live shows held at the Alabama Theatre and the pay is good… for your two hours work seating the many patrons, you receive a complementary soft drink and the appreciation of all those patrons that you seated correctly and you get to see the show free. We have had the same ushers for many years and now these ushers are getting older and need to have a rest from the many steps and long aisles of the Alabama Theatre. If you are interested please call the theatre office 205-252-2262 during regular business hours to sign up.
PROGRESS ON THE LYRIC THEATRE
The progress is very slow in the start up of the Lyric. First, the theatre is a real mess. It has been closed for almost 50 years since 1959 and the years of neglect and lack of HVAC control has taken its toll. To get a better feel for the project, we hired nationally known architect Paul Westlake, the leading architect in the country for historic theatres, with over 20 historic theatres behind him, and just bringing him and his team on board has saved us $500,000 in construction costs and fees. More information will be included in future newsletters as it is available.
ALABAMA THEATRE TRIVIA QUIZ
Answers at the bottom.
- How many light bulbs are in the total Alabama Theatre complex?
- How many light bulbs are in the main dome?
- How many light bulbs are in the large vertical A L A B A M A sign?
- How many pipes are in the Mighty Wurlitzer Pipe Organ?
- How many seats are in the theatre?
- How many seats were in the theatre when it first opened in 1927.
More trivia next news letter………..
AIR CONDITIONING EQUIPMENT DELIMA
PLEA FOR HELP
Recently the roof equipment part of our massive air conditioning system has shown signs of age with an increasingly high number of service calls and we have had to make the expensive and unplanned decision to replace the aging units. This will cost a total of $104,000 and is not in the budget so we need financial assistance quickly to raise the funds. We do not have a choice in this matter brcause the units have to be replaced. So to help us stay cool on the hot humid Birmingham evenings, we are asking you to send your contributions to the Alabama Theatre 1817 Third Avenue North, Birmingham, AL 35203. And remember, the Alabama Theatre is a 501©3 non-profit organization and all contributions are tax deductible. YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED.
WEDDINGS/RECEPTIONS AT THE ALABAMA
Have you ever thought about getting married at the Alabama Theatre? We do many weddings at the theatre with the ceremony on the stage, reception in the beautiful lobby and then dance on the stage if that is on your schedule. Imagine walking down the aisle to the wedding march played on the historic Mighty Wurlitzer Pipe Organ It would certainly make your wedding historic and memorable and your wedding pictures unbelievably beautiful.
Also keep us in mind for meetings, parties and receptions of all kinds, as well as corporate events. Call Anthony Mitchell our Event Coordinator at 205-252- 2262 for details and bookings.
SUGGESTIONS
If you have any suggestion as to how the Alabama Theatre can improve please contact us on our web site and if you have a suggestion about movies you would like to see please let us know at alatheatre@aol.com.
Trivia Answers
- 19,200
- 960 100-watt bulbs.
- 1,680
- 2,000, 1,000 on each side of the stage.
- 2,174
- 2,535