A few blocks from the Warren Street cottages stood another building I had driven past countless times without really seeing. It was boarded up and being used for storage. When we finally went inside, the sloping floor revealed its original purpose. This had been a theater. But the ceiling and finishes were gone, and little remained to explain what the place had once meant. The real story began to emerge during a completely different conversation.
John Ruzic, Porchlight's Real Estate Director, had arranged a meeting with County Commissioner Merceria Ludgood to discuss housing opportunities in the Campground and surrounding neighborhoods. A few minutes into the meeting, the conversation turned to the old theater. Commissioner Ludgood explained that it was the Ace Theatre, built in 1943 and one of the few places African Americans in segregated Mobile could gather for movies, music and community. It stood near Davis Avenue — "The Avenue" — once the center of Black commercial and cultural life in Mobile.
The County wanted to preserve it as part of a Cultural and Civil Rights Historic District, but there was a problem. The owner wanted more than the appraised value, and the County could not legally pay above appraisal. That's when John became animated. "Well, we'll buy it." That simple comment began a remarkable public-private partnership.
As I learned more, the project changed for me. I called Frank Seltzer, an old friend, respected masonry contractor and longtime leader in Mobile's Black community who had grown up nearby. Frank remembered the Ace vividly and what it meant to the neighborhood. Listening to him made me realize we weren't simply dealing with an old structure. We were dealing with history, memory and responsibility.
The restored Ace will become the first permanent home of Mobile's Excelsior Band, founded in 1883 and part of the cultural heartbeat of the city for more than 140 years. It will include performance and educational space where young musicians can learn jazz, discipline and a tradition passed from generation to generation.
I've come to think of the Ace differently from most preservation projects. This isn't simply restoration. It's repair — an opportunity to recover a piece of Mobile's story and return it to the community as a living place where music will once again fill the room.
