Fairfield Memorial Park

The Plaza, seen from the southwest in 1913

Fairfield Memorial Park, originally The Plaza is an urban park located on Block 42 of the Fairfield Land Company's first subdivision of Fairfield (originally named "Corey"). It was intended as the municipal center of the planned city, facing Gary Avenue at Crawford Street, where the No. 5 Ensley-Fairfield streetcar line passed.

The park was planted with four rows of shade trees and a tiled fountain with benches, designed by Warren & Welton, was constructed at the northeast end. The park presently houses four wooden gazebo structures.

The city's first important buildings, designed by Warren & Welton, were erected flanking the park. The First Bank of Corey and Plaza Hotel to the south, and the Stowers Furniture Company to the north. A town hall was proposed for the southwest end of the park, on the site of the present baseball field in the neighboring Fairfield City Park. Both have since been demolished.

Former President Theodore Roosevelt gave a public speech to a crowd of 1,500 in the Plaza in March 1911 during his visit for the 1911 National Child Labor Committee Conference in Birmingham. He took the opportunity to praise Corey's planners for their attention to "men, as well as machinery."

References

• White, Marjorie Longenecker (1981) The Birmingham District: An Industrial History and Guide. Birmingham: Birmingham Historical Society ISBN 9990230099