Located on the corner of Fourth Avenue North and 17th Street North, the Carver Theatre for the Performing Arts was erected in 1935. The theatre design was redrawn in 1945 at a cost of $160,000. It incorporated all of the modern comforts and features, including 1,300 of the latest model theatre chairs and the newest development in air conditioning, sound, and projection as reported in a 1945 edition of the Birmingham News. The Carver was one of several theatres in the Fourth Avenue area offering first-run movies to African-Americans.

The City of Birmingham began the renovation of the Carver Theatre as a performing arts theatre and the new home of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame and museum in 1990. The Carver Theatre operates as a non-profit, multi-use community theatre, open for bookings by local and national groups.