Atlanta Business League receives $1.5 million in grants to restore Ashby Theater

Thanks to two $750,000 grants from the National Parks Service, the Atlanta Business League is taking its first steps toward transforming the long-vacant Ashby Theater into a multi-use business and community center in west Atlanta.

The Atlanta Business League, established 91 years ago, promotes economic empowerment and provides business development opportunities for Black-owned businesses in the metro area. In 2002, CEO Leona Barr-Davenport presented a proposal to the board: buy the historic movie theater next to her offices, the former Henderson Travel Service – the nation’s first black travel agency.

“I told (the board chairman) that I would like us to purchase the theater with this vision of being able to develop a center or an actual headquarters for the Atlanta Business League, and so we presented it to the board approved and we bought the theater,” Barr-Davenport said. “We just kept it the whole time.”

The building sat vacant and unmaintained for years before the business league could do anything with it. CEO Leona Barr-Davenport said the plan to renovate the historic black business had been discussed for “over a decade.” and she has been trying for years to achieve this.

“Personally, I want to make sure our history isn’t lost,” Barr-Davenport said.

The CEO said that without some sort of plaque or preservation, 10 to 20 years from now, “no one will ever know” that there was life before now.

“I’m just excited that we’re seeing this start to come to fruition,” Barr-Davenport said.

The grants come from Jay Scott, a longtime landscape architect specializing in historic preservation. His grant writing skills have allowed him to fund projects such as Mother Trinity Church in Augusta and the HIstoric West Center Street Baptist Church in Atlanta.

“Our goal is to restore as many of these properties as possible,” Scott said. “Until fairly recently, the only properties recognized and deemed worthy of restoration were white properties.”

With a focus on prioritizing the stories of black communities, he set his sights on the Ashby Street Theater. Opened in 1934, it was one of the first theaters to serve the African-American community as part of the Bailey Theater chain. It was a hub for Atlanta’s black community in the 1960s until it closed.

Today, the original marquee is closed and the building is unoccupied. Scott said the roof had been leaking water for decades and still contained original lead paint and asbestos.

“Some people don’t think it was important to restore this, but it was the first theater in the area where African Americans could enter through the front door to view the theater rather than through the fire escape “Scott said.

The two grants will kickstart the renovation, including finding a company to conduct a feasibility study and launching a fundraising campaign.

“It’s a start, but it’s going to take at least a few million dollars,” Scott said. “It’s enough to get the job done, and that’s what makes this product special.”

From there, the Atlanta Business League will begin transforming the theater into a new type of community center: a business hub, a community space, and a tribute to the city’s black business history.

Barr-Davenport said part of the nearly 6,000-square-foot property will become a small conference space for discussions and gatherings. She also hopes to open a studio and continue with the ABL-led podcasts, “ABL Duos” and “Lessons from Leaders.” There will also be meeting rooms, training spaces and a screening room potentially preserved from the original business.

Barr-Davenport said the league would hire Black-owned businesses like McAfee3 Architects and Corporate Environmental Risk Management to complete the project.

The CEO also hopes to create a physical “Black Business Hall of Fame” in the renovated space. The group inducts Black-owned businesses into the Hall of Fame each year, but the theater will provide space to exhibit the honorees.

Businessman Dr. William Pickard, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018, told Barr-Davenport he wanted to challenge the group to create the Hall of Fame because it doesn’t there is “nothing like it in the country”, pledging $1 million to the project.

“I hope we can achieve this challenge and this financial commitment from him,” Barr-Davenport said.

It may have taken years for the Atlanta Business League to begin the restoration process, but Barr-Davenport is excited to tackle this moment during the “renovation, redevelopment and reinvigoration” of the West Side from Atlanta.

“Our goal is to ensure that Atlanta Business League member entrepreneurs as well as other business owners in metro Atlanta continue to strive to grow their businesses,” Barr-Davenport said. “And giving people in this community hope, showing them that there is life in this area and they can be a part of it.”

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