Tag Archives: milner heights

A Guide to Architectural Styles, Architecture, Birmingham Civil Rights, Birmingham Historical Society, Birmingham Landmarks, Birmingham pioneers, BOOK, civil rights, Dynamite Hill, family history, Farming, Highland Avenue, Housing, Neighborhoods, Smithfield, Southside

Historically Significant Architecture of Birmingham

The oldest homes in Birmingham tell the story of prosperous early industrialists and real estate developers, the struggles of the working classes, architectural trends, and the civil rights era.

  • The Smithfield/Dynamite hill homes of the civil rights era are described on pg. 90 of Birmingham by the Book.
  • Some of the most expensive homes were built on 30 acres in Glen Iris Park (pgs 102-103) prior to 1920 and along Highland Avenue in Southside.
  • More modest homes were in the Five Points South area and along Cullom Street, built in the 1890s.
  • In the late 1880s, Thomas was a company town with rented housing for those who needed to live close to the iron producing furnaces. By 1912, 550 workers lived in this community.
  • Pioneering early planters who became prominent citizens of Birmingham included Isaac Sadler, Thomas McAdory, and Thomas Owen who built flourishing plantations from 1820s to early 1900s. (pg. 26 of Birmingham by the Book)

Other significant early neighborhoods included :

  • Anderson Place, Milner Heights, Forest Park and Mountain Terrace. (pgs. 104-109).
  • The Hollywood homes in Homewood were designed in 1924, influenced by Hollywood, California, and including some of Birmingham’s first mission style architecture.
  • Roebuck Springs was contoured around knolls, and boasted an English Garden aesthetic as well as the first designed 18-hole golf course and country club grounds. (pg. 98 of Birmingham by the Book).

See more neighborhood history as well as over the mountain areas, all divided by region in Birmingham by the Book. Some early examples are included below.

W.P.G. Harding House, Glen Iris
Worker House, East Thomas
Worker House, East Thomas
T.O. Smith House, Roebuck Springs
Schwab House, Highland Avenue Area
Sadler House, McCalla, 1827
Robley Munger House, Arlington Park
Robert Jemison House, Glen Iris
Parker Bown House, Smithfield
Owen House, Bessemer, 1833
Mission Style House, Homewood
McAdory House, Bessemer, 1840
Mary M Means House, Dynamite Hill, Smithfield
Luffman House,
Glen Iris
Loveman House, Southside
Jordan House, Highland Avenue
John Drew House, Dynamite Hill, Smithfield
J. Cary Thompson House,
Five Points South
Hollywood House, Homewood
H.K. Milner House, Milner Crescent
Hayes Davis House, East Thomas
Hassinger House, Highland Avenue
Forest Park House
Forest Park House
Ensley Houses
Cullom Street Houses, Southside
Cullom Street House, Southside
Cullom Street House, Southside
Cullom Street Houses, Southside
Brown and A.G. Gaston House, Smithfield
Architecture, Birmingham Historical Society, Birmingham Landmarks, City of Birmingham, Highland Avenue, Historic Preservation, Neighborhoods, Publications, Research, Southside

What’s the National Register?

Ever thought about what historic organizations do and how they do it? What’s the organizational hierarchy?

  1. Federal Agencies
  2. Non Profit Organizations
  3. State Organizations
  4. Local Historical Organizations

Curious to learn more about a historic property? Living in a historic district, maybe? Let’s start with the National Register and answer those questions!

Federal Agencies & Non Profits

The National Register is a federal agency1 supported by tax dollars that promotes the restoration of significant historic properties. It maintains the official list of historic places in the United States worthy of preservation and is managed by the National Park Service.

It is NOT related to the National Trust for Historic Preservation which is a non-profit organization2 privately supported by their membership which advocates for historic properties. However, they do not manage nor approve register listings.

State

Properties included on the National Register must first be nominated or approved by state organizations3 and are subject to state laws, which in Alabama is the Alabama Historical Commission. Generally, nominated properties are at least 50 years old unless they are exceptionally important.

Local Historical Organizations

Birmingham Historical Society is among the local historical organizations4 which take great pride in their cities, researching their surroundings to educate and make recommendations about significant historic properties and people. It is often involved in the nomination process of historic properties and districts. Available publications document their research since their start in 1942.

In November of 2022, Birmingham Historical Society moved to the Southside area in the Highland Avenue Historic District near the Rhodes Park, Chestnut Hill, Country Club, Milner Heights, and Hanover Place Historic Districts.

Since that time, we’ve enjoyed exploring our new home in more depth. Our Highland Avenue neighbor, Randy Merritt, has been documenting the remaining historic homes on Highland Avenue as well as collecting archival photos of those that have been demolished.

The assortment tells the story of Birmingham’s pioneering residents whose strong belief propelled the city’s growth. It’s a tale of architectural innovation, economic power, social norms, financial successes, and the complex local politics of that time.

So, whether intrigued by the people, the location, the event, or by the lessons learned, history at all levels creates a compelling story worth preserving and telling. Grateful for the organizations that continue to tell those stories! One can’t help but appreciate the efforts of all of the organizations dedicated to upholding and conveying this history.

Below shows some of the process in registering the Highland Avenue Historic District. The Birmingham Historical Society offices are on the ground floor retail space in what was originally the Altamont Apartment Building on lot #4 on diagram below.