Rickwood Field–the oldest baseball park in America
Each year from 2002 to 2008 approximately 100 business and political leaders from Birmingham traveled to cities across the U.S.
The Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce BIG trips were designed to discover ideas that were successful in other cities that could be implemented here in Birmingham.
Much was learned, but every year we came home and lamented Birmingham’s stroke of misfortune.
ComebackTown is published by David Sher to begin a discussion on a better Birmingham.
Today’s guest blogger is Giles Perkins. If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please click here.
Editor’s note: Railroad Park transformed Birmingham. Against great odds and overwhelming skepticism, Giles Perkins and a group of committed community volunteers persevered. I asked Giles to write this piece to give insight to those of you who would like to make a difference.
I think it was in 2002 when I made my first visit to the lot that became Railroad Park.
My sons were younger then–their sister was not born yet–but they came with me and brought their bicycles. There was a burnt out railcar in the corner. In the middle of the lot there was an old trailer with someone living in it. A sign on the door said DON’T KNOCK UNLESS YOU ARE THE POLICE OR I WILL SHOOT.
We packed up the bicycles. On the ground I found a rusted railroad spike. I took that spike and put it on my desk as a reminder of the task I had taken on and the distance we needed to travel to have success. Continue reading I challenge our children to make Birmingham great→
The big controversy currently is whether the City of Birmingham should fund maintenance for Railroad Park.
I love Railroad Park as do many of you. Almost everyone agrees it has been the catalyst for just about everything good that has happened to Birmingham since it opened.
One hundred years from now, when historians write the history of Birmingham, 2013 will be the year they say changed everything.
Birmingham’s been called the “City of Perpetual Promise.” We’ve been described as the “Magic City” at our zenith and as the “Most segregated city in America” at our low point.
Comebacktown published by David Sher & Phyllis Neill to begin a discussion on a better Birmingham.
Today’s guest blogger is Jonathan Pinnick. (We love when young professionals are guest bloggers)
I saw something during a recent trip to Regions Field that made me stop in my tracks. It was so exciting that I had to tell almost everyone I saw for the next week.
It wasn’t anything about the ballpark itself, though it is beautiful. It wasn’t anything about the game, which was great and ended with one of the many wins earned by the Birmingham Barons this season.
Birmingham’s usually the last to do just about everything. So if you want to see what’s about to happen, all you have to do is look elsewhere.
When I was Chairman of Operation New Birmingham (ONB) in 1995, CBS42 was desperately trying to build viewership for their newscast. They were practicing “guerilla journalism” to try to shock and surprise people to build audience.
I’ve spent a great deal of time and effort trying to educate one of my best friends, who I will call Bob, about the problems created by our segmented and dysfunctional governments.
Look at the magnificent picture that leads this blog. This is the Wells Theatre in Norfolk,Virginia. It’s one of only a few theaters that still exist which was specifically built to maximize the acoustics and close seating needed for vaudeville shows.
The Lyric Theatre located in our downtown is a carbon copy of the Wells. Built in 1914 major stars such as the Marx Brothers, Mae West, Sophie Tucker, Will Rogers, and Milton Berle played the Lyric. Berle said it was “as fine a theater as any in New York.” Continue reading Birmingham is unique in so many ways→