Article about Bessemer, Al. (Birmingham, Hoover: apartment, house, neighborhoods)

[Threestep]

Originally Posted by Historic Bessemer

We live on Dartmouth..................we are at one end and the projects at the other. It is night and day. In fact we are trying to get speed bumps put in so all the "gangbangers" will not drive down our street as it is a straight shot to the nearest hwy. The loud radios drive me crazy!!!!!!! Crestwood is a great example of how Bessemer is btw. I think if we can cut down on all the "through" traffic, people who visit our area won't get the same feeling you did!

This will not fix your problem.

[Historic Bessemer]

Originally Posted by Threestep

This will not fix your problem.

Thank you, we will move tomorrow! I wish someone had told me this before, I mean why try now!

[Threestep]

Originally Posted by Historic Bessemer

Thank you, we will move tomorrow! I wish someone had told me this before, I mean why try now!

Bad hair day? Join the crowd!

I fell in love with the old train station (next to the wholesale gun dealer - great inventory by the way). Unfortunately my respective half is not yet cooperating. Repeat - yet!

You sounded like there is only a shiny side to Bessemer. Rest assured - my neighborhood has it's not so rosy aspects. Different ones but nevertheless - the homeowners association mafia can be annoying to say the least.

[Historic Bessemer]

Originally Posted by Threestep

You sounded like there is only a shiny side to Bessemer. .

I don't think I made it sound that way at all. In every post I have stated that the projects(yes, part of Bessemer) are where all the crime occurs. We don't live in the projects and we have NO PROBLEM with crime! Our side is the shiny side and the projects are the shady side. I am not trying to get ppls attention about the projects. I am however trying to let ppl know about our Historic(shiny side) part of Bessemer and some of the Grande ole Homes over here! All of this in hopes that likeminded ppl will start buying up some of these home so we can rebiuld this city to it's glory days.








On a different subject.................. Bessemer at one time had more people with a personal net worth over 1 million dollars living inside it's city limits than Birmingham. It's irrelevent now but I was suprised to learn this!

[daki]

Originally Posted by Socal2Bham

Apparently Crestwood used to be in pretty bad shape and it turned around, well most of it has. The outskirts are still in "transition".

So what's considered "outskirts" of Crestwood? Is it the part that is past crestwood boulevard on 56th street? I remember driving through crestwood (was looking at buying a house) and there was different "feel" between the Crestwood along Clairmont Ave, and The Crestwood north (?) of crestwood boulevard along 56/57th street.

I'm also new to the 'Ham, so still learning my way around.

[Socal2Bham]

Originally Posted by daki

So what's considered "outskirts" of Crestwood? Is it the part that is past crestwood boulevard on 56th street? I remember driving through crestwood (was looking at buying a house) and there was different "feel" between the Crestwood along Clairmont Ave, and The Crestwood north (?) of crestwood boulevard along 56/57th street.
I'm also new to the 'Ham, so still learning my way around.

I sometimes forget about the 'other' side of Crestwood. The part around Clairmont does have a very different feel. It's more 50's, 60's and 70's type houses.

When I think of Crestwood I think of the more historic part with the 1900-1930's type homes, which is bordered by 5th Ave. S and Crestwood Blvd. If you want to be in this part (like I wish I could be) I would be a little more concerned about any streets that are just off of 5th Ave. S. If you keep going on 5th Ave. back to the 2nd set of train tracks (you make a right hand turn to stay on 5th Ave. S) those areas back there are what I would consider the "transition" areas.

I went to check out this house which looks adorable in the ad but the surrounding neighborhood is ify.
Listing Information

I would stick to the "middle" parts of Crestwood.

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by Socal2Bham

I sometimes forget about the 'other' side of Crestwood. The part around Clairmont does have a very different feel. It's more 50's, 60's and 70's type houses.

When I think of Crestwood I think of the more historic part with the 1900-1930's type homes, which is bordered by 5th Ave. S and Crestwood Blvd. If you want to be in this part (like I wish I could be) I would be a little more concerned about any streets that are just off of 5th Ave. S. If you keep going on 5th Ave. back to the 2nd set of train tracks (you make a right hand turn to stay on 5th Ave. S) those areas back there are what I would consider the "transition" areas.

I went to check out this house which looks adorable in the ad but the surrounding neighborhood is ify.
Listing Information

I would stick to the "middle" parts of Crestwood.

I am interested in urban parts of Birmingham metro. Are Ensley and Bessemer worth seeing?

[daki]

Originally Posted by Socal2Bham

I went to check out this house which looks adorable in the ad but the surrounding neighborhood is ify.
Listing Information

I would stick to the "middle" parts of Crestwood.

What a coincidence! I was looking at another house very close to that one (on 5th terrace) and I got the same "ify" feeling about the area, even though I felt the house was fine. I thought maybe I was being too picky/critical

[Historic Bessemer]

Originally Posted by stx12499

I am interested in urban parts of Birmingham metro. Are Ensley and Bessemer worth seeing?

Ensley is a little more rough than Bessemer. There are people trying to improve Bessemer.................I can't see that happening in Ensley.

[Criss1956]

Originally Posted by nalabama

Socal2Bham, no need to feel even a little bad about what you felt while driving around in Bessemer. I made the mistake of cutting through Ensley (which was once a great place to live) on one of our trips back home from B'ham, and we were scared to death by the time we got out of there. And it's not been that long ago that the Bright Star had off-duty police on the sidewalk outside the restaurant to escort patrons to and from their vehicles. We have to trust our instincts and experience--and you know a bad neighborhood when you see one.

Bessemer was just killed when Pullman Standard pulled out and hasn't been able to make much of a comeback yet. There's hope, because it once was a nice place to live and is still very convenient for access to B'ham, but IMO it's going to be a long pull. New development along the Shannon Bypass seems to be helping somewhat.

I grew up in Pratt City, which is right next to Ensley. My Father, Uncles and Grandparents were born and raised in Pratt City.
The Police don't even want to drive through Pratt or Ensley now.
Pratt and Ensley were both once thriving communities with good schools, parks and many community activities.
Ensley used to be the place to go. We would ride the bus to Ensley, where we could go shopping for anything that we could possibly need, eat at Catfish King - we you got all you could eat for $1.25.
If you wanted to go to a nice place, you couldn't be the Ensley Grill.
Sadly, it closed down about 15 years ago after it was robbed and the owner was shot and killed.
Then you had Wylam, a neighboring little town which was also nice.
Pratt City, Ensley and Wylam are now just boarded up cities..

We moved from Pratt City to Bessemer (Eastern Valley) and I saw, first hand, how Bessemer and the little towns around Bessemer went downhill. I used to work for Lipscomb PD. There is nothing in Lipscomb now except vacant, boarded up, empty buildings that were, at one time, thriving businesses.

The only thing that I miss about Bessemer is going to Gigilos old hamburger joint, back wen it was open and to the Stadium Grill for their one of their good, old time, beer joint hamburgers.