Tag Archives: downtown

BJCC posts Marketplace renderings online via Facebook

Posted on June 21, 2011 | Leave a comment

Marketplace General OverviewThe BJCC posted architectural renderings of their long-planned entertainment district to their fan page on Facebook yesterday.

The proposal has gone before (and was approved by) Birmingham’s Design Review Committee in April and a drive by the construction site gives folks the impression that substantial work will begin soon. There were some concerns about a digital sign included in the design proposal though it appears as though they’ve been settled. Visitors to the fan page’s post have offered additional feedback on the design and the project.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new development, including a new hotel, restaurants and shops, was held back in late-January.

They also announced that there would be a link to a progress camera in the coming weeks and hinted that they’d be taking suggestions for the development’s name. Its working name is currently The Marketplace.

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Posted in BJCC, Development

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Plan to save Birmingham’s Powell School on the table today

Posted on May 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

Powell School post fire. acnatta/FlickrSince we’ve already mentioned The Birmingham News earlier, today a story was posted to their website talking about a possible plan in place to save the historic Powell School building in downtown Birmingham from the wrecking ball.

According to the piece, the proposal currently on the table for consideration by the City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee this afternoon would give the city’s oldest school building to the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation. The city would give them up to six months to secure a developer and stabilize the structure or else the building would be demolished.

Sam Frazier is presenting the proposal on behalf of the Trust and he’s got personal experience in saving historic structures. He serves as chairman of Birmingham’s Design Review Committee, the National Trust for Historic Preservation advisor from Alabama and a member of the Alabama Trust’s board.

Needless to say that many people in the city are hopeful that the building can be saved, especially when you see how many blog posts and photos exist across the web sharing that sentiment. This list includes the front page of the Alabama Trust’s Spring 2011 newsletter. The school was named for the first president of the Elyton Land Company, the real estate company responsible for the city’s existence.

Photo: Powell School post fire. acnatta/Flickr

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Posted in architecture

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Time for National Bike to Work Day on Friday

Posted on May 18, 2011 | Leave a comment

Bike Lane on 14th Street South.One can hope that most people will in fact ride their bikes to Railroad Park on Friday morning to take part in the now annual National Bike to Work Day group ride through downtown Birmingham…

Due to the average commute distance for most working in the city’s central business district (or the time they normally have to leave for work in the morning), it would be OK to forgive a few for bringing the bike into town via a bike rack – for now. There have been several improvements made in the area in the past year, including the installation of bike lanes, particularly along 2nd Avenue South and 14th Street (pictured above). The area around Railroad Park will serve as the starting and ending points for this year’s group ride; the official route (available in PF format) will take riders through Central City near Linn Park, Lakeview and the UAB campus.

Event organizers CommuteSmart and the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham have even created a video to help advertise this year’s effort.

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Posted in traffic

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Art Connection is on, some artists donating proceeds

Posted on April 28, 2011 | Leave a comment

MCAC 2011 posterWe’ve received several phone calls about whether or not the ONB Magic City Art Connection will take place this weekend. According to their fan page on Facebook, not only is the event still taking place this weekend, but several of the participating artists plan on donating portions of their proceeds to area charities helping those affected by the tornadoes.

Two charities that have been mentioned specifically on the page are the Birmingham-Jefferson American Red Cross chapter and the Craft Emergency Relief Fund.

If you’re an artist and plan on donating proceeds from sales this weekend, we’d love to create a list via our comments section.

Crawfish Boil on as well

Another major event taking place in downtown Birmingham this weekend is the Schaeffer Eye Center Crawfish Boil, taking place adjacent to the BJCC complex. They’ve announced that donation barrels will be located throughout the festival site.

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Posted in alwx, Art

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A place to Mix it up downtown

Posted on December 14, 2010 | 3 comments

Mix Restaurant sign. acnatta/FlickrFolks in Birmingham’s central business district will soon have a new place to visit for sandwiches, sweets and drinks before they spend the evening enjoying a show. It appears that Mix will be joining the mix in the very near future.

The ground floor space at the corner of 19th Street and 4th Avenue North has been vacant since August 2006 when Restaurant G decided to move into The Tutwiler Hotel and become Icon. This is the latest venture by Chris DuPont, owner of Café DuPont (located just a few blocks over on 20th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues North.

Well, folks that have driven by the space in One Federal Place in recent weeks have noticed new furniture and equipment recently moved in to the space. Today, while passing by, people would have seen a new sign (pictured above)  just days after new dark red awnings replaced the black ones that shaded its windows. The sign tells us all that we currently know about the new space – that it will serve sweets, sandwiches and drinks – though we’ve also heard that you shouldn’t be surprised to see some interesting stuff on the walls once it opens…

Photo: Mix Restaurant sign. acnatta/Flickr

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Posted in food

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Check out the floating Christmas tree!

Posted on December 10, 2010 | Leave a comment

Railroad Park's first Christmas tree. acnatta/FlickrUPDATE: According to the park’s Twitter account, the tree’s already floating before 5 p.m. (complete with a photo to prove it).

Well, it’s not floating yet, but it will be before the end of the night…

Birmingham’s Railroad Park ushers in its first holiday season this afternoon starting at 5 p.m.

Sometime between 5 and 6 p.m. this tree will be “launched” into the park’s man-made lake.

The event was originally scheduled for Saturday, though weather forecasts calling for a 90% chance of rain and a low of 32° were reasons enough for Mayor Bell to request a time change.

Those attending can bring g a new, unwrapped toy to support the Mayor’s Office Division of Youth Services Toy Drive and enjoy hot chocolate and music from Neo Jazz Collective.

Incidentally, if you attend tonight’s event, you may get a chance to introduce yourself to the park’s new executive director, Camille Spratling. The former executive assistant to the president of Birmingham Southern College started last week. Katherine Billmeier will continue on as a consultant to the park until the end of the year.

Photo: Railroad Park’s first Christmas tree. acnatta/Flickr

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Posted in Parks

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Barons announce 2011 promo schedule

Posted on November 16, 2010 | Leave a comment

New Barons primary logo - Courtesy of Birmingham BaronsNo, normally this probably wouldn’t be much of a story to share. The reason it’s even getting mentioned here today is because when their new promotional schedule was released last week, it was based on the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox playing their home games at Regions Park in 2011.

The schedule does state clearly though that dates and time are subject to change. A tentative agreement was announced recently between the city of Birmingham and the Barons to eventually play their games at an as of yet to be built ballpark in greater downtown Birmingham, leading to a less than enthusiastic response from Hoover mayor Tony Petelos.

The Birmingham Business Journal reported in October that former Barons owner Art Clarkson has offered to bring an independent league team to Regions Park if the Barons do indeed eventually move. Incidentally it was Clarkson who delivered greetings from the Chicago White Sox as part of Rickwood Field’s 100th anniversary this summer.

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Posted in Sports

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