Photo courtesy of Mason Music.
Will Mason, owner and CEO of Mason Music, is shown in 2019 at the commercial space he had recently purchased in Woodlawn for use as a performance venue. Construction on the space is to begin this summer.
Woodlawn Theatre, a live music venue development announced in 2019, is officially under construction.
The theater — located in the historic Woodlawn commercial district — is expected to open in late summer and is now accepting booking and general inquiries.
The venue will accommodate up to 250 people for concerts, weddings and community events.
This 6,000-square-foot property at 5503 First Ave. North was once home to the Woodlawn Family Theatre, a neighborhood cinema in operation from 1929-1957.
The project is led by Will Mason, CEO of Mason Music and the Mason Music Foundation.
“This feels like the right moment for the Woodlawn Theatre,” Mason said. “We want this to be a positive addition to the neighborhood. “
The venue should also fill an important need in the city’s music industry infrastructure, said Scott Register, host of “Reg’s Coffee House” on Birmingham Mountain Radio.
There are “hundreds of developing artists that are still growing and in need of smaller venues to hone their craft and increase their following,” Register said. “The Woodlawn Theatre will provide that home for artists.”
In addition to the performance venue, the facility will house the Woodlawn Studio for Mason Music Foundation, which provides scholarships for private music lessons to children who need financial assistance. Currently, 50 Mason Music students are taking lessons in a temporary Woodlawn location. The new facility’s classrooms can accommodate 200 students per week.
“We’ll be providing music education and child development opportunities as well as making a positive impact on economic development and community pride,” Mason said.
Jeanette Hightower, the foundation’s executive director, told Iron City Ink in 2020 that Mason Music began providing lessons in Woodlawn in late 2015.
They were invited by Cornerstone Elementary to provide music lessons for an entire semester for its students in grades one through five, she said
Woodlawn has maintained an “eclectic, soulful atmosphere encouraging the neighborhood to be proud of its artistic roots,” Hightower said.
The area is full of “entrepreneurs, educators, philanthropists, musicians and artists, all combining efforts to promote Woodlawn’s public image and return to the flourishing neighborhood it once was,” she said.
In addition to Mason, the Woodlawn Theatre development has the support of Woodlawn United, REV Birmingham, Woodlawn Community and the city of Birmingham.
Mason said that he was been “working closely” with these entities, as well as other neighborhood and business associations, in planning the project.
He said he wants “to make sure we are approaching this in a way that’s consistent with the community’s priorities.”
For more information, go to woodlawntheatre.com or follow the project on Facebook and Instagram.
