Tag Archives: National Park Service

Birmingham Historical Society, Birmingham Landmarks, Birmingham pioneers, Historic Preservation

Protecting Sloss Furnaces

The National Historic Landmarks Program protects our American cultural heritage by bringing attention to worthy landmarks and guiding the process to nominate them. In Birmingham, there are currently only 3 listed landmarks: 16th Street Baptist Church, Sloss Furnaces, and Bethel Baptist Church as well as the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument (which includes multiple sites).

There are over 2,600 National Landmarks in the U.S. today including buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts. To be considered, the landmark must be nationally important and contributing to an understanding of our nation’s heritage. Sloss Furnaces is a monument to our nation’s industrial heritage and was considered to have “perhaps the greatest potential of any area in the country for developing a comprehensive museum to the industry.”

Sloss Furnaces was saved from demolition by the efforts of the Birmingham Regional Planning Commission, who brought the landmark to the attention of the National Park Service. Thanks to Bham Now for highlighting this important process!

Interior view of an industrial facility featuring large metal structures, a conveyor system, and rusted components under a clear blue sky.
Jordyn Davis/Bham Now

While they are not on the National Parks Historic Landmarks list, there are many other historic properties worth noting in Birmingham listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Bhamwiki lists them HERE.  

And although the National Register of Historic Landmarks and the National Register of Historic Places are both administered by the National Park Service, the landmarks represent places of exceptional national significance.

Certainly, Sloss Furnaces is worthy of this special recognition!

Alabama Historical Commission, Architecture, Birmingham Historical Society, Birmingham Landmarks, Historic Preservation, Historic Preservation Month

Learn How Easements Safeguard Historic Properties

It’s often after the fact that the public regrets the demolition of an historic building. At this last lecture of Birmingham’s Historic Preservation Month, David Fleming discusses easements and how they can protect historic buildings.

The Alabama Historical Commission has prepared a worksheet for property owners HERE who are interested in safeguarding their private property and/or receiving appropriate tax incentives.

Generally, a building or site must possess historical, architectural, archaeological, or cultural significance to the state or its locale in order to qualify. However, if it’s contributing to an existing historic district, it may also qualify. Detailed maps HERE show historic districts in Birmingham.

The National Park Service provides more information about tax incentives HERE. But for more information or with questions for David Fleming, the lecture is at NOON at Sloss Furnace, West Room on Thursday, May 29th.

Event announcement for a presentation on Historic Preservation and Easements by David Fleming, highlighting their benefits for protecting historic buildings.
Annual Gathering, Annual meeting, Birmingham Civil Rights, Birmingham Historical Society, Birmingham Landmarks, Birmingham pioneers, BOOK, Book Sale, civil rights, Meetings, Membership, Research, Rickwood Field

Field of Dreams – Fun Facts!

Do you know the compelling history of America’s oldest ball field? Last night at Birmingham Historical Society’s annual meeting, baseball enthusiast and Friends of Rickwood Director, Gerald Watkins, powerfully recounted the legendary games played on this iconic ground. He also recounted many of the famous players that began their careers on this historic ball field including Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, and Reggie Jackson.

He acknowledged the important part the Society contributed to Rickwood in documenting the age, historical significance, and in verifying the anecdotal stories that the Friends of Rickwood had been using to raise funds for its restoration. Upon the completion of the research, Rickwood was officially confirmed to be the oldest ball park in the nation, and national leagues began to take interest, resulting in Alabama’s first Major League Baseball game in 2024.

Friends of Rickwood Director Gerald Watkins with Birmingham Historical Society Director Marjorie White hold a poster documenting the process of establishing Rickwood’s significance through the National Park Service’s Historic America Buidlings Survey (HABS)

Watkins recounted the struggles the Friends endured in preparing the field for the Major Leagues as well as the fundraising necessary for maintaining the standards required to sustain the relationship. And he acknowledged the Friends who were in the audience including Tom Cosby who along with Terry Slaughter and Coke Mathews led the early promotional efforts.

Erected in 1910, Rickwood Field stands as a monument not just to thrilling baseball moments, but also to the profound social and cultural evolution of the sport. The Birmingham Black Barons began playing in 1920 in the Negro Leagues, and Rickwood served as a gathering place for Birmingham’s black community attracting large crowds until integration caused the Black Barons to dissolve in 1963 and Rickwood shut down for several years.

Several books have been written about Rickwood’s history which were available at the meeting including this tribute book above. Watkins shared that while the Friends hoped that Birmingham native Willie Mays would be at Rickwood’s first Major League game in 2024, he passed that same day, memorializing him forever in Rickwood’s memories.

These three books, companions to one another, celebrate Rickwood Field, the primary ball park of Birmingham professional baseball teams from 1910 to 1987. Each book is a building block in a trilogy on the history of the legendary ball park. Each book stands alone, complete within itself, but together they form a structure larger than its parts: a trilogy. 

The three books tell the story of people, places, and events of the early twentieth century and make you feel a part of history, not an observer of it. The books explore world events, American history, and the game of baseball when it was — and perhaps still is — this country’s most culturally relevant sport.

.For more information or to arrange a behinds the scenes tour of the historic ball field, please visit Rickwood Field or visit the park for a self-guided tour M-F 9AM to 4PM.