Everyone in Birmingham knows the Alabama Theatre as the "Showplace
of the South". A little known fact is that over the years,
Birmingham has been home to no less than 73 other theaters during
the gas light era of vaudeville and the early days of the moving
picture. This cache takes you to the site of one of the old gas
light era theaters.
Built in 1882, the O'Brien Opera House hosted traveling
vaudeville shows. The venue was used as a meeting house for many
different groups, including the Southern Baptist Convention and the
Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce, which was organized here
in 1887.
This cache is placed next to a plaque commemorating the fact
that the Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention was
created during a conference at the O'Brien on May 11, 1891.
Around the turn of the century, a newer venue was built one
block over, and the shows that would have gone on at the O'Brien
chose to go to the Jefferson Theatre one block over on 2nd Avenue
North. The O'Brien soon changed its name to the Gayety Theatre and
became a burlesque house. The Gayety held on until 1910, and was
razed in 1915.
For more info on Birmingham's theatres, see this page at
Birmingham
Rewound.
NOTE: This cache is placed in an urban environment. As with all
caches in the downtown area, I do not recommended that you visit
this cache at night or alone.
P.S., you might need your tweezers to retrieve the logsheet.
Difficulty rating is high because of signal bounce in the area.
Hint is almost a full solve, so use at your own discretion.