Tag Archives: Ensley

A new sign for a converted historic building in Ensley

newsignensleytheaterThere’s a new Baptist Health Center sign on the building that originally housed the Ensley Theatre along Avenue E on Birmingham’s west side. It is a more public declaration of the announcement last September of Dr. Roswell Ashford’s joining the Baptist Heath Centers and Baptist Princeton Medical Center.

This photo was taken as crews were finishing up the installation on Thursday, March 27. The OB/GYN practice opened in late 2012 as an affiliate of Jefferson Clinic, P.C., and is located blocks away from the current Western Health Center, an urgent care clinic, and the Bethesda Life Center. It’s also a block away from the 10-story, long-vacant Ramsay-McCormack Building. Princeton Baptist recently announced Ashford would have office hours on their main campus on Tuesday afternoons beginning next week (April 1).

Vote for the Junction… cause it matters

Tuxedo Junction photoThe folks over at Main Street Birmingham (MSB) submitted a photo taken in front of the Nixon Building in Birmingham’s Ensley community as one of the 1,900 entries in this year’s National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Places That Matter Photo Contest. The photo is the latest piece in a campaign to raise funds for the renovation of the building into a cultural center for the community and the region.

Yesterday it was announced that the photo was picked to be one of the 12 finalists! You’ve got until October 9 to sign up and vote once-per-day for the photo.

MSB’s got additional instructions on their website as well as a rendering of what the completed project will look like when completed.

Just in case you’re interested, here’s the link to photos and descriptions of all the finalists.

Plans for cultural center in Ensley move forward

nixon4x6 Main Street Birmingham (MSB) got some several pieces of great news in recent days involving the Nixon Cultural Center project in Ensley will be able to move forward.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has awarded MSB more than $4,700 in matching grant funds to be used for future development of the former NAACP meeting space in Tuxedo Junction. The money is from the National Trust’s African American Preservation fund and it will be used to assist in planning for the project’s completion and sustained operations. They also just received word that the Alabama Historical Commission Review Board approved the Nixon Building’s nomination to the National Register of Historic Places clearing the way for National Park Service approval. All of this news follows last fall’s $7,000 grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

Photo: The Nixon Building. Courtesy of MSB.

Random shots: Getting ready for tomorrow

easter Rob NeedhamMichael Needham, 4, admires his handiwork, viz. his freshly dyed Easter eggs, while others soak in their coffee mug vats.

For those looking for other ways to enjoy this relaxing Saturday in Birmingham, AL, you’ve still got time to get to Ensley for their 3rd annual Easter Parade and Gospel Concert. The parade starts at 12 p.m. and the concert begins shortly afterward.

Need some other idea (or have some you’d like to share)? Head on over to this week’s got plans post over on Timetable.

BTW, if you feel so compelled to share your photos from this weekend, send them into photos@bhamterminal.com.

Photo: Rob Needham. Email submission to bhamterminal.

The Junction’s about to start jumping again

Tuxedo_Junction-1. argusfoto/Flickr

Photo: Tuxedo_Junction 1. argusfoto/Flickr.

Ensley‘s Tuxedo Junction is right on the edge of a revitalization that promises to rejuvenate the city’s Western area. Last month, one of its cultural landmarks moved one step closer to once again becoming a hub for culture. Main Street Birmingham was awarded a grant of $7,000 from the Alabama State Council on the Arts (ASCA) for the planning of the future Nixon Cultural Center at Tuxedo Junction. The planned home for the center (pictured above) is famous for its upper floor ballroom, immortalized by Erskine Hawkins hit song Tuxedo Junction. When finished it will provide cultural and educational opportunities for local residents, including those slated to move into the Tuxedo Court HOPE VI development and visitors to the Magic City.

A look back: July 22

1972:

The Sloss Blast Furnace Site was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

2006:

The Function in the Junction jazz festival was held in Erskine Hawkins Park in Ensley.

Courtesy: Bhamwiki.com logo

It takes a village this weekend in Ensley

The area immediately adjacent to Village Creek in Ensley has been the focus of many of the efforts being undertaken to breathe new life into the surrounding Ensley and Pratt communities. This Saturday area residents and concerned citizens will have the chance to contribute to and help develop a vision for housing that will line the planned Village Creek Greenway on the city’s West Side (after having some fun running).

The first annual Village Creek One Mile Fun Run/Walk at 8:30 a.m. (sign-up is at 8 a.m.) will be followed at 10 a.m. by a community workshop entitled Implementing The Olmsted Vision One Step at a Time.

Members of the 2007-2008 Project Corporate Leadership class and Environmental Leadership Program will host a workshop to discuss strategies for implementing the Olmsteds’ vision for the Village Creek area in the Ensley and Pratt communities. If you’ve got a Facebook account, you can let them know that you’ll be there to participate.

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