After years of planning and fundraising, downtown Fairhope is finally seeing shovels in the ground for a $1.3 million Performing Arts Pavilion that supporters hope will become a signature gathering place for the community.
The outdoor amphitheater is taking shape on the Faulkner State Community College campus, near the corner of Morphy Avenue and School Street. Crews began work this week after the Fairhope Planning Commission approved the project in July. Organizers expect the venue to be ready by spring.
Once complete, the pavilion is envisioned as a home for a range of performances, from the Baldwin Pops and the Mobile Symphony to student ensembles and other groups from Fairhope and the surrounding area. Backers describe it as a true community asset that will be owned and operated by the college.
“It’s going to be a community facility that’s owned by the college,” said John Borom, director of Faulkner’s Fairhope campus. “We’ve had a lot of different groups involved in raising funds for it over the years.”
Borom noted that the covered stage will set the venue apart. “It will be a unique facility in Baldwin County in that it is a covered stage,” he said, adding that the structure will rise on the southeast corner of Morphy Avenue and School Street and face north. A restroom building on the opposite end of the field is designed to serve roughly 500 people.
Faulkner State Community College President Gary Branch said the outdoor pavilion and amphitheater will be state of the art. The project’s architects, the Fairhope-based firm Walcott Adams Verneuille, studied similar outdoor venues around the country while developing the design.
“It was designed with maximum acoustics to project the sound forward out into the audience,” Branch said. He added that the amphitheater will be framed by a decorative brick and stone fence with wrought-iron detailing, giving the space a polished look in keeping with the character of downtown Fairhope.
The pavilion reflects a long collaboration among civic groups, arts organizations and the college, all of which contributed to raising money for the venue over the years. For a city that prizes its arts scene and walkable downtown, the new amphitheater promises to expand opportunities for outdoor concerts and cultural events, giving residents and visitors another reason to gather in the heart of Fairhope.