The Kentuck Art Center has announced plans for an expansion to create Kentuck at Queen City at Tuscaloosa’s historic Queen City Pool House.
The plans were included in Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox’s capital projects recommendations earlier this week.
Plans call for more museum space, a café, more storefront space and an event venue.
After 50 years in nearby Northport, the Kentuck group announced in February that it would move its October festival to Tuscaloosa. The center’s main campus remains in downtown Northport.
“This expansion represents an exciting new chapter in Kentuck’s history,” said Exa Skinner, executive director of Kentuck Art Center. “We’re grateful to the City of Tuscaloosa for the opportunity to collaborate on this project, and we look forward to preserving the architecture of this building and honoring the legacy of Mildred Westervelt Warner.”
The building chosen is itself an arts attraction — designed by Frank Lloyd Wright apprentice Don Buel Schuyler and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reactivate a historic area and create a destination that’s truly special,” said Skinner. “This project increases accessibility to the arts for all, whether you live in Tuscaloosa County or you’re visiting from out of town.”
Maddox also praised the plans, saying, “This proposed project will amplify our Arts & Entertainment District, and continue to transform our riverfront into a destination for residents and visitors alike.”
