The AB Stephens building, a longtime hub for music in Huntsville, has been sold and will be redeveloped into a warehouse for A1 Appliances, prompting tenants to prepare for departure.
Tenants are expected to move out in the coming weeks, with many planning to relocate their services before a May 22 deadline. For some, the transition is simply logistical. For Janet Parks, it is deeply personal.
Parks, manager of the AB Stephens Sheet Music Department, has spent decades as a familiar and trusted presence in the building.
“I grew up with it I guess. I really did, I’ve always loved music,” Parks said.
Over the years, Parks became a resource for generations of musicians and educators across the Tennessee Valley. Among them is Michael Riggs, an early childhood music teacher who said Parks played a key role in supporting his work.
“Teachers from all over the Tennessee Valley would come in and of course we got our music for teaching piano and guitar from Ms. Parks, it was always a great relationship always cordial and knowledgeable,” Riggs said.
Parks has spent years helping music lovers, teachers and students find the right songbooks, building relationships that extended beyond simple transactions. The building’s sale has led her to reflect not only on her career, but on a lifetime shaped by music.
“I married a wonderful musician and conductor and we have just had 59 years of wonderful life doing music constantly,” Parks said.
Parks’ husband died in early January 2024, a loss that adds emotional weight to this period of transition. His influence remains a constant in her life.
While most departments in the building are relocating, Parks will retire by the May 22 deadline and focus on time with family.
“Relaxing and spending time with my children and grandchildren. They’ve always had to come visit me, maybe I can go visit them sometimes too, which has been hard to do,” Parks said.
At 82, Parks says the closure of the AB Stephens chapter provides her with a new perspective.
I asked her what will she miss the most about the building.
“The people, the people, it’s a second home for me. I’m really gonna miss it,” she said.
As the building prepares for its next use, many in Huntsville say Parks’ impact over more than 40 years will endure, not just in the music she helped provide, but in the community she helped build.
Parks reflects on her time with AB Stephens.