1926

1926 was the 55th year after the founding of the city of Birmingham.

Events

• June 22: Camp Margaret Murray Washington began operating in Bessemer
• The Birmingham Amateur Radio Club was founded.
• The Woodward's Big Four gospel quartet broke up.

Business

• Guaranty Federal Savings and Loan was founded.
• Glenn Messer founded the Southern Aircraft Corporation and opened Messer Field.
• Mountain Brook Estates began to be developed.
• Ollie McClung opened the first Ollie's Barbecue near Elmwood Cemetery.
• The Piccadilly Theater began screening films.
• Sonny Boy Products was founded.

Government

• The city of Homewood was incorporated with the merger of Edgewood, Rosedale and Grove Park.

Religion

• Trinity Methodist Church (Southside) was dispersed.
• October 30: Trinity United Methodist Church (Edgewood) was organized.

Works

The Magic City sign, erected 1926

• "Birmingham Boys", song by the Birmingham Jubilee Singers
• The 23-foot "Electra" statue was placed atop the Alabama Power Building
• The "Magic City sign" was erected in front of Birmingham Terminal Station
• The feature film Men of Steel, filmed in Ensley, was released
• Bertha "Chippie" Hill's "Pratt City Blues" was released
• The Alabama Power Company's "Reddy Kilowatt" character made his debut
• Epp Sykes wrote "Yea Alabama!" for a contest sponsored by the Rammer-Jammer
• June: "The Love Story of Vulcan and Electra" by B. U. L. Conner ran daily in The Birmingham Post

Books

• George I. Adams, Charles Butts, L. W. Stephenson, & Wythe Cooke (1926) Geology of Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama, Special Report No. 14. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press

Buildings

• 24th Street Viaduct over the Railroad Reservation in downtown Birmingham
• Avalon Apartments on Highland Avenue at Rushton Park
• Avon Building at 29th Street and 7th Avenue South in Lakeview
• Bankhead Hotel on 5th Avenue North
• Bethel Baptist Church in Collegeville
• Temple Beth-El on Highland Avenue
• Big Branch Bridge covered bridge near Hanceville
• Birmingham Fire Station No. 4 on 24th Street North in downtown Birmingham
• Birmingham Fire Station No. 10 at 4120 2nd Avenue South in Avondale
• Birmingham Fire Station No. 14 at 210 Graymont Avenue West in Graymont
• Black Creek Bridge in Fultondale
• Bottega Favorita building on Highland Avenue
• Councill Elementary School on Avenue M Ensley
• Diana Hall at 525-531 19th Street North Bessemer
• A. G. Dobbins residence
• Donnachaidh residence on Southwood Road in Mountain Brook
• Edgewood Elementary School in Homewood
• Gibson Elementary School in Woodlawn
• Hollywood Country Club in Shades Valley
• Independent Presbyterian Church on Highland Avenue at Rushton Park
• Leeds High School
• McElwain Elementary School in Eastwood
• Phoenix Building on 2nd Avenue North
• Ritz Theatre on 2nd Avenue North
• Ruhama Baptist Church in East Lake
• Shades Mountain Baptist Church on Canyon Road
• Spanish Stores at Five Points South
• West End Masonic Temple on Tuscaloosa Avenue

Individuals

Births

Lurleen Wallace, born September 19, 1926

• February 3: Richard Yates, author and educator
• February 8: Rosamond McDuff, Birmingham police officer and computer programmer
• March 27: Solomon Zarzour, owner of Sol's Hot Dogs
• April 3: Alex Grammas, professional baseball player
• April 4: Pearl Carlile, co-founder of Carlile's Barbecue
• April 5: Glenn Ireland II, Vulcan Materials executive and Glenwood Health Services founder
• April 14: Harry Gilmer, NFL quarterback
• June 28: Jack Shannon, investment banker and developer
• August 8: Urbie Green, jazz trombonist
• September 10: Arthur Jazwinski, traffic engineer
• September 19: Lurleen Wallace, Governor of Alabama
• September 25: Wink Chapman, Center Point City Council member
• September 28: Oliver Dillard, U.S. Army Major General
• October 13: Robert Bell, scholar, librarian and novelist
• October 14: Bill Justis, musician, songwriter and record producer
• Gabby Bell, Birmingham Barons play-by-play announcer
• Roosevelt Bell, Birmingham City Council member
• Tom Caldwell, pediatrician and amateur historian
• David Crenshaw, steelworker and social activist
• Angela Hernández, math professor
• Raymond Josof, owner of Raymond's Five Points Market
• Kathryn Lacey, owner of Oak Hill Kindergarten
• Scotty McCallum, UAB president and Mayor of Vestavia Hills
• Chris McNair, photographer, Alabama State Representative and Jefferson County Commission member
• Clarke Stallworth, newspaper editor, columnist and writing coach
• Jack Voorhies, radio announcer, ad producer and comedian
• Cordell Wynn, president of Stillman College

Deaths

• June 1: Mel Drennen, Mayor of Birmingham
• September 16: Robert Jemison Sr, president of the Birmingham Railway, Light & Power Company and real estate developer
• October 27: W. G. Lunsford, building contractor
• Joseph Turner, architect

Context

1926

The top-grossing films of 1926 were

Notables born in 1926 include

Among those who died in 1926 were

1920s

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