Firehouse Community Arts Center To Open In Avondale

BIRMINGHAM, AL — A nonprofit in Avondale is about to launch a music education program and creative learning space in the old firehouse building at at 412 41st St. S., with help from several local businesses, and the creativity of a local musician.

Eric Wallace, a longtime member of the Birmingham music scene and current guitarist for Birmingham band The Blips, purchased the historic Spring Street Firehouse in Avondale in 2009, which has hosted several local music shows over the years. But Wallace has taken that vision a step further by launching the Firehouse Community Arts Center, which seeks to boost the arts in the Avondale community and beyond.

Wallace told the Alabama NewsCenter he plans to offer music lessons for children between the ages of 9 to 18 who live in city of Birmingham neighborhoods around the firehouse, including South Avondale/Forest Park, North Avondale and East Avondale.

"We’ve got this great community of musicians here in Birmingham. Most of them are working in restaurants when they’re not on tour or making records," Wallace said. "Meanwhile, music education programs are often expensive and inaccessible to the people of my community. How can we, through a nonprofit, build up those two aspects of our community and do it at the same time? I think that’s where we’ve landed."

Firehouse's board of directors looks to raise $70,000 through a crowdfunding campaign, "Build The Firehouse." The funds will go toward scholarships, equipment for practice spaces, renovations and to hire essential staff.

Birmingham-based businesses Seasick Records, Cahaba Brewing and Toms Sound are sponsoring the campaign, which will end Dec. 31.

Wallace said he believes music can become a valuable enrichment to kids' lives.

"Not everybody is great at sports. When you learn music, you can often find some things inside yourself that you might not have known were there," he said. "Picking up the guitar and being able to be good at it is a whole different set of skills than you learned joining the basketball team or the baseball team, and that can be a really valuable experience for young people."