Avondale (Birmingham)
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Avondale was a company town built around the Avondale Mills east of
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
in Jefferson County. The town was incorporated on March 18, 1887. The city was annexed into Birmingham in 1910 and is now divided into three separate neighborhoods, North Avondale, East Avondale and South Avondale. The first residents of the area were clustered around "King's Spring" on the slopes of Red Mountain, now the site of Avondale Park. There was once a small skirmish near the spring when Confederates fired on Union soldiers watering their horses. The wife of Jefferson County sheriff Abner Killough was struck in the breast by a stray shot while sitting on her porch. Her wound is believed to have been the only blood spilled in the county during the war. The park was the largest in Birmingham until Ruffner Mountain Park was dedicated. It was known for the spring-fed grotto pool, an extensive
rose garden A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Most often it is a section of a larger garden. Designs vary tremendously and roses m ...
, athletic fields, a secluded pavilion called "The Villa", and a large amphitheater that hosted a spectacular pageant in celebration of Birmingham's 50th anniversary in 1931. The park was also one-time home of the
Birmingham Zoo The Birmingham Zoo is a zoological park that opened in 1955 in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. The Birmingham Zoo is an independent, not for profit, 501(c)(3) organization, and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), p ...
, which at the time consisted mainly of non-exotic species with the exception of "Miss Fancy", an erstwhile
circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...
elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...
purchased by the Birmingham Advertising Club as a promotional novelty and then donated to the city. The spring emerged from a cave, now sealed off and proceeded to flow through the center of Spring Street (now 41st Street), the primary commercial center of Avondale. By the early seventies Avondale Park had developed a reputation as a drug-dealing area and the vicinity entered a long period of decline. However, the park has since seen a rebirth. In 2011, the city of Birmingham undertook a $2.88 million restoration of the park. In 2013, The Forest Park South Avondale Business Association sponsored the installation of free WiFi throughout the park. Beginning around 2011, the neighborhood redeveloped as a restaurant and entertainment destination featuring several breweries and concert venues. Avondale Park was a site for events in the
2022 World Games The 2022 World Games were an international multi-sport event held from July 7 to 17, 2022, in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. They were the 11th World Games, a multi-sport event featuring disciplines of Olympic sports and other competitions ...
. The neighborhood is notable for its religious diversity, including Baha'i, Buddhist, and Quaker centers along with the regionally predominant Baptist and Methodist churches.


Demographics

Avondale was listed on the 1890 and 1900 U.S. Censuses as an incorporated town. It was annexed by the city of Birmingham in 1910 and did not appear separately on that census. In 1900, it had 1,585 males (51.8%) and 1,475 females (48.2%).http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/33405927v1ch10.pdf


Photo Gallery

File:Avondale Park sign.jpg, Avondale Park File:Avondale Park pond.JPG, Avondale Park File:Avondale Park.JPG, Avondale Park File:Feeding the swans, Avondale Park, Birmingham, Ala. (7372460514).jpg, Avondale Park File:"OUR BABY DOFFER" and some of the other infants working in the Avondale Mills. Birmingham, Ala. - NARA - 523360.jpg, Child laborers at Avondale Mills File:Avondale-mill-school.jpg, Avondale Mill School File:Avondale MIll Village.jpg, Avondale Mill Village File:FRONT ELEVATION, THOMAS SCHOOL - Thomas School, Second Avenue, North (Avondale), Birmingham, Jefferson County, AL HABS ALA,37-BIRM,36-2.tif, Thomas School, Avondale (Birmingham) File:300s 29th Street North Pell City April 2014.jpg, Avondale Historic District Homes File:HARMONY STREET BAPTIST CHURCH, AVONDALE; EDUCATION BUILDING AND SOUTH FACADE - Harmony Street Baptist Church, 527 Forty-Second Place North, Birmingham, Jefferson County, AL HABS ALA,37-BIRM,29-3.tif, Harmony Street Baptist Church, Avondale (Birmingham)


See also

*
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
* Avondale Mills


References


Notes


References

* "Battle of Avondale, 1865" (September 3, 1885) ''Weekly Iron Age'' (Birmingham, Alabama).


External links


Avondale material
at the Birmingham Public Library's Digital Archives {{authority control Former municipalities in Alabama Neighborhoods in Birmingham, Alabama Company towns in Alabama