07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
In Tough Times in Alabama, It Helped to Live in a Ballroom
In 2021, Mason McCulley, an actor, felt stuck in Los Angeles as he watched his mother's health decline in Birmingham, Ala., from afar.
'Life was dark,' said Mr. McCulley, 42, noting that his mother was suffering from frontotemporal dementia. 'I was avoiding my mother's illness and her impending death, and I was drinking way too much.'
After spending 20 years in Los Angeles, Mr. McCulley, whose recent acting credits include an appearance on the HBO Max streaming series 'The Pitt,' decided to at least take a look at Birmingham real estate.
He scheduled a tour of a condominium apartment that was rumored to be a former ballroom in a building from 1924, and as soon as he walked in, he was smitten. The unit had a ceiling that soared to 15 feet and grand, divided-lite windows offering plentiful sunshine and leafy views. It immediately seemed like a place he could picture himself living.
'It was such a magical place that it forced me, in that moment, to go home,' Mr. McCulley said. 'I hoped it would give me a sense of place and help me find myself again.'
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
