YOUR TOWN ALABAMA NEEDS YOU!!! We're looking for examples of excellent gateways to Alabama communities. Does your community have an outstanding example of a gateway? Or, maybe you've seen a bad example. Send us either good or bad examples! 
A Call For Help
Someone with the Leeds Scenic Byway, St. Clair Historical Society and Leeds Historical Society wrote: Most of my restoration experience is with St. Clair. Our advice about the roof is that the roof needs to be replaced or repaired or protected immediately because buildings deteriorate quickly if the roof does not provide adequate protection for them. Sometimes, a protective measure (partial cover or a temporary structure) is cheaper than roof repair, but we always attend to the roof first. Do you have access to your state senator and representative (or someone else to promote your cause). Federal Economic Development fixed rate loans are available for restoring hisitoric buildings to operate as businesses (is your group incorporated; do you have a tax-exempt status; do you have a DUNS #?). Also, in Leeds, our best fundraisers for the Arts theater building were special benefits by local entertainers of interest, and fashion shows; and look into how far you are from a good genealogical research center like some of the community colleges and Lynn Henley (special days to host special groups make good fund raisers, and genealogists turn out for workshops).
A planner with the Regional Planning Commission in Greater Birmingham wrote: While I'm not familiar with the property of interest, sounds like the kind of venue where an "art for the environment" or "wild Alabama" kind of spin would go over well. Maybe it could simultaneously serve as a place to promote the Cahaba basin, the wildlife refuge, and other highly valued waterways throughout Alabama that could provide more ecotourism (a.k.a. "nature-based tourism") dollars in local economies like West Blocton. I also like the idea of something like this having some information about Native Americans in Alabama--how they thrived along Alabama's life-sustaining waterways.
This writer has lived in Mobile almost twenty-five years, grew up in Cordova, AL, which once had a Dixie Theater, and is a 2004 YourTownAlabama graduate and a graduate of Mobile’s Historic Preservation Leadership Academy: Mobile is home to a Saenger Theater, one of several built along the Gulf Coast in the 1920’s and 1930’s. It was in the early 1980’s derelict and owned by the University of South Alabama. The City took interest in it as part of downtown revitalization and spent some money to stabilize the building and prevent more deterioration and made it usable for concerts and a classic movie series. Later a family foundation with an arts focus rehabbed the structure. Advice: search for a family or other foundation with a leaning toward the arts or historic buildings, or both, to rehab your theater. It happened in Mobile. Warm regards, EL……PS: It should go without saying to stabilize the structure. i. e., prevent rain and intruders from entering. The homeless may enter and start fires to cook or stay warm. Tarps covering holes in the roof can prevent additional water damage; replace broken windows.
A planner from East Alabama wrote this: Probably the most prominent and successful theater restoration in our ten county region of Alabama (Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Etowah, Randolph, Talladega, Tallapoosa) is the Ritz Theatre in Talladega. For more information, see their website: http://www.talladegaritz.com/index.htm.
Downtown Gadsden, Inc. has been very successful in its downtown renovation projects, but I cannot recall whether renovation of an historic theater is one of its success stories. That organization's website, should you wish to contact its director, is: http://www.downtowngadsden.com.
A grassrooots effort in my hometown of Omaha, Nebraska successfully saved and renovated a threatened historic theater. See the theater's website, http://www.rosetheater.org/, for more information. You also may want to contact the following organizations for information: Alabama Historical Commission, website at http://www.preserveala.org/; National Trust for Historic Preservation, website at http://www.nationaltrust.org/.
Someone from the State Council on the Arts wrote this: We have a Design Arts and a Cultural Facilities grant program. We are funding the master plan for the coke oven park. While we can't offer immediate help, we would like to be part of a process for restoration of the theatre.
