The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-10-27
WHAT IS BEING DONE ABOUT AUDITORIUM, IS QUESTION ASKED
Action Wanted on Building of Auditorium-Citizens Give
 Views on the Subject. ~- Meeting Called

What has become of the auditorium that was to be erected near the heart of the city?
 This question is being heard on all sides.
 It is known that the city has $5O0,OO0 recently raised by the sale of bonds to build one.
 Morris Bush, chairman of the citi- zens finance committee, appointed to raise $25O,oO0 by individual contriou- tions to the auditorium fund, says that |his committee now has pledges for half of this amount.
 Several meetings have been held cur- ing the last three weeks, but no defl- nite action towards securing a long term lease or buying the lot where the auditorium is proposed to be built has been taken.
 Dr. N. A. Barrett. president of
 the board of city commissioners,
 stated yesterday that . meeting "f
 all the members of the auditorium
 committees had been notified to
 meet in his office later in the week.
 Dr. Barrett stated that the day
 had not been arranged as yet. and
 declined to state what matters per-
 tafning to the auditorium would be
 taken up at the meeting
 SPEED UP ACTION
 Two weeks-ago the board of direc- tors of the Civic Association held a special meeting and requested the city commi ssioners to speed up action in getting the work started upon the audi torium.
 Charles Harold, general secretary of the Civic Association. says that the city of Birmingham is not much better off new towards getting an auditorium than it was year ago, when the mat ter was first brought up.
 Tt is crying need of Birmingham to have a new auditorium" says MT. Harold and the board of city commis- |sioners should take steps to see what cog wheel it is that has slipped loose and is holding up all the rest of the work of starting upon the auditorium at once"
 o. L. Bum, secretary of the Birming> ham Chamber of Commerce, says that if something isn't done pretty soon that he and his staff of builders" are going to dig to the bottom of the thing and see that if iii some way or other things can't be speeded up bit. 'The balloon race is the most recent thing to teach us the urgent need of n large auditorium." nays Mir. Bunn. "What n great thine it would have been for Birmingham and what big impression 1t would have made upon the distinguished visitors if all of Birmingham could have been gotten together in a mass meeting in n large auditori- um near the heart of the city in honor of the contestants in the balloon race.'
 SHOULD BUILD AT ONCE Along some lines, I think that Bir- mingham is more advanced than any other city in the south,' says B. F.. Moore of the Moore and Handley Hard ware Company, but she is far behind the times when, it comes to having a public meeting place. Hundreds of things are routed over Birmingham | into Atlanta, simply because we have not the proper place to induce them to come here. We should build an audi- torium and build it at once, and it should be one with a seating capacity for at least 10000"
 
 started, should be equipped with all the latest devices for magnifying the voice so that every person in the back of the auditorium, can plainly hear the speakers voice. says Claude Estes of the Estes Real Estate and Insurance Company.
 Many people have the idea" says A. lJ.sArrant, local real estate man, that an auditorium can be constructed in a short time. I'll admit that to do a thing right it takes time. but it does not take whole year, as it has took the board of city commissioners to cons slider what lot they were going to buy as the site for the auditorium. I am for anything that can get the thine jstarted again as I think that BirmIng. ham should have large auditorium so as to a least keep on an even race with other citieS in the Southo