Birmingham - random pics

[LSyd]

it's like the title says...now with 20% more new pics! (most pics previously seen in the "Birmingham vs. threads of this summer.)

if you don't like it, go argue about why Atlanta's malls are better than Houston's.



















































































damned FAA height limit restrictions...i guess they're necessary though













































at The Garage, #2 bar in the world according to GQ, and a block from my apartment















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[fwskyline]

Awesome pics man! I soooooooo badly wish I could've stopped to take a look around when I drove through Birmingham last summer, all I got was one crappy pic from the freeway with my non-digital camera.

It's nice to see another urban city in the south outside the main ones, for once.

[LSyd]

Originally Posted by fwskyline

Awesome pics man! I soooooooo badly wish I could've stopped to take a look around when I drove through Birmingham last summer, all I got was one crappy pic from the freeway with my non-digital camera.

It's nice to see another urban city in the south outside the main ones, for once.

thanks. sorry you couldn't get more/better pics, i hate when that happens.

you should do a Ft. Worth thread...my favorite city in Texas, one of my top 5 in the country.

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[fwskyline]

Originally Posted by LSyd

thanks. sorry you couldn't get more/better pics, i hate when that happens.

you should do a Ft. Worth thread...my favorite city in Texas, one of my top 5 in the country.

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Wow really? I like FW and all, but I wouldn't put it in my top 5. I did a downtown thread a while back, but I should go out and do a photo thread of another area besides downtown. I'm thinking Southside...

Gah, this thread is about Birmingham, sorry! C'mon people, respond!

[pwright1]

I am so surprised. Birmingham is such an interesting looking city. I never had any desire to go there, but now maybe I will. What is the name of the big church and what part of the city are those little houses on bricks?

[B'ham Bound]

Originally Posted by pwright1

I am so surprised. Birmingham is such an interesting looking city. I never had any desire to go there, but now maybe I will. What is the name of the big church and what part of the city are those little houses on bricks?

What picture are you referring to? There were a couple of churches shown. And I'm glad to hear that you'd consider coming down here for a visit. It's a wonderful area and the terrain makes for some interesting pictures. I honestly believe there's no other city like it.

[LSyd]

Originally Posted by pwright1

I am so surprised. Birmingham is such an interesting looking city. I never had any desire to go there, but now maybe I will. What is the name of the big church and what part of the city are those little houses on bricks?

thanks...

hmmm...the big churches in this thread; there's one in East Birmingham i don't know the name of (daytime shot)

the nighttime shots...one's a methodist (i think) church in 5 Points, that's the darker nighttime shot.

the other's a brighter night shot and it's a chapel at Samford University.

the "shotgun houses," the ones on bricks in this thread, were in west Birmingham next to an industrial area.

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[SChristopher]

I LOVE Birmingham, it has the msot unique mix of architecture that I really have never seen anywhere else. I like the terrain very much as well, I will never forget when I was passing through for the first time and came up on a hill and saw the skyline and sea of urbanity stretching out from it. I was shocked that I had never seen Birmingham before, in person it really is pretty magical. Especially when its all green!

[astro]

Woohoo!! Those are great shots. Thanks for sharing. I have never been to Birmingham but would like to check it out sometime. I like the way the city is set against a lot of hills. Interesting place.

[LSyd]

thanks y'all.

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[Rural King]

I don't know if this awesome photo spread competes with the Houston Malls vs. Atlanta Mall type threads.........LOL (Sarcasm!!!!)

Really nice collection of pics. I really like downtown Birmingham's older towers.

[passdoubt]

Some of those pictures almost look like they could be Pittsburgh. Very interesting for a Southern city. I hope those industrial structures get preserved or reused somehow.

[LSyd]

thanks Rural King, but i don't know, i really want to know which mall to shop at if i ever go back to Houston. (;

Passdoubt - that's one reason Birmingham's the "Pittsburgh of the South," thanks to all the steel industry, and then resemblance.

the structure of the pipes and tanks in this pic's Sloss Furnaces, which is an industrial museum and art studio for metal working, so yeah, some industrial structures have been well preserved.



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[B'ham Bound]

Another interesting point to note is Sloss Furnace's master plan (currently underway) that will transform the area into a museum, cultural venue, and public space. It will serve as the east anchor in Birmingham's developing Railroad Reservation linear park that will stretch one and a half miles from Interstate 65 to Sloss Furnace.

[LSyd]

that looks awesome. i haven't seen those renderings before, thanks.

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[jjbradleynyc]

Nice architecture in Birmingham, that's for sure. The terrain looks a bit like a mix of Chattanooga's and Nashville's. But in all of those pictures--as I'm scrolling through--I'm wondering "where are all the people?" What day did you take the picture? I hope that isn't normal street traffic!! What's the busy area in Birmingham? Or the hoppin one, I suppose?

[LSyd]

Originally Posted by jjbradleynyc

Nice architecture in Birmingham, that's for sure. The terrain looks a bit like a mix of Chattanooga's and Nashville's. But in all of those pictures--as I'm scrolling through--I'm wondering "where are all the people?" What day did you take the picture? I hope that isn't normal street traffic!! What's the busy area in Birmingham? Or the hoppin one, I suppose?

you didn't see the pics w/the people? too enamored by the architecture, i guess...

although granted i did take a lot of the pics on the weekend, when i've got free time.

most of the pedestrian traffic i've seen is in Five Points and where Five Points meets Highland Park (where i live,) both of which are in a decent amount of the pictures. and there's a few of people i've seen in downtown when i've had the chance to get there on a weekday with the camera. granted there's no throngs of people like in NYC or London, but they're there.

although Birmingham does need more foot traffic...lots of parking garages and curb spots. too many places with valet parking. and there needs to be more a pedestrian-attractor in downtown, like a square or plaza in my opinion.

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[Velvetj]

I nominate this for Thread of the Year, seriously. I've never seen a thread on Birmingham so full of Character (no offense Randy). Excellent to the max!

[LSyd]

Originally Posted by Velvetj

I nominate this for Thread of the Year, seriously. I've never seen a thread on Birmingham so full of Character (no offense Randy). Excellent to the max!

thanks.

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[spencer114]

Nice shots, the Drive-By Truckers and now your pics have whetted my appetite to visit. It looks really cool, even if deserted in some places. Places like this spawn great talent (visual arts, music and literature). That, my Alabama friend, should be the true measure of a city. Using that measurement, Birmingham kicks Charlotte's, Houston's, Dallas' and Atlanta's collective ass. But said cities still dominate in the "who's got the most fabulous Orange Julius in their most fabulous mall" contest.