33 replies to this topic

[bobliocatt]

I got the chance to spend a day in Birmingham, Alabama last week, before heading down to Tuskegee for a family reunion.  Here are some of the pics, I took around the city.

[Blazer85]

Wow... great pictures!

[Spartan]

Indeed, thanks for sharing those! I like all the pipes in that one near the end

[bobliocatt]

That's the Sloss Furnances.  100 years ago this steel mill was once one of the city's largest employers.   Today, it has been converted into a history musuem where visitors can walk through and learn about the steel making process and how this company helped shaped the city that exists today.  Many cities have large industrial plants that have closed, but I give a lot of respect and credit to the citizens of Birmingham for the vision to convert and industrial relic into a museum.

[eastsider]

Nice pics thelakelander! B'ham has some nice historic looking streetscapes.

[teshadoh]

Great pics - a city with a lot more potential than most southeastern cities.

[Blazer85]

Sloss Furnace is also one of America's most haunted places (been featured on many national programs).  Reports of the paranormal began about 100 years ago after the night foreman fell into a vat of molten iron ore.  Since then there have been hundreds of accounts of paranormal activities.  

Sloss has a historic site that looks at its historical value, but Sloss also has a site about its paranormal activity.  Click here: http://www.frightfurnace.com/

[tedo420]

Great Bham pics.  I'm from Birmingham, well Ok Homewood, I'm coming home this weekend, I need to to take a drive downtown and see how things are shaping up. It's always exciting to see all the changes.  

     I heard some construction gossip this past weekend. The Railroad Reservation Lofts or really, a new 9 story condo with roof top pool, are on the fast track. Marketing and construction will begin soon. Does anyone have any knowledge about the fund-raising, or how much more money is needed for the first phase?

[Lady Celeste]

Oh my oh my........I want to go to Birmingham now.

I want to see the Sloss Furnance with my own eyes. That picture of it there is surreal. I love it.

Birmingham seems to have a very walkable downtown area. The last time I was in Birmingham was in the early 1990's. I was a teenager and without my parents permission I drove from Atlanta to Birmingham all by myself. I was a speed demon then so I got there really fast. I was thouroughly surprised on my ride in on I-20. I parked downtown and walked around with ease and no fear.

It's time for me to visit Birmingham again.

[teshadoh]

Lady Celeste, on Jul 19 2005, 12:49 PM, said:

It's time for me to visit Birmingham again.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's certainly worth visiting - from an Atlantan's perspective.  Atlanta is more of a combination of Birmingham and Charlotte, rather than the usual Charlotte comparison.

But the neighborhoods are great & Five Points is a nice community commercial area right on the edge of downtown.

[Southron]

Great pics, Lakelander!  As someone said previously, B'ham has a lot of potential.  After a few more years of renovation and infill, watch out.

[Jaylon]

The sloss furnace pic is definitely my favorite.  Thanks for posting those pics lakelander.  I ate plenty of lunches at that Jim N Nicks on southside.  

Thought I'd add a few more.

[Rural King]

Wow. Excellent shots. Some of the best I've seen in a long time. A lot of new angles of the city that I don't usually see in B-ham threads.

[Blazer85]

Nice shot of part of the future Railroad Reservation Park, Jaylon  

[bobliocatt]

Any renderings of the future Railroad Reservation Park?  Btw, where was the old train station located?

[Blazer85]

The location of the old train station, I'm not exactly certain.

As far as renderings, there are no very specific renderings available.  A team is currently working on the master plan I believe.  Here is a link to the future park's website, however... it does have a little information.  http://www.railroadpark.org/home.html

[Blazer85]

Here is, however, an old and magnificent picture of the old L&N Train Station in Birmingham:

[Southron]

Nice pic of the old L&N station, Blazer.  I don't think I've ever seen that depicted anywhere before.

Below are links to sites with pictures of the old Terminal Station in B'ham, torn down in 1969 to build the elevated part of the Red Mountain Expressway through downtown, I believe.  The aerial in the second link shows where it was located.

http://www.jdweeks.com/postcd2.html

http://mywebpages.co...t/bham.rewound/

[Blazer85]

^ Here's a pic from the site you referenced.  Does UrbanPlanet have a problem with posting images?

[Southron]

Not sure, lakelander could tell us.  Thanks for posting it.