Fountain Heights

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Fountain Heights
Seal of birmingham.jpg
Birmingham neighborhoods
District(s) 5, 6
Community Northside
Population 1,987
Area N/A
President Andre Brown
Meeting site Fountain Heights Recreation Center, (map)
Meeting day 2nd Saturday
Website
Neighborhood map Fountain Heights

Fountain Heights is a neighborhood in Birmingham's Northside community. It is separated from the Enon Ridge and Evergreen neighborhoods to the north by I-65 and 17th Avenue North; from the Central City neighborhood to the east by 19th Street North; from the Five Points South neighborhoods to the south by the Railroad Reservation; and from the Smithfield neighborhood to the west by I-65. It includes the northwestern section of downtown Birmingham, including the Civil Rights District surrounding Kelly Ingram Park.

History

Fountain Heights grew in the 1880s as a predominantly Jewish community, largely affiliated with Temple Emanu-El at West Park. By the 1940s, many of those families had moved away and the neighborhood was predominantly white and middle class. Although the neighborhood also included the "slum" area of "Little Korea" or "Newmongo" north of 8th Avenue.

The rapid growth of neighboring Smithfield made Fountain Heights an attractive destination for middle-class Black families after segregated zoning was abolished. By the end of the 1960s, white flight had left the racial demographics of the neighborhood almost entirely African American. Construction of I-65 through Fountain Heights and Enon Ridge disrupted the community. Falling property values left many residences to fall into disrepair.

Neighborhood association

The Fountain Heights Neighborhood Association meets on the 2nd Saturday of each month at the Fountain Heights Recreation Center on 15th Avenue North.

Neighborhood officers

Demographics

  • 2010: 2,520 (83.1% Black)
  • 2020: 1,987 (64.8% Black)

References