Central City in Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Boutwell Auditorium
(Former Municipal Auditorium)
| | Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail | |
Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 5, 2021
1. Boutwell Auditorium Marker
In 1924, Municipal Auditorium was one of the South's largest (6,000 seats) and most modern auditoriums. In April of 1956, Ku Klux Klansman Asa Carter led an attack on Montgomery native and renowned singer Nat King Cole who performed before a White audience. The attack on a prominent African American was an act of terror designed to intimidate anyone fighting to end racial segregation in Birmingham. The auditorium was also one of the targeted destinations for "Project ( marchers during the 1963 demonstrations. It was renamed in honor of Albert Boutwell. In April 1963, he defeated Public Safety Commissioner Eugene Bull Connor in the city's first mayoral race after Birmingham citizens successfully changed their commission-led government to one led by a mayor and city council.
"To deny people their human rights is to challenger their very humanity."
Nelson Mandela
South African Civil Rights Leader, President and Statesman.
Lesson C34: Do you listen to different types of music? Does the race or national origin of the singers or musicians matter to you?
Erected by the Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail. (Marker Number C34.)
Topics and series. This historical marker
this page online
Location. 33° 31.278′ N, 86° 48.671′ W. Marker is in Birmingham, Alabama, in Jefferson County. It is in Central City. It is at the intersection of Reverend Abraham Woods Junior Boulevard and 20th Street North, on the left when traveling east on Reverend Abraham Woods Junior Boulevard. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1910 Reverend Abraham Woods Jr Boulevard, Birmingham AL 35203, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Raymond Weeks (a few steps from this marker); The Boy Becomes a Man (within shouting distance of this marker); Love & Marriage (within shouting distance of this marker); Answering the Call (within shouting distance of this marker); Shuttlesworth Goes to Work (within shouting distance of this marker); Birth of an Icon (within shouting distance of this marker); Shuttlesworth Starts the ACMHR (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); A City of Two Governments (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Birmingham.
Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 5, 2021
2. Boutwell Auditorium Marker
