Birmingham Photo of the Day (52): Railroad Reservation

One of the big events in recent Birmingham history was the opening of Railroad Park in downtown in September 2010. The park was created from the Railroad Reservation, an expanse in the middle of the city's street grid that was 1000 feet wide and almost a mile in length. The reservation had been announced by the Elyton Land Company in January 1872 during Birmingham's early development. The train tracks are still active today, but the site is now also the scene of everything from concerts to yoga classes. This development has been important to Birmingham's ongoing transformation.

The undated photograph below was taken by O.V. Hunt, and shows the Railroad Reservation looking west across the Southern Railroad freight houses. In the near view is the 21st Street or "Rainbow" viaduct, opened in May 1919. The bridge is dedicated to members of the 167th Infantry Regiment, a part of the famed World War I "Rainbow" division. The large building in the distance was the Crane Company's plumbing supply house.  

The vehicles in the photo would seem to indicate the picture was taken before 1940. 

Source: Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections

Birmingham Photos of the Day (32): Railway, Power & Light Company in 1908

These photos continue the series from the 1908 book Views of Birmingham. As befits the topic's importance to the city, nine photographs related to the Birmingham Railway, Power and Light Company were included in the book. Railroads, electrical power and lighting were services badly needed in the booming Magic City and thus were used in this promotional book alongside the magnificent homes, businesses, churches, etc.  

The company was incorporated in February 1898 to consolidate various railway, light and gas companies then serving the city. That merging was completed in 1901, and Robert Jemison, Jr., became president. As a real estate developer Jemison [1878-1974] was responsible for numerous projects in Birmingham and Mountain Brook. 

More details about this company and its successor, the Birmingham Electric Company, can be found at the BhamWiki site here and here. 

Pondering Alabama Maps (5): An 1867 Railroad Map

 

The wordy title of this map is "Map showing the line of the Alabama & Tennessee River Rail Road and its proposed extensions; exhibiting also the contiguous mineral deposits and zone of production". The dark blue line indicates the existing railroad; the dark green lines are proposed extensions.

The company had incorporated in March 1848 under an act of the Alabama legislature. By 1862 about 135 miles of the line ran from Selma to Blue Mountain and toward Dalton, Georgia. By February 1867, after acts of both the Alabama and Georgia legislatures, the line was merged with one in Georgia to become the Selma, Rome and Dalton Railroad. By 1894 the road had become part of the Southern Railroad Company.

Digital versions of this map in various sizes/formats can be found at the Library of Congress web site.

A very good history is Wayne Cline's book Alabama Railroads. 

Some History in Tuscaloosa, Alberta & Northport

In late August my wife Dianne, daughter Becca Leon and I spent a morning taking in some historic places in Tuscaloosa, Alberta and Northport. We spent most of our time at Capitol Park in Tuscaloosa, site of the capitol from 1826 until 1846 when Montgomery became the current seat of state government. The building then became the Alabama Central Female College and burned in 1923. The ruins provide a fascinating lesson in state history.

Then we visited the Old Tavern next to Capitol Park,  the railroad depot in Northport and the Moon Winx Lodge in Alberta. 

I've put further comments on some of these photos below.

Each governor from the period has his own plaque at the site.

The ruins that remain are impressive and many small decorative touches have survived.

Four plaques tell us what the building looked like inside and out.

Here Dianne and I are posing in an arched doorway.

Daughter Becca Leon and her mom did some posing too.

We had hoped to see inside the Old Tavern now adjacent to Capitol Park but they were closed.

After Capitol Park we headed to Northport's historic train depot, unfortunately also closed.

Our final history stop of the day was the legendary Moon Winx Lodge in Alberta. The lodge is not currently open, but the sign remains in all its glory. The Moon Winx opened as the Moon Winx Motor Court in the 1920s. A restaurant on the property was known as The Barn and the Lamplighter. The motel was expanded in 1950 and again in 1954. 

Unfortunately, Glenn House, the artist who designed that wonderful sign, died recently. His sign was installed in 1957.  Dianne and I both enjoyed his letterpress printing class while we were in library school at UA in the early 1980s. Druid City Brewing in Tuscaloosa uses the image in its logo.

Someone thinks he's taking a clever selfie!

Pelham Railroad Depot Then and Now

Perhaps the oldest structure in Pelham is the former train depot now located in Pelham City Park along with the baseball and softball diamonds, football field, tennis courts, picnic areas and walking trail. The depot stood by the tracks behind Pelham City Hall from the early 1900s until it was moved to the park in 1988 and restored. Owner CSX Transportation donated the building to the city. An open house for the refurbished structure was held on May 7, 1989. The project was part of the statewide Alabama Reunion effort to promote heritage and economic development.

For many years the building housed the area chamber of commerce office. In 2005 the Greater Shelby Chamber moved its office to the Shelby County Services Building. After another renovation, the city’s Park and Recreation Department moved into the former depot. The structure was repainted olive and khaki which were believed to be its original colors.

The depot is included on the “Surviving Depots in Alabama” web page, which is part of the AlabamaRailPics.com site. There the building is identified as a “former ACL Depot.” By 1986 the Atlantic Coast Line railroad and its successor were owned by CSX.

Pelham’s railroad service predates the depot. An 1887 “Railroad and County Map of Alabama” engraved for Grant’s Business Atlas shows the town on a railroad line from Birmingham to Montgomery. At that time the route belonged to the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, which later became part of the ACL system. A good history is Wayne Cline’s Alabama Railroads published in 1997.

Note: A version of this post was published in the Pelham
City News Holiday 2013 issue.

This painting by local artist Carl B. Salter [1919-2005] shows the Pelham Depot as it looked in its original location.