Beautiful Places: History of Birmingham, Alabama

This week's blog is about a place in Alabama that I absolutely love to visit when I get have the chance. It is one of the bigger cities in Alabama and is a fairly popular place for tourists to visit. And it has a multitude of places to go and a multitude of things to do. This week is about Birmingham, Alabama!

Birmingham was founded on June 1, 1871 by the Elyton Land Company. They merged three farm towns together. The most well-known town being Elyton. The city started becoming a major industry based on mineral, railroad transport, iron, and steel. The area was given the name Birmingham after Birmingham, England. Which at the time was the United Kingdom’s second largest city and a major industrial city. And since the newly created town was about to become a big industrial area, that is why they chose that name as well.

Back in the early days of the town, the railroad system was very prominent. The railroad crossing was close to the three main minerals that could be found in the area: iron ore, limestone, and coal. Birmingham is the only place where all three of these minerals are found in such closer quarters. In 1873, the growth of the town was slowed down by a cholera outbreak and a Wall Street crash. But it soon started growing again.

The town experienced a rapid growth from 1881 to 1920 and picked up two nicknames because of its growth: “The Magic City” and “The Pittsburgh of the South.” From 1902 to 1912, downtown Birmingham had the construction of some of its large buildings at the intersection of 20th Street, the central north-south spine of the city, and 1st Avenue North. These first group of skyscrapers were nicknamed the “Heaviest Corner on Earth.” In 1916, Birmingham was hit by the Irondale Earthquake which messed up some of the buildings. The earthquake was actually felt all the way in Atlanta, Georgia and other neighboring states!

Birmingham has the oldest professional baseball park in the United States! It was built for the Birmingham Barons in 1910. It was the park for the Barons and then also the Birmingham Black Barons in the Negro Leagues.

When the Great Depression came through Birmingham, it was considered by President Roosevelt as the “worst hit town in the country.” With the programs that Roosevelt set in place to bounce back from the Great Depression, such as the New Deal, came Vulcan’s Tower and Oak Mountain State Park.

When the 1950’s and 60’s rolled around, Birmingham gained a lot of attention both nationally and internationally during the Civil Rights Movement. The KKK groups began to terrorize the city. Quite a few members worked within the mining industry in the area; so, they had easy access to dynamite. Many homes owned by black families were bombed. Birmingham was given the not so loving nick name of “Bombingham.” The most famous bombing was of the 16 Street Baptist Church which resulted in the death of four young girls in September of 1963. This was one of the happenings that helped the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to be passed. You can visit the church in downtown Birmingham today.

In the 1970s, the University of Alabama at Birmingham was created. Which has become a very major medical and research center! The campus is located in downtown Birmingham is a lovely place to visit.

Birmingham has quite a few places to visit! Some of my favorite places are Sloss Furnaces (which are reportedly haunted and so they have events around Halloween), Birmingham Botanical Gardens (free admission), Birmingham Zoo, Railroad Park, Birmingham Museum of Art, Color Tunnel, Rotary Trail, the Alabama Theatre, UAB, Top Golf, BJCC, and plenty more to see.

I have been to quite a few places, and Birmingham has been one of my favorite places to see and visit. There is quite a bit to do and quite a few places to see. There is plenty more I could write about it, but I will let you find some gems of your own! I hope you can one day have to pleasure of seeing the “Magic City.”