By: Sydney Wix
New-comers and tourists to modern day downtown Birmingham are likely to appreciate the food, views and retail that the city brings to the state of Alabama. Who wouldn’t? However, the city of Birmingham has a history and reputation as rich as the ice cream sold at Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. According to U.S. History’s website, “The city of Birmingham is entirely a product of the post-Civil War period. It was established on June 1, 1871, at the anticipated intersection of the North and South and Alabama and Chattanooga railroads.” That’s right – the city that is commonly known for its brewery scene today began as simply a crossway of two railroad lines.
Another facet of Birmingham being able to adapt into a thriving city lies beneath the ground. Clair McLafferty, a writer for Mental Floss, noted: “Birmingham is the only place in the world where all three raw ingredients for steel (coal, limestone and iron core) occur naturally within a ten-mile radius.” Birmingham’s access to these raw resources gave it the nickname of the “Iron City.”
The city is watched over by a 56-foot-tall cast iron statue of Vulcan, the god of metalworking and the forge. The statue was a gift from Italian artist Giuseppe Moretti and is the largest cast iron statue in the world. The statue is accompanied by a museum with fantastic views of the city that offers an educational look into the iron-clad past of Birmingham and the history of the statue. Darlene Negrotto, president of Vulcan Park and Museum, wants all visitors to know that “even in the heat of summer, we always seem to have a breeze!”
Those same roads the minerals move under are also the roads that some of the greatest civil rights activists walked on during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, including Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. “On April 3 [1963], the desegregation campaign [in Birmingham] was launched with a series of mass meetings, direct actions, lunch counter sit-ins, marches on City Hall and a boycott of downtown merchants. King spoke to black citizens about the philosophy of nonviolence and its method,” according to the King Institute.
While Birmingham has been through triumphant highs and grief-stricken lows, the city today is booming with life. According to the Encyclopedia of Alabama, “Birmingham today is a modern city of the New South boasting one of the finest medical and research centers in the country at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).”
Where railroads crossed 150 years ago now sits a bustling city that is home to some of the most advanced medical technology in the world. UAB even played a large role in COVID-19 vaccination trials and execution due to this technology.
Downtown Birmingham, or “The Magic City,” has come to be an incredibly successful city since its founding, despite the turbulent past and history it holds.
“When I was young, Birmingham was not a place that you would want to casually stroll after sundown. Now, even at my age, I often venture outside in the city for walks at all times of day. It is so fun to connect with other people who love this city like I do,” Michael Holloran, a 94-year-old Birmingham resident, said.
With almost 80 food venues, over 30 attractions to see and hotels with spectacular views of the skyline, this city is on a trajectory to exponential success and growth. With that growth will come more residents, restaurants and tourists who will be proud to know the city they are in is one of success and acceptance with a heart as strong as the iron beneath it.
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