Today was a great day at Woodlawn High School. The school’s longtime home along 1st Avenue North celebrated the completion of its extensive renovation project with a ribbon cutting taking place on campus this morning. Among the dignitaries present was Mountain Brook mayor and Woodlawn High alum Terry Oden. He spoke passionately about the 1939 mural that serves as the frieze for the building’s auditorium. A group of alumni listed on this page describing the project, have been successful thus far of raising $85,000 of the estimated $190,000 it will take to return this landmark piece to excellent condition. It was the largest Works Progress Administration project of its kind ever completed, with the mural painted on canvas and then secured to the wall in a way that prevents it from being removed for rehabilitation. The original funds for the renovation project did not include monies to complete the renovation, leading to the effort under way through alumni.
We’ve written about this school in the past, mentioning the effort. Now that the renovations have been completed, it only makes sense for the mural to receive the attention that it deserves. Mr. Oden had several cards available for interested people to fill out and provide was is a tax-deductible donation for the project. That information is available at the Woodlawn High alumni website. While students are enjoying an incredible renovation of their academic home away from home, I think that if not now in the future they will appreciate a truly completed effort with the restored mural. I’d like to thank the individual from Volker that was kind enough to provide me an image to go along with this post.
There’s also a play opening tonight at the Playhouse Costume co-op across from the Alabama Theatre. “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” is the first production for Theater Downtown, a group formed to provide “downtown theater for downtown Birmingham.” Click here to view the activeculture.info posting for the event that runs through next week. It should be a great opportunity to support local theater and keep one more thing going. If you know have any ideas for things to cover, let me know.
Enjoy the day.
Cheers.
