Trucks photographed by O. V. Hunt

15 of Oscar V. Hunt's delivery trucks photographs have been added to the BPL Digital Collections database. Drive on in and check it out.

McElwain School, Krystal in Woodlawn & many more photos

Twenty-six additional photographs from the Jefferson County (AL) Board of Equalization were recently added to our BPL Digital Collections database. Images include businesses, churches, and schools in Birmingham.

Birmingham Chamber of Commerce publication (May 1925)

The Birmingham Chamber of Commerce's Birmingham publication for May 1925 is now available. Contents include:

• A story of the Wofford Oil Company
• Industrial Birmingham, survey and outlook
• Junior Chamber of Commerce activities
• Birmingham's Safety Council functions
• Early history of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce

20 photographs of businesses, schools and theaters online

The Jefferson County (AL) Board of Equalization was responsible for photographing all structures within Jefferson County for the purpose of taxation. BPL's Archives Department is responsible for preserving 1500 boxes of the Board's files (including photographs) covering the years 1938-1977. Twenty of these photographs were recently added to our BPL Digital Collections database. Images include businesses, churches, and schools in Birmingham and Homewood.

Birmingham’s Victorian Bicycle Craze

Bicycles, known colloquially in the nineteenth century as “wheels,” offered a new kind of mobility that many women embraced. While some worried that having women riding about on bicycles would lead to moral decay, bicycle manufactures catered to the new clientele and Victorian era women found freedom on their bikes....(read more)

Newspaper Articles, Photograph and Postcard

(Part of Birmingham Magazine's monthly feature on Birmingham history highlighting items from the Archives’ collections)

Structures in Jefferson County (AL)

The Jefferson County (AL) Board of Equalization was responsible for photographing all structures within Jefferson County for the purpose of taxation. BPL's Archives Department is responsible for preserving 1500 boxes of the Board's files (including photographs) covering the years 1938-1977. Forty-nine of these photographs were recently added to our BPL Digital Collections database. Images include businesses, churches, and schools in downtown Birmingham, Center Point, and Ensley.

Birmingham's Vintage Service Stations

Birmingham's Vintage Service Stations
It seems unlikely that today’s American roadside architecture will ever inspire a sense of nostalgia. Big box discount stores and fast food restaurants are interchangeable from one location to the next. Gas stations, or to be precise, convenience stores, are distinguishable only by the color of the trim on the square, flat buildings. But the builders of gas stations, or to be precise, service stations, once used popular architectural styles and whimsy to catch the eye of passing motorists. More...

Five Points West newspaper articles added

An additional 39 Five Points West newspaper articles have been added to collection.

More Photographs by Charles Preston

36 images photographed by Charles Preston are now available for viewing. Some of the subjects depicted are from the 1940s and 50s and include: bellhops, Barons, businesses, Bob Hope, Booker T. Washington Insurance Co., Bingle, Betbeze, Burns, and beans.

Charles Preston's Photographs

24 images photographed by Charles Preston are now available for viewing. Some of the subjects depicted are from the 1950s and include: Dale's Cellar, Bankhead Hotel, Loveman's, Alabama Theatre, Jim Burke Buick, Krystal Hamburgers, Duke Rumore and WSGN.

Birmingham's Tourist Courts

As automobiles became affordable and reliable in the early 20th century, many Americans ventured out on long vacation trips into areas of the country not served by rail. Finding few places to stay, early auto travelers often slept in their cars or camped in tents. Enterprising residents along highways rented camp spaces in their yards or rooms in their homes. Towns and cities opened green spaces for camping, and some provided amenities like toilets, showers, drinking water and fire wood. By the 1930s, tourist courts lined American highways. Offering the comfort and privacy of small one-room cabins, tourist courts were a significant step up from sleeping on the ground or in the back seat. More...

W. Cooper Green and H. M. Caldwell resources online

Learn more about the man behind the name Cooper Green through newspaper clippings and documents.



See a detailed engraving of H. M. Caldwell and read his pamphlet History of the Elyton Land Company and Birmingham, Ala.

Mountain Terrace pamphlet available

The pamphlet Mountain Terrace: the Residence Park of Birmingham (1907) is now available online. The entire text is included and is searchable.

History of Birmingham and the Elyton Land Company

H. M. Caldwell's book History of the Elyton Land Company and Birmingham, Ala. (1892) is now available online. The entire text is included and is searchable.

Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing

33 additional newspaper articles about the bombing, investigations, and trial of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing are available.

Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing Investigation

Newspaper articles about the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing investigation and trials are now available for viewing. To see all the photographs and newspaper articles about the bombing and the investigation click here.

Wild West comes to Birmingham

Founded during America’s westward migration, early Birmingham shared numerous traits with towns from the notorious Wild West. A nineteenth-century boomtown populated by many young, unattached men, Birmingham was once a place of dirt streets, wooden sidewalks, saloons and occasional gun fights. Read contemporary news stories here.

Birmingham's Turn-of-the-Century Lake Resorts

The streetcar brought tremendous changes to the everyday lives of Americans. Beginning in the late 1800s, the streetcar encouraged the growth of suburbs by allowing people to live miles from their work. The streetcar also opened new avenues for amusement that led to the development of Birmingham’s turn-of-the-century lake resorts. More...

Collection Included in Index

BPL's Sixteenth Street Baptist Church Bombing Collection was recently added to the
Librarians' Internet Index: Websites You Can Trust.

Five Points West

Thirty-two newspaper articles about the Five Points West neighborhood have been added to the database.