This Third Edition of the Downtown Discovery Tour was created in honour of Patricia Hough Camp & Marjorie Lee White and was published with the financial support of:
The Susan Mott Webb Charitable Trust, Alabama Power Foundation Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham City of Birmingham, Alabama Historical Commission and Birmingham Realty Company, the real estate firm that founded our city in 1871, in honor of its 125th Anniversary
Chestnut Hill National District (added to the National Register in 1987) The district includes 31st Street South, 32nd Street South, Highland Drive, and Lakeview Crescent. It also includes the Independent Presbyterian Church and the First Church of Christ Scientist in the 3100 block of Highland Avenue and St. Symeon Orthodox Church on the 3100 block of Clairmont Avenue. It also includes Rushton Park.
National Register of Historic Places Inventory Form
Country Club National District (added to the National Register in 2003) The district includes 31st Street South south of Highland Avenue, 13th Avenue South (2800 to 3100 blocks), short Cliff Road, 32nd Street South (from 33rd Street South to Highland Avenue), a portion of long Cliff Road, 34th Street South, a small portion of Highland Avenue and Altamont Road, and two houses on Pawnee Avenue.
Hanover Circle National District (added to the National Register in 2003) The district includes 27th Street South, 26th Street South, 24th Street South, Hanover Circle, 2300 to 2700 blocks of Highland Avenue, and portions of 11th Avenue South. It also includes the Virginia Samford Theatre and Caldwell Park.
Milner Heights National District (added to the National Register in 2003) The district includes Milner Crescent, Milner Street, Milner Court, Caldwell Avenue, 27th Place South, Arlington Crescent, 22nd and 23rd Streets South, and Arlington Avenue. The portions of the district covering Arlington Avenue, Arlington Crescent, 22nd and 23rd Streets South, and Smolian Place are in the Redmont Park neighborhood and are subject to Redmont Park design review.
Rhodes Park/Highland Avenue National District (added to the National Register in 1982.) The district includes 30th Street South, 29th Street South, 28th Street South, the cross streets that run between these streets, 10th Avenue South, 10th Court South, 11th Avenue South, and 13th Avenue South, and that part of Highland Avenue between 28th and 30th Streets South. It includes Rhodes Park and Unity Church in the 2800 block of Highland Avenue.
The Highland Park Local Historic District, which is subject to City Design Review as well as the Local Historic Advisory Committee, encompasses all the properties in these five national historic districts. Click here for more details on Design Review.
Sunday afternoon offered a perfect fall day to tour and appreciate several of Forest Park’s finest homes as a member of the Heritage Society. Although thoughtfully updated with modern conveniences, many of the original features remained or had been restored and it was easy to imagine how families lived at the turn of the century.
The histories of their prominent original owners were shared in a booklet that also included the original 1909 plat of Forest Park. The T. Felton Wimberly home was built in 1911, and the J.F. Leary residence was constructed in 1910. This very popular annual event directly supports the mission of the Birmingham Historical Society.
Established in 1942, the Birmingham Historical Society enhances the quality of life in Birmingham, Alabama, by preserving, studying, and celebrating its past while helping to shape its future. The Society celebrates Birmingham’s history through research, publishing, and education, and it engages the public to make our shared history and heritage more visible, clarify their value, and empower their stewards.
Heritage Society members are acknowledged in the annual report, AND receive an invitation to the annual Heritage Society gathering in an historic home. Heritage Society memberships are $500.
Red Mountain Park that visitors know and love today was not located anywhere near the Red Mountain Park in this vintage 1911 flyer. This promotion was for a stop on a streetcar line that brought visitors to undeveloped over the mountain communities, hoping that they would buy a lot. The historic route that crossed Red Mountain was called the Edgewood line, which ran through Lone Pine Gap on the L&N railroad line near present-day Vulcan Park. What had been difficult land to reach, quickly developed as a result.
Vintage advertisement for Red Mountain Park (1911-1915) featuring elevation details, views of Birmingham, and information about nearby attractions and amenities.
This streetcar route was built in 1911, and connected downtown Birmingham to the developing southern suburbs of Rosedale and Edgewood (Homewood) over the mountain. It began on 20th Street and 14th Avenue South, making its way via the 18th Street cut near Vulcan, and crossing Red Mountain to what is today, Homewood’s Central Avenue. (See pg. 112 in Birmingham by the Book for more information)
Vulcan and the Lost Pine Mine entrance (active from 1904 to 1908)
It eventually transitioned to buses and operations ceased in the late 1950s. But a visible segment sits in the middle of the Broadway and Oxmoor intersection. A 60′ stretch of the original 1920 steel rails and surrounding red bricks still remain paved into the asphalt. Thanks to the efforts of community support, when the tracks were paved over in 1968, a short section was preserved as a permanent reminder of the Birmingham & Edgewood Electric Railway.
Mark your calendars for a fun afternoon of ghosting, hunting, music, costumes, prizes, exhibits, and more. The second annual porch crawl event is organized in association with the Highland Park Neighborhood Association.
The haunted scavenger hunt was created by UAB public relations students, Grace and Ava, who will be available for questions (in costume) at Birmingham Historical Society headquarters. There will be activities for all ages including prizes for best period and Halloween costumes. Note that locations and QR codes will not be posted until the day of the event.
Look south from Birmingham’s city center and you’ll see Birmingham’s two parallel mountain ridges which define the surburban layout. Red Mountain is topped by Vulcan and some of Birmingham’s finest Redmont mansions. Shades Mountain is farther south, its south side gently sloping away and its north side dropping off in a steep ridge, with sweeping views in both directions. (See pgs 118-119 of Birmingham by the Book for more information about Shades Mountain development.)
Redmont Mansions on Red Mountain
Before federal regulations controlled the pollution from the steel mills, this basin-like topography trapped smoky air over the city, prompting many residents to seek cleaner air “over the mountain.” Over time, prosperous early residential neighborhoods in the city were gradually abandoned for suburban “over the mountain” communities, including Homewood, Vestavia, Mountain Brook, Bluff Park, and Hoover.
Views from Bluff Park
Bluff Park offered the added attraction of chalybeate spring waters and cooling breezes, which drew summer visitors to cabins and even a hotel as early as the 1850s. Neighboring Vestavia boasted spectacular views across Shades Valley and became well known as the home of Birmingham’s former mayor, George Ward.
Beginning in 1926, Mayor Ward chose not to live in the city proper and instead developed a 20-acre estate and botanical garden atop Shades Mountain. He modeled his home on the Temple of Vesta at Tivoli, Italy, and the road leading to his residence was commonly called Vesta Via. As the area grew up around him, it ultimately gave rise to the community name of Vestavia Hills. Although Ward’s residence was demolished in 1971, his 88-ton Roman temple was preserved and moved to a nearby mountainside park.
Birmingham by the Book: A Guide to the Magic City highlights the wide range of architectural styles that define the city’s neighborhoods. Some styles are unique to a single area, some respond directly to the local terrain, some grew out of distinct forms of company housing, and others—especially in more prosperous districts—showcase an eclectic mix of architectural influences.
In Homewood, the Hollywood neighborhood reflects the mission-style architecture inspired by the popularity of Hollywood, California in the 1920s. Roebuck Springs makes distinctive use of local fieldstone from a nearby quarry, incorporating it into retaining walls along roads and driveways, entrance gates, and the foundations and siding of residences—features that set this district apart. Early Norwood, home to many prosperous residents, developed with a rich variety of bungalow, Craftsman, Colonial Revival, and Tudor Revival houses set on generous lots.
Workers’ residences in Thomas and Pratt City were typically shotgun houses interspersed with modest Victorian cottages, sometimes accented with simple decorative details. In Fairfield, company housing usually consisted of single-family cottages with three to eight rooms and landscaped front and back yards. Crestwood North and South, among Birmingham’s first post–World War II subdivisions, were dominated by ranch and minimal traditional style homes, reflecting mid-twentieth-century suburban trends.
Topography often shaped the design of driveways and streetscapes. In 1909, Ensley Highlands featured more than 100 homes situated high along a ridge, taking advantage of elevated views, while Irondale, platted in 1887, was laid out in a linear pattern parallel to the railroad tracks.
Arlington House, one of Birmingham’s oldest surviving residences, illustrates how a single property can evolve over time. Built in the 1840s by the Mudd family in the Greek Revival style, it originally stood at the center of plantation farmlands that were sold after the Civil War for residential development. The Munger family purchased the property in 1902 and subdivided the remaining land. Although the house itself remains, it now serves as a museum and is open to the public.
Part of the Red Rock Trail System, this 3.9 mile greenway along Lakeshore Drive in Homewood is in the floodplain of what used to be Edgewood Lake. This Homewood segment is part of an interconnected network of multi-use greenways, parks, bike lanes, and street-based sidewalks across Jefferson County, Alabama.
A great interactive map by the Freshwater Land Trust locates all the greenways, nature trails, gardens, and bike lanes in Jefferson County. The non-profit began trail building in 2010 using funds for a master plan following the Olmsted Brothers’ 1925 park plan for Birmingham. A list of parks, preserves, greenways, scenic drives, and viewpoints is also in Birmingham by the Book on page 12. And page 8 lists the abandoned railroads that present opportunites for hiking rail trails.
This promises to be a lively afternoon as Alabama historian and folklorist Joyce Cauthen brings the story of her favorite fiddler, Tom Freeman, to Birmingham Historical Society on Sunday, October 4th, from 3–5 p.m. This charming, self-educated fiddler used his talent to evade law enforcement, to sell moonshine, and to play for community gatherings and political rallies.
Sunday, October 4th, 3-5 p.m. Birmingham Historical Society 2827 Highland Avenue Birmingham, AL 35205
Free and Open to the Public
Freeman was born in rural Cullman County in 1883. He taught himself on a homemade fiddle at the age of 9, and from then on it was his constant companion. He later lived and played music in Bug Tussle and Cold Springs. His descendants, who still live in Bug Tussle, preserved his handwritten—and sometimes difficult to read—manuscripts recounting his colorful life, from his time in prison and his moonshine adventures, to his grandfather’s service in the Civil War. Joyce Cauthen transcribed these manuscripts from the originals. They are now in the collection of Southern Music Research Center.
The collection documenting his music and life was developed in collaboration with author Joyce Cauthen as a supplement to her book The Ballad of Fiddling Tom Freeman: Music, Moonshine, and Murder in Bug Tussle, Alabama, published June 2026 by the University of Alabama Press. In this book, Joyce Cauthen brings to life his stories, his community, and his music. Nine home audio recordings are available at the Southern Music Research Center.
In the days before digital news, the comic pages were a favorite fixture of the newspaper by kids and adults alike. The Birmingham Historical Society used its popularity to promote early leaders of the city in quick profiles published every Saturday from February 1991 to April 1992.
The series, entitled True Tales, highlighted the accomplishments of the people who contributed much to the early development of Birmingham. Its 128 pages tell the stories of industrialists, educators, church leaders, activists, settlers, developers, architects, entertainers, philanthropists and more! And for a definitive current guide to Birmingham and its history, check out Birmingham by the Book: A Guide to the Magic City.
Join our Highland Park Historical Scavenger Hunt Sunday, October 18th from 3-5 and you might even win a copy of True Tales!
