BY SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
A small light on the back wall of the Sandra Moon Community Complex auditorium is easy to miss. For a dancer, it provides a fixed point during a turn. When a visiting dancer saw it, Council President Jennie Robinson said she covered her face and cried: “Nobody ever thinks about that light.”
That detail reflects the care behind Huntsville’s transformation of the former Grissom High School campus. City leaders, Moon family members and residents marked the project’s grand opening Sept. 15.
“We are thrilled to open the Sandra Moon Community Complex for everyone to see and enjoy,” Mayor Tommy Battle said. “As you walk around this campus and see everything that has come together here, you will understand just how special this place is.”
The complex honors Sandra Moon, who served on the City Council from 1998 to 2010 and became its first female president. She later chaired a committee exploring community uses for the former school. Moon died in 2013; the Council named the complex for her in 2017.
Robinson, who regarded Moon as a mentor, said the facility carries forward her gift for connecting people and consensus.
The campus includes the South Huntsville Public Library, playgrounds, restored gymnasiums, an indoor track, fitness space, an event hall and a multimedia center. Arts Huntsville also has offices, rehearsal space and a renovated 600-seat auditorium.
A construction delay led planners to rethink two locker rooms. One became an adaptive recreation area; the other became a center for gaming, podcasting, music and video production. Parks and Recreation Director James Gossett called the adaptive space unlike anything else in a city facility—and a way to welcome everyone.