Alabama Theatre Sign – Birmingham Art

Description

This historic Alabama theatre sign is an original feature of the 1920’s Birmingham Theatre. In fact there were originally two of these signs, one over the front entrance and one over the stage entrance on the side of the building. That second sign was removed in the 1950’s but a replica has recently been installed returning the old Alabama Theatre to its original designs.

I designed this Alabama theatre sign print based on schematics done by the Historic American Building Survey in the 1990s. Documenting the fabric of the building was part of an ongoing survey of historic buildings done by the US Government. Their schematics documenting the sign and the various elevations of the Alabama Theatre reminded me of vintage blueprints. That was all of the inspiration I needed and I decided that creating vintage style plans for the sign would be a fabulous way to present this piece of vintage Birmingham artwork. This design includes the green and red colors of the Alabama Theatre sign. You can almost imagine someone presenting this design to the financiers of the Alabama Theatre back in the 1920s.

I love vintage signs. There’s just something about the sweeping style of them. And clearly many of us feel the same after all they are still copying these types of designs in modern movie theater signs today. There’s just something epic about those larger than life lighted letters. Each of these old signs has a character of its own.

I suspect many of the you who are looking for prints or ready to hang wall art of the historic Alabama Theatre sign are current or former residents of Birmingham. Assuming that’s you, I hope you’ll share your memories of this beautiful classic theater. Do you have special ties to the theater or simply see it as a emblem of your city? Some of you, like me, may simply have roots in Alabama and the name of the sign alone has a warm connotation for you. Be sure to let me know which camp you are in through the comments below. And if you have questions about prints or comments about this Birmingham art, you are welcome to ask them below or send me a message here and I’ll respond as soon as possible.