Birmingham, AL
| U.S. News Ratings | |
| Population: | 224,788 |
| Crime: | High |
| Cost of Living: | Low |
| Health Care: | Comprehensive |
| Housing Price: | High |
| Income: | Low |
Nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains at the crossroad of the Alabama & Chattanooga and South & North Alabama railroads, Birmingham is the largest city in the state with a population of 224,788. The city is centrally located in the Southeast and easily accessible to major hubs in the region. Although Birmingham is historically known for its iron and steel production—it has been called the "Pittsburgh of the South"—today its economy is largely based on manufacturing, banking, insurance, medicine, publishing, and biotechnology. Birmingham has a humid, subtropical climate, with hot summers, mild winters, and abundant rainfall. The average high temperature in the summer is 91; the average winter low is 29.
Founded in 1871 just after the Civil War, Birmingham rapidly became the South's foremost industrial center. Coal, iron ore, and limestone—the three principal raw materials for making steel—were the city's major resources. At the peak of the nation's manufacturing age, Birmingham's population grew so fast it was nicknamed the "Magic City," but it suffered greatly in the Depression as its main resources dried up.
In the 1950s and '60s, Birmingham was a center of the civil rights struggle. In 1963, local civil rights movement leader Fred Shuttlesworth asked the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to come to Birmingham to help end segregation. The sit-ins and marches against the Jim Crow system were met with police repression, tear gas, attack dogs, fire hoses, and arrests. King wrote the famous "Letter From Birmingham Jail" while incarcerated for taking part in a nonviolent protest. The protests helped bring about the desegregation of public accommodations in Birmingham and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute has permanent exhibitions that illustrate the civil rights movement and human-rights struggles of today. It is in the six-block Civil Rights District near the 16th Street Baptist Church (where four girls were killed by a Ku Klux Klan bombing on Sept. 15, 1963), Kelly Ingram Park, and the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.
Birmingham is the cultural and entertainment capital of Alabama. The city is home to the Birmingham Museum of Art, the largest art museum in the state, and there are numerous art galleries. Birmingham also has the Alabama Ballet, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Ballet, Birmingham Concert Chorale, Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival, and Opera Birmingham.
Although Birmingham has no major professional sport franchises, collegiate sports, particularly University of Alabama and Auburn University football, are popular.
Colleges in Birmingham include the University of Alabama–Birmingham, Samford University, Jefferson State Community College, Virginia College–Birmingham, Birmingham–Southern College, Lawson State Community College, Herzing University, ITT Technical Institute, and Southeastern Bible College.
Hospitals in the area include the Baptist Medical Center Princeton, Birmingham Baptist Medical Center Montclair, Brookwood Medical Center, Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital, Carraway Methodist Medical Center, Children's Hospital of Alabama, Cooper Green Hospital, HealthSouth Lakeshore Rehabilitation Hospital, and Hill Crest Behavioral Health Services.
The largest employers in the area include the University of Alabama–Birmingham, Baptist Medical Centers, BellSouth, and the Jefferson County Public Schools.
The estimated median home price in Birmingham is $230,031.
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