Boutwell Auditorium » BOUTWELL
BOUTWELL. Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford wants to knock down Boutwell Auditorium and Legion Field to make way for new development, but in pitching his plans to replace the city’s old landmarks the mayor presents incorrect historical information, critics say. The municipal auditorium was renamed for Albert Boutwell, Birmingham’s first mayor under the Mayor/Council form of government. Langford, who advocates tearing down the 83-year old auditorium and giving the land to the art museum, has said publicly that Boutwell hired infamous police commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor and the facility was a monument to bad times of racial turmoil. As for Legion Field, the mayor said he didn’t know what “Legion” was and then cited a Bible verse naming “Legion” as a demon. News Staff Bernard Troncale. J. Bryant Story.
