Birmingham's Highlights (Southside, Lakeview, Five Points: hotels, houses, theater)

[GotLuv4Bham]

I am new to City Data, and I figured my first thread should be designed in a way that gets people thinking, and involved. Most people focus on the negatives when discussing Bham, but what if there was a thread completely dedicated to Bham's positives. Here comes the questions.


1) What are all the things (that you can think of) that makes Bham unique in a positive way to other cities?

2)Of all the downtown developments proposed/underway/completed, which one(s) will be most likely to transform downtown in a sweeping way, and why?

Railroad Park
New Baseball Park(Barons)
New Intermodal Central Station
Westin Birmingham/Entertainment District
New Childrens Hospital
Pizits Building Development
UAB's Campus Football Stadium
Cityville Block 121 Development
Alabama School of Fine Arts New 500-Seat Theater/Tower
Light Rail System Running East/West thru Downtown
Re-Development of the Liberty National Building

3)I love (living in/visiting) Bham because...................?

[HipLib]

Birmingham has pretty liberal laws concerning entertainment compared to most of the south. There's no official closing time for bars (except for 2am Sunday morning. Since many of the bars are private clubs, even this doesn't shut down the entertainment scene). Birmingham, at least the southside, is pretty diverse and tolerant compared to most of the south.

[HipLib]

Concerning number 2, I think all those things combined will be very good things for the city. The main thing we need to do is repopulate the city center. The more people that live there the better, more people means more businesses. This repopulation needs to come from other cities in all parts of the country and the world. Most suburbanites don't want to live in the city and many are downright hostile towards the redevelopment of Birmingham. The people won't come from the suburbs. The new people should be people who love urban living.

[bhamguy]

Originally Posted by HipLib

Birmingham has pretty liberal laws concerning entertainment compared to most of the south. There's no official closing time for bars (except for 2am Sunday morning. Since many of the bars are private clubs, even this doesn't shut down the entertainment scene). Birmingham, at least the southside, is pretty diverse and tolerant compared to most of the south.

The city really needs to link Five Points South to Lakeview. I may want to go out bar hop since I take advantage of our late night club hours.
We really need more shopping in Five Points South, and Lakeview needs mid to high rises, and a movie cinema.

[GotLuv4Bham]

Originally Posted by HipLib

Concerning number 2, I think all those things combined will be very good things for the city. The main thing we need to do is repopulate the city center. The more people that live there the better, more people means more businesses. This repopulation needs to come from other cities in all parts of the country and the world. Most suburbanites don't want to live in the city and many are downright hostile towards the redevelopment of Birmingham. The people won't come from the suburbs. The new people should be people who love urban living.

@HipLib
Your point about repopulation of the city center is a good one, and the population of downtown is already growing. Close to 5000 people currently live in downtown Bham, and those numbers are still growing. I think some people in the burbs are hostile towards Bham simply because they dont really know the city. They believe what they hear, and think that it's a fact. I live in Bham and love it because our city is naturally beautiful. The history, and soul of Birmingham is still in place. Other cities allowed developers to come in and completely change the face of their city, and now they dont even look, or feel the same. I want Bham to grow, but I dont want it to get to where it doesn't feel like Bham anymore.

[bluebeard]

Originally Posted by GotLuv4Bham

@HipLib
I think some people in the burbs are hostile towards Bham simply because they dont really know the city.

It also seems to me that people who moved out or who's families moved out of the city some time back hold outdated beliefs. Talking to people who lived even in Southside just a decade or two back say how the character has changed. Let alone from the 60's or earlier.

I agree with the keeping of the character as well. I think going with the already built environment in the city is the way to go. The railroad park was awesome, but not every step in revitalization has to involve razing parts of the city and building a large new development.

[Tourian]

Originally Posted by bhamguy

We really need more shopping in Five Points South, and Lakeview needs mid to high rises, and a movie cinema.

I agree with this, particularly the movie cinema. I think right now there's only two movie houses physically within the city limits of Birmingham.

Having a nice upscale multiplex downtown would be great. If they tried to stuff it into a really trendy area, space would be a premium so it might only be 2 or 3 screens, but it might be good to put something massive like 24 or 32 screens near the civic center and the hotels/entertainment center.

Add some secure parking decks and 24 hour security and let it be open 24 hours.

[bhamguy]

Originally Posted by Tourian

I agree with this, particularly the movie cinema. I think right now there's only two movie houses physically within the city limits of Birmingham.

Having a nice upscale multiplex downtown would be great. If they tried to stuff it into a really trendy area, space would be a premium so it might only be 2 or 3 screens, but it might be good to put something massive like 24 or 32 screens near the civic center and the hotels/entertainment center.

Add some secure parking decks and 24 hour security and let it be open 24 hours.

I agree about a massive cinema near the civic center, but I was thinking something like 10-15 screens, not 2 or 3. A multiplex near the civic center could work well too.

[HipLib]

Originally Posted by GotLuv4Bham

@HipLib
Your point about repopulation of the city center is a good one, and the population of downtown is already growing. Close to 5000 people currently live in downtown Bham, and those numbers are still growing. I think some people in the burbs are hostile towards Bham simply because they dont really know the city. They believe what they hear, and think that it's a fact. I live in Bham and love it because our city is naturally beautiful. The history, and soul of Birmingham is still in place. Other cities allowed developers to come in and completely change the face of their city, and now they dont even look, or feel the same. I want Bham to grow, but I dont want it to get to where it doesn't feel like Bham anymore.

Yes, I agree that we don't need to change the entire look and feel of the city. The great thing about Birmingham is for the most part, it's already built. There's plenty of buildings that can be restored. I stand by what I said about the new population coming from evrywhere. To have a sucessful city we need people who actually love cities and city life.