Site of famous 1930s hit song receives $7,000 arts grant.
The Tuxedo Junction Ballroom Building, a Black cultural landmark that is the gateway to historic Ensley, Alabama, near Birmingham, is one step closer to regaining its position as the cultural center of the area thanks to a $7,000 grant from the state arts council.
Economic development agency Main Street Birmingham, Inc. has announced it has been awarded a grant of $7,000 from the Alabama State Council on the Arts (ASCA) for the planning of the future Nixon Cultural Center at Tuxedo Junction. The building is famous for the upper floor ballroom where jazz legend Erskine Hawkins played, immortalized in his 1930’s hit song, “Tuxedo Junction.”
The future Cultural Center, to be housed in the Nixon building at Tuxedo Junction, will provide cultural experiences and educational opportunities for local residents and tourists. A long time dream of the Nixon family and the Ensley community, the center will celebrate the artistic heritage of Ensley and honor the legacy of Dr. John Nixon, Sr.
“This project is a perfect fit for the city’s Cultural Master Plan. Arts programs will be made accessible to a region that is currently under-served and geographically isolated from downtown institutions,” said Mary Cynthia Hainey, Community Programs Director for Main Street Birmingham. The site of the proposed center is within walking distance to the new Hope VI housing development project, the Tuxedo Junction neighborhood and Erskine Hawkins Park – the site of an annual music heritage festival.
“Historically, Black culture has not been recorded and this is a great opportunity to have a facility where Black culture can be recorded,” said John Nixon, current owner of the building. “This is certainly going to benefit Birmingham to get the story told about the great musicians, artists and leaders that came out of the Ensley community.”
Main Street Birmingham, Inc. became involved in the project while working to list the Nixon Building and the Ensley Commercial Revitalization District on the National Register of Historic Places. That project is funded by a Preserve America Grant awarded to the City of Birmingham and is scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2009.
“The Nixon Cultural Center project will build on this accomplishment by preserving a historic landmark as a center of cultural activity dedicated to the arts. It will contribute to neighborhood and commercial revitalization as a tourist attraction.” (Quote from Mr. Nixon.)
ASCA grants are awarded through a competitive process and are funded from an annual appropriation from the Alabama State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Tuxedo Junction Lyrics:
Feelin' low
Rockin' slow
I want to go
Right back where I belong
Way down south in Birmingham
I mean south in Alabam'
There's an old place where people go
To dance the night away
They all drive or walk for miles
To get jive that southern style
It's an old jive that makes you want
To dance till break of day
It's a junction where the town folks meet
At each function in a tux they greet you
Come on down, forget your care
Come on down, you'll find me there
So long town, I'm heading for
Tuxedo Junction now
(instrumental break)
Feelin' low
Rockin' slow
I want to go
Right back where I belong
Way down south in Birmingham
I mean south in Alabam'
There's an old place where people go
To dance the night away
They all drive or walk for miles
To get jive that southern style
It's an old jive that makes you want
To dance till break of day
It's a junction where the town folks meet
At each function in a tux they greet you
Come on down, forget your care
Come on down, you'll find me there
So long town, I'm heading for
Tuxedo Junction now
Tuxedo Junction now
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