2016

2016 is the 145th year after the founding of the City of Birmingham.

Events

I-22 was dedicated June 20, 2016

• January 3: Vinny Vito's restaurant in McCalla was destroyed by fire.
• January 14-16: The renovated Lyric Theater re-opened with a "Moderne Vaudeville" production.
• January 18: Democractic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders held a campaign rally at Boutwell Auditorium.
• January 29: WVTM morning news anchor Ken Lass hosted his final program before retiring.
• March 11: The Village Creek Greenway in Ensley was dedicated.
• March 16: Fire damaged the Reliable Formed Plastics plant at 911 2nd Avenue North.
• April 6: The Rotary Trail on 1st Avenue South was dedicated.
• April 22-24: The 33rd Magic City Art Connection was held at Linn Park.
• May 3-5: The 2016 Cities United Conference was held at the Sheraton Birmingham.
• May 6: The Rotary Trail opened to the public.
• May 7: The High Ore Line Trail was dedicated.
• June 13: Women of Soul collided with a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting in Linn Park.
• June 20: I-22 was dedicated.
• July 6: The Birmingham City Council approved changing the name of a two-block section of 1st Avenue South adjacent to Regions Field to Willie Mays Drive.
• July 16-17: The second annual Sloss Music & Arts Festival was held at Sloss Furnaces.
• August 14: Six people died in the 2016 Northport plane crash.
• August 16-18: Richella Heekins and Ben Marlow made their "BHM not BHX" visit on their way back to Birmingham, England from Las Vegas, Nevada.
• September 27-29: 2016 Minor League Baseball Promotional Seminar.

Business

• January 1: Accounting firms Dent Baker & Co. and Moses Phillips Young Brannon & Henninger merged to form Dent Moses LLP.
• January 19: Cahaba Brewing Company opened its new brewery and tap room in the Continental Gin complex.
• January: Sam Giffin closed his 15th Avenue South Roly Poly location to concentrate on operating the downtown store on 20th Street North.
• January: The Foundation for Progress in Journalism purchased the Birmingham Times.
• O2 Ideas opened an office in Chicago, Illinois.
• March: The Peanut Depot moved from Morris Avenue to 3rd Avenue South in Parkside.
• April 1: The Red Cat coffee house opened a second at Liv Parkside
• April: Atlas RFID Solutions moved into the top two floors of the Booker T. Washington Building.
• April 30: What's on 2nd? reopened at 2123 1st Avenue North.
• Real estate attorneys Hale Sides and Hill, Hill & Gossett merged to form Hale Sides Hill Gossett.
• Forstall Art Center moved from the Palisades Shopping Center to 20th Street North.

Establishments

• January 6: Sky Castle Gastro Lounge opened at 29 Seven.
• January: Miss Dots restaurant opened in Crestline Village.
• January: The Wooden Goat restaurant opened in Avondale.
• Attorneys Eric Langley and Robin Bromberg formed Langley & Bromberg.
• Lovelady Thrift Store opened a second location in Clay.
• March 9: Fancy's on 5th opened in Avondale
• March 15: Real and Rosemary opened in downtown Homewood.
• March 15: Holler & Dash opened in downtown Homewood.
• June: Saigon Noodle House opened on 3rd Avenue South in Avondale.
• July: Hot Diggity Dogs opened on 5th Avenue South in Avondale.
• Big Bad Breakfast opened a second location in downtown Homewood.
• Summer: Canary Gallery opened on 2nd Avenue North

Disestablishments

• Vinny Vito's Italian & Steaks restaurant in McCalla
• January 28: The Wal-Mart Supercenter in Fairfield closed.
• February 28: Atherotech Diagnostic Lab closed.
• February 28: Cosmo's Pizza closed.
• March 19: Rocky's Pizza closed.
• April 1: House of Threads was acquired by the Würth Group of Künzelsau, Germany.
• May 27: La Bamba Grill in Edgewood closed.
• May 31: Sam Jackson's Emporium in Tuscaloosa closed.
• June: Oak & Raleigh closed.
• June: Brown Mackie College, with one location in Birmingham, halted new enrollments and began winding down classes.
• August: Higdon Paper was acquired by MAC Papers.
• August: The Café on Main in Trussville closed.
• August: PT's of SoHo closed.
• September: The Griffin Wheel Co. plant near Bessemer closed.
• September 6: ITT Technical Institute, with one location in Bessemer, ceased operating.

Education

• Linda Flaherty-Goldsmith succeeded Edward Leonard III as president of Birmingham-Southern College.

Government

• January 12: Mayor William Bell delivered his 2016 State of the City Address to the Kiwanis Club of Birmiingham at the Harbert Center.
• August 23: Many area cities held municipal elections.
• October 18: 2016 Birmingham neighborhood elections were held.

Sports

• January 11: The 2015 Alabama Crimson Tide football team defeated the Clemson Tigers at Glendale, Arizona to win the College Football Playoff National Championship.
• March 8-12: The 2016 Conference USA Basketball Tournaments were held at Bartow Arena and Legacy Arena.
• April 4: Rob Ehsan succeeded Jerod Haase as head coach of the UAB Blazers men's basketball team.
• April 24: Simon Pagenaud won the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.
• May 14: The Birmingham Hammers made their National Premier Soccer League debut in a home match against Chattanooga FC at the Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex.
• May 16-22: The Regions Tradition PGA Champions Tour golf tournament was held at the Greystone Golf and Country Club.

Individuals

Awards

• February 5: Graham Boettcher was named Deputy Director of the Birmingham Museum of Art
• March 31: Alabama State Superintendent of Schools Tommy Bice retired.
• Alabama Sports Hall of Fame: James Brooks, David Cutcliffe, Jim Fulmer, Oscar Gamble, Martha Jones Lang, Chris Samuels, Calvin Smith and Andrew Toney
• Alabama Women's Hall of Fame: Sarah Gayle and Ann Mae Beddow
• Miss Alabama: Hayley Barber
• Vulcan Awards: Odessa Woolfolk (lifetime achievement), Carrie Leland (servant leadership), John Croyle (hero), Henna Budhwani (newcomer)
  • Spear Awards: Bill Heintz and Philip Morris (servant leadership), Tajuan McCarty and James Strong (hero), Jarralynne Agee and Jim Wooten (game changer), Victoria Hollis and Daniel Branum (newcomer)

Retirements

• May 1: Fairfield Police Department chief Leon Davis retired.
• August 5: CAP executive director Teresa Thorne retired.

Deaths

• January 19: David Orange, Jefferson County Commissioner
• January 20: Wash Booker, Civil Rights activist and political consultant
• January 25: Thornton Dial, artist
• February 5: Luvenia Little, mother of Mayor William Bell
• February 7: Andrew Glaze, Poet Laureate of Alabama
• February 7: Redding Pitt, attorney and Alabama Democratic Party chair
• February 10: Fleda Edwina Burns, wife of "Country Boy Eddie" Burns
• February 12: Norm Reilly, UAB Associate Athletic Director
• February 16: Jim Davenport, Giants third baseman and manager
• February 26: Clarence Lewis, soul singer
• February 27: Longin Soverow, artist
• February 29: Gil Hill, Detroit police inspector and city council president
• March 19: Dean Taylor, Jefferson County Board of Education member
• March 21: Frank Sikora, Birmingham News reporter and author
• March 23: Sang Lyda, former Alabama Crimson Tide associate athletic director
• March 24: Kevin Turner, former Alabama and NFL fullback
• March 27: Mother Angelica, founder of EWTN and the Our Lady of the Angels Monastery
• March 28: Norma Bumpus, principal of Leeds Elementary School
• April 4: Virginia Van der Veer Hamilton, journalist, educator and historian
• April 17: Mary Kay Beard, reformed bank robber and minister
• April 19: Raed Awad, imam
• April 24: Perry Hooper Sr, former Alabama State Supreme Court chief justice
• May 2: Bill Cather, commercial printer
• May 13: Bob Johnson, political reporter
• May 18: Sam Shatara, sandwich shop owner
• May 20: Doug Jones, former Helena Police Chief
• May 23: John Brophy, Birmingham Bulls (WHA and CHL) hockey coach
• May 31: Leroy Bandy, former Birmingham City Council member
• June 7: John C. Hall, naturalist and educator
• June 7: Wilmer "Bodie" Hinton, former Auburn University band director
• June 13: Byron Holdbrooks, former Alabama Crimson Tide football player
• July 13: Garry Drummond, chairman and CEO of Drummond Company
• July 20: Jason Kelley, television meteorologist
• July 29: Vasser Hemphill, Tuscaloosa civic activist
• August 10: Mike Vanderboegh, anti-government activist and blogger
• August 15: Paul Spence, Mervyn H. Sterne Library founding director
• August 17: Jim Bennett, historian and former Alabama Secretary of State
• August 17: James Griffin, homeless character
• August 20: Harry Gilmer, Pro-Bowl quarterback
• August 20: George Curry, journalist and columnist
• August 22: Jeannine O'Grody, museum curator
• September 18: Helen Lewis, vice-president and CFO of The Birmingham Times

See also, List of homicides in 2016.

Works

• July 20: The Willie Mays statue was dedicated at Regions Field

Books

• Great Temple of Travel: A Pictorial History of Birmingham Terminal Station, 1909-1969 by Marvin Clemons

Buildings

• January 20: UAB's new Hill Student Center held its grand opening.
• April 6: The Rotary Trail was dedicated.
• Iron City Lofts
• 4700 Colonnade apartment complex
• Maxine Herring Parker Bridge
• swimming pool and splash pad at Maclin Park
• 4,000 square foot addition to Mitchell's Place

Demolitions

• New Woman All Women Health Care
• Vestavia Hills City Hall (1956)

Context

2016 was a presidential election year dominated by media coverage of Donald Trump's breakthrough campaign for the GOP nomination. President Obama made an historic state visit to Cuba in March. Voters in the UK opted to leave the European Union. The World Health Organization announced an outbreak of the Zika virus in the Americas. The summer Olympic games were held in Rio de Janeiro. In June a man inspired by the Islamic State terror group shot 49 people to death at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

Notable deaths in 2016 included boxer Muhammad Ali, musicians David Bowie, Glenn Frey, Merle Haggard and Prince; actors Alan Rickman, Abe Vigoda and Gene Wilder; authors Harper Lee and Umberto Eco; former first lady Nancy Reagan; basketball coach Pat Summitt, and music producer Sir George Martin.

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