Birmingham Public Library's Digital Collections

Community Foundation Celebrates 50 Years

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Thu, 21 May 2009 11:59:00 +0000

The Archives Department of the Birmingham Public Library was honored to take part in the celebration of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham's 50th anniversary. Photos provided by the Archives were included in a fast-paced and uplifting video created by filmmaker Mark Hendren for the celebration. Check out the Foundation's blog to read more about the event and the video.

Birmingham Education 1921-1931

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 19:30:00 +0000

Report of Progress, Birmingham Public Schools: September 1, 1921 to August 31, 1931, a book published by the Birmingham Board of Education in 1931, is now available online. Coverage includes the administration, class instruction, school property, statistics, a school census, and finance.

One of the most interesting features of this publication is the numerous photographs of the school buildings, classrooms and students. Take a peek inside.

1911 Birmingham High School Yearbook

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 19:19:00 +0000

Recently added to the Birmingham Public Library's Digital Collections database is Birmingham High School's 1911 yearbook, The Mirror.

Woodward family newspaper articles added

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:51:00 +0000

Newspaper articles about the Woodward family, one of Birmingham's most prominent families, have been added to the BPL Digital Collections database. The Woodwards founded the Woodward Iron Company and were involved in several other companies and philanthropic endeavors. The best known of the Woodward family members, Rick Woodward, was the owner of the Birmingham Barons from 1909 to 1936 and Rickwood Field was named in his honor.

Photographs added

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:49:00 +0000

Photographs of Birmingham's airport and Bruno's grocery store have been added.

Jones Valley High School Yearbooks

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 18:37:00 +0000

Thanks to the kind generosity of Mr. Bob Roper who donated scanned images of 40 Jones Valley High School yearbooks, we have been able to index and make these yearbooks available as part of BPL's Digital Collections database.

Enjoy!

Photos of local churches online

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:00:00 +0000

Several Jefferson County Board of Equalization photographs of local churches are now available available online in Birmingham Public Library's Digital Collection.

Happy Halloween from the Birmingham Jaycees

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:05:00 +0000

In 1977 Mayor David Vann received a spooky surprise when characters from the Birmingham Jaycees haunted house showed up at his weekly press conference.

Woodlawn newspaper articles added

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:01:00 +0000

Thirty-four newspaper articles about the Woodlawn community were recently added to the BPL Digital Collections database.

Birmingham newspapers 1874-1887 available online

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:44:00 +0000

Birmingham's oldest microfilmed newspapers, The Birmingham Iron Age (1874-1884) and The Weekly Iron Age (1884-1887) are now available online in Birmingham Public Library's Digital Collection.

The Birmingham Iron Age began publication on February 12, 1874 when the city of Birmingham, Alabama was only 26 months old. The original publishers were Duval, Roberts and Persinger but during the early years ownership changed many times. On May 1, 1884 the name of the weekly newspaper was changed to The Weekly Iron Age.

The digital images in this collection were scanned from microfilm copies owned by the Birmingham Public Library.

Green Springs Neighborhood

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:01:00 +0000

Newspaper articles about the Green Springs neighborhood have been added to the online digital collection.

Birmingham Magazine February 1916

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:28:00 +0000

The Birmingham Magazine published by the Chamber of Commerce for February 1916 is now available online.

Table of Contents
Regulation of Birmingham Rates Through the Use of the Warrior River by J. T. Slatter p. 9
Benefits of Electricity to Birmingham Manufacturers by W. E. Mitchell p. 14
Birmingham's Office by T P. Hay, Jr. p. 15
Uniform Cost Methods by Charles Neville by p. 17
Birmingham The City of Lights by Frank Hammond p. 19
Editorial Comment p. 20
Business Men's League Notes by Sam H. Fowlkes p. 22
Woman Suffrage by Mrs. Oscar R. Hundley p. 23
The Phenomenal Growth of Birmingham by Robert N. Waldrop p. 25
Jefferson County—Its Road Problems by George H. Clark p. 27
Birmingham Chamber of Commerce p. 29
National Highways by Alma Rittenberry p. 31
The Birmingham Ad Club by H. D. Cullen p. 33
A Rich Mine by Emily Van Dorn Miller p. 35
Agricultural Notes p. 37
Without Malice But Without Compromise by the Editor and Publisher and the Journalist p. 41
Get Together, Stay Together; Then Advertise by E. B. Beason p. 45
Old Negro Songs of the South by Alma Rittenberry p. 47
What, the Press and Our Friends Think of Us p. 49
Palmistry by The DeBrooks p. 51
Interesting Statistics on the Country's Motor Car Industry by Alfred Reeves p. 52
Who's Who in Business Birmingham p. 53
Business Men, Firms and Corporations of Birmingham p. 57
Proceedings of the City Commission p. 65
Information p. 2

Glen Iris and Southside neighborhoods

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:43:00 +0000

Several newspaper articles about the Glen Iris and Southside neighborhoods have been added to the Digital Collections database.

Birmingham Magazine January 1916

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 20:26:00 +0000

The Birmingham Magazine published by the Chamber of Commerce for January 1916 is now available online.

Table of Contents
The Panama Canal and the Birmingham District C. M. Evans p. 9
What Concrete Has Done for Civilization P. E. Chalifoux p. 11
Bessemer Canal vs. Armor Plant W. P. Gunn p. 13
The Building Manager of Today T. P. Hay, Jr. p. 14
Some Business Blunders Franklin H. Tonsmeire p. 15
Business Men's League Items Sam H. Fowlkes p. 17
Editorial Comment p. 18
Woman Suffrage at the Alabama State Fair Mrs. Oscar R. Hundley p. 20
Library Talk Carl Milam p. 22
Good Roads and Highways Alma Rittenberry p. 25
New Phase of the Convict Question George H. Clark p. 27
Industries for Birmingham William Blanks Everett p. 30
The Birmingham District E. B. Beason p. 31
The Birmingham Ad Club H. D. Cullen p. 32
The Distributing Powers of Birmingham and Their Restricted Use J. P. Slatter p. 33
Agricultural Notes: Controlling Anthrax p.34
Sales of Old Products by Publicity Edward M. Hager p. 36
Woman of Today Maye Teressa Holder p. 36
Proceedings of the City Commission p. 51
The New Birmingham Chamber of Commerce p. 61
Palmistry DeBrooks p. 71
Information p. 4

Clayton Park

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:49:00 +0000

Newspaper articles about the creation and dedication of Clayton Park (1951-1952) were recently added to the Digital Collection.

La Paree photographs added

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:25:00 +0000

Three photographs of the exterior and interior of the 2013 5th Avenue North building that the La Paree restaurant occupied for many years have been added to the collection.

Photographs Added March 28

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:48:00 +0000

Photographs featuring President Roosevelt visiting Fairfield, street scenes, streetcars, libraries and more. Click here to view all the new photographs.

Photographs Added February 21

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 19:20:00 +0000

Photographs of Consolidated Dairies, East Lake Atheneum, Florence Hotel, Rosenberger's Birmingham Trunk Factory, Capitol Theatre, Galax Theatre, and Strand Theatre were recently added. To view the photographs click here.

Margaret Allen School 1915

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 22:49:00 +0000

The 1915 yearbook for the Margaret Allen School was recently added to the online database.

"'A day in June' is an almost every-day affair in Birmingham, there is nothing at all rare about it. What about a day in February when it snows? Ah, that is rare indeed! So rare is it, that last year none of us who were ten, or twelve, or maybe fourteen, had ever seen snow that "stayed on the ground." And one of us, older than that, whose home was in Florida, had never even seen a snow fall! Is it any wonder that we ran eagerly to school to know what the others thought of it? So hurriedly did we come, and so unused were we to this experience, that we came in oxfords and without sign of overshoes, causing many wise and disapproving looks from the teachers, and much following up, by parents, with things that go with snows.

The "grown-ups," realizing at once that there was much fun in store for us out of doors; because they had seen one or two real snows in Alabama, gave us a half-holiday. They knew that we would be too old and too big to play in the next one. This is a picture of a crowd of the happiest of us, taken on the roof garden. The roof garden has been the scene of many good times in the sunshine, but only once have we stood on it with our feet deep buried in snow." ~ page 45

Photographs Added

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 19:56:00 +0000

Photographs depicting the Birmingham Gun Club, Redmont Tire Company, women's suffrage, Henley School, Tutwiler Hotel, Fairfield Theatre, Royal Theatre, and the 1893 Avondale Croquet Club were recently added. Click here to view the images.

Barker School newspaper stories online

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 20:42:00 +0000

Newspaper articles about Barker School are now available online. Most of the articles cover the 1941 fire that destroyed the school.

Powell School Items Added

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:48:00 +0000

Newspaper articles and a typewritten letter about Powell School have been added to the Digital Collections database. Click here to view.

Boutwell Auditorium Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:22:00 +0000

Four photographs of Boutwell Auditorium were recently added to the Digital Collections database.

Schools, Airport, First National Bank and The Club

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 22:46:00 +0000

Click on the links below to see the most recently added photographs to BPL's Digital Collections.

Birmingham Airport Terminal
Birmingham Airport Terminal Front View
Bush School
The Club dance floor
Council School
Elyton Elementary School
Ensley High School
Fairview School
First National Bank of Birmingham Board of Directors
Gibson Elementary School
Lee Elementary School
Lewis School
North Birmingham School
Norwood School
Washington School
West End High School construction
West End High School exterior
Wylam Elementary School

227 Photographs Of Birmingham From 1923

noreply@blogger.com (Melinda Shelton) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:04:00 +0000

Over 200 photographs covering a wide-range of topics were published in 1923 as photographic plates in a nine-part portfolio titled Art Work of Birmingham, Ala. This entire work has been digitized and added to Birmingham Public Library's Digital Collections database. Photographs included in the portfolio depict parks, homes, businesses, hospitals, schools and churches. To see all nine parts click here.