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'''Glen Iris Park''' is a 33-acre residential subdivision of 20 estate-sized lots surrounding a central open space in a hollow or "glen" north of [[Red Mountain]]. Its looping semi-private drive is accessed from [[16th Avenue South]] near [[10th Place South]] and it stretches back to [[18th Avenue South]]. It is the namesake of the [[Glen Iris]] neighborhood in [[Birmingham]]'s [[Southside]].
'''Glen Iris Park''' is a 40-acre residential subdivision, the namesake of the [[Glen Iris]] neighborhood in [[Birmingham]]'s [[Southside]].


The subdivision was developed beginning in [[1898]] when [[Robert Jemison Sr]] purchased 40 acres for $4,000 and hired landscape architect Samuel Parsons and architect [[Thomas Walter III]] to assist in creating a professionally-designed park-like setting for the homes of many of Birmingham's elite. Walter also designed Jemison's [[Robert Jemison Jr residence|personal home]] at __ Glen Iris Park, which was completed in [[1902]].
The subdivision was developed beginning in [[1898]] when [[Robert Jemison Sr]], [[Rufus Rhodes]] and [[Stephen Thompson]] formed the [[City Land Company]] and purchased the property in a hollow or "glen" north of [[Red Mountain]] from [[William Walker]]'s [[Walker Land Company]] for $4,000. Jemison hired landscape architect Samuel Parsons and architect [[Thomas Walter III]] to assist in creating what was to be Birmingham's first professionally-landscaped residential park. [[Norman Schoel]] drafted the final plat of the property, and landscape gardener [[G. E. Luffman]] supervised the planting of oaks, maples and spruces  shading terraces of Kentucky bluegrass in the central park space.


Among the restrictions agreed upon by owners in the subdivision were a minimum initial construction cost of $3,000, a responsibility to share in the maintenance of the 5-acre central green space, and not to sell their home without the unanimous consent of their neighbors.
The twenty estate-sized home lots at the heart of the development were sold to friends and associates of the incorporators with restrictive covenants, including the use and maintenance of the five-acre park space and the semi-private drive encircling it which was accessed from a gated entry on [[16th Avenue South]] near [[10th Place South]]. Another twenty-four small house lots fronting on [[11th Place South]] were also part of the 40-acre subdivision, but were sold off without the amenities and restrictions applied to the estate lots on the circle.


Most of the lots were built on between [[1910]] and [[1940]], although the most recent house to be completed was constructed on a formerly vacant lot in [[1998]].
Among the restrictions agreed upon by owners of the estate lots were to build only one residence per lot, with a minimum initial construction cost of $3,000, to preserve a minimum lot frontage of 100 feet in the case of resubdivision, a responsibility to share in the maintenance of the shared amenities by means of a $25 annual fee, and a provision that no one could sell their lot without the unanimous consent of their neighbors. Jemison reserved Lots 14, 16 and 18 for himself, and commissioned his architect, Thomas Walter, to design [[Robert Jemison Sr residence|his own house]] on the combined lot, which was completed in [[1902]].


After [[World War II]] many of the large homes remained in the hands of aging residents a generation or two removed from the first builders. After their children moved out, their incomes were strained to keep up maintenance, leading to the loss of three historic homes from condemnation. Nevertheless, residents were proud of their subdivision and wary of social changes, such as the growth of the [[Medical Center]], which were perceived as threatening the community's future.
Thirteen of the houses were completed before [[1910]], and the last three original houses were completed before [[1930]]. After [[World War II]] many of the large homes remained in the hands of aging residents a generation or two removed from the first builders. After their children (and servants) moved out, their incomes were strained to keep up maintenance, leading to the loss of three historic homes from condemnation. Nevertheless, residents were proud of their subdivision and wary of social changes, such as the growth of the [[Medical Center]], which were perceived as threatening the community's future.


In [[1970]] the [[Alabama Land Investment Corp.]] and Redman Development of Houston<!--or Dallas-->, Texas proposed to build a 900-unit apartment complex at Glen Iris Park. They pledged to respect the natural terrain by terracing the apartment buildings, and to preserve most of the trees in the central open space which would feature a swimming pool, tennis, handball and volleyball courts and a large clubhouse. The developer noted that the redevelopment would increase the ad valorum tax payments to the city from Glen Iris Park from around $3,500 to $205,000 per year.
In [[1970]] the [[Alabama Land Investment Corp.]] and Redman Development of Houston<!--or Dallas-->, Texas proposed to build a 900-unit apartment complex at Glen Iris Park. They pledged to respect the natural terrain by terracing the apartment buildings, and to preserve most of the trees in the central open space which would feature a swimming pool, tennis, handball and volleyball courts and a large clubhouse. The developer noted that the redevelopment would increase the ad valorum tax payments to the city from Glen Iris Park from around $3,500 to $205,000 per year.
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Glen Iris residents, believing that change was inevitable, voted unanimously in favor of selling out at the above-market prices offered, and the [[Birmingham City Council]] approved rezoning the subdivision to R-6. The agreement, however, failed to move forward after [[William Anderton]], a non-resident Glen Iris Park property owner, objected. A provision in the agreement to recommend for a return to single-family zoning was not acted upon. The attorney involved in drafting the agreement died in a traffic accident before the matter was brought back to the City Council.
Glen Iris residents, believing that change was inevitable, voted unanimously in favor of selling out at the above-market prices offered, and the [[Birmingham City Council]] approved rezoning the subdivision to R-6. The agreement, however, failed to move forward after [[William Anderton]], a non-resident Glen Iris Park property owner, objected. A provision in the agreement to recommend for a return to single-family zoning was not acted upon. The attorney involved in drafting the agreement died in a traffic accident before the matter was brought back to the City Council.


A [[Glen Iris Neighborhood Group]] was formed in [[1975]] with [[George Bohorfoush]] as president. They petitioned the City Council to reverse the rezoning back to single family, but were unsuccessful in [[1978]] vote. Council member [[Larry Langford]] complained that the debate was moot since the use of the property was restricted by covenant.
A [[Glen Iris Neighborhood Group]] was formed in [[1975]] with [[George Bohorfoush]] as president. They petitioned the City Council to reverse the rezoning back to single family, but were unsuccessful in a [[1978]] vote. Council member [[Larry Langford]] complained that the debate was moot since the use of the property was restricted by covenant. Anderton argued in favor of keeping the R-6 zoning because the ability to rent out rooms would help generate income so that owners could maintain the aging houses.


The group supported historical research that allowed the subdivision to be added to the [[National Register of Historic Places in Birmingham|National Register of Historic Places]] on [[August 30]], [[1984]].
The group also supported historical research that allowed the subdivision to be added to the [[National Register of Historic Places in Birmingham|National Register of Historic Places]] on [[August 30]], [[1984]].


==Houses==
==Houses==
* Eastern side
* Eastern side
** 3:
** 1: former site of [[George Morrow residence]], demolished late 1970s
** 5: Harwell-Thompson, [[R. DuPont Thompson]], passed to his daughter Mrs [[John Akin]]
** 3: former site of [[B. F. Tyler residence]] for [[B. F. Taylor|B. F.]] and [[Mary Taylor]]; later owned by [[Julian Daw|Julian]] and [[Linda Daw]], demolished late 1970s
** 11: Dow
** 5: [[James Harwell residence]], [[1905]]-[[1906]], designed by [[S. Scott Joy]] of [[Wheelock, Joy & Wheelock]] for [[James Harwell]]; later owned by [[R. DuPont Thompson]]; passed to his daughter [[Eugenie Akin|Eugenie]] and her husband, [[John Akin]]
** 15: Yancey
** 7 (previously addressed as No. 5): former site of [[Henry F. DeBardeleben residence]], for [[Henry F. DeBardeleben]], demolished late 1970s
** 17: Goodall, bought by [[James Cochran|James]] and [[Jewel Cochran]] in [[1955]]
** 9 (previously addressed as No. 7): former location of [[Mrs M. P. Smith residence]] (1917)
** 19: Frazier
** 11: "[[Los Errandos]]", c. [[1927]], house and servant's house designed by [[Warren, Knight & Davis]] for [[Julius Dow]], who purchased the empty lot from [[Rufus Rhodes]]; later owned by [[Walter Anderton]]
** 21: Naff
** 13: Lot re-subdivided between Lots 11 & 15.
** 15: [[William Yancey residence]], c. [[1915]], designed by [[Breeding & Whilldin]] for [[William Yancey|Willian]] and [[Lizzie Yancey]]; later owned by [[Wesley Anderton]]
** 17: [[R. M. Goodall residence]], c. [[1905]] for [[Robert Goodall]]; bought by [[James Cochran|James]] and [[Jewel Cochran]] in [[1953]] or [[1955]]
** 19: [[Franklin Frazier residence]], c. [[1903]] for [[Franklin Frazier|Franklin]] and [[Alice Frazier]]; sold in [[1908]] to [[Eula Lovejoy|Eula]] and [[G. M. Lovejoy]] before 1917, foreclosed in [[1931]] and purchased by [[Henry Anderton|Henry]] and [[Elizabeth Anderton]] and passed to their son, [[James Anderton|James]]
** 21: [[Naff residence]], c. [[1930]]
* Western side
* Western side
** 2: Morris
** 2: [[L. C. Morris residence]], c. [[1910]], designed by [[William C. Weston]] for [[L. C. Morris]]
** 4: Gillespie, [[1927]], designed by [[Warren, Knight & Davis]]
** 4: [[James Gillespie residence]], c. [[1904]], for [[James Gillespie]]; later owned by [[George McCormack]]
** 6: Robinson
** 6: [[E. Miller Robinson residence]], [[1906]], designed by [[S. Scott Joy]] of [[Wheelock, Joy & Wheelock]] for [[E. Miller Robinson]]
** 8: Estes-McCaig
** 8: [[Nat Barker residence]], c. [[1927]], designed by [[Brooke Burnham]] for [[Nat Barker]], later owned by the Estes and McCaig families
** 10: Jemison-Stokely  
** 10: [[Jemison Stokely residence]], c. [[1908]], originally built [[1903]] to design by [[William L. Welton]], rebuilt to a new design by the same architect following a fire. Owned by [[Jehu Stokely]]
** 12: [[1927]], designed by [[Warren, Knight & Davis]]
** 12:
** 16: [[Robert Jemison Sr residence]], [[1902]], designed by [[Thomas Walter III]] for [[Robert Jemison Sr|Robert]] and [[Eugenie Jemison]]
** 14: Joined to Lots 16 & 18
** 20: [[W. P. G. Harding residence]], for [[W. P. G. Harding]]
** 16: [[Robert Jemison Sr residence]], [[1902]], designed by [[Thomas Walter III]] for [[Robert Jemison Sr|Robert]] and [[Eugenie Jemison]]. Later owned by [[Ryall Morgan]] and [[Gaylon McCollough]], used as the [[1979]] [[Decorators' ShowHouse]]
** 18: Joined to Losts 14 & 16
** 20: [[W. P. G. Harding residence]], [[1904]], designed by [[Joseph Turner]] for [[W. P. G. Harding]]. Owned by [[James Penney|James]] and [[Kate Marshall Speake Penney]] in [[1917]], and later by [[James Anderton|James]] and [[Shirley Anderton]]


==References==
==References==
* Washburn, Dennis (November 3, 1971) "[ Medical center apartments rezoning approved by council]" {{BN}} - via {{BPLDC}}
* Washburn, Dennis (November 3, 1971) "Medical center apartments rezoning approved by council" {{BN}} - via {{BPLDC}}
* "Glen Iris Park set trend for hillside housing." (December 19, 1971) {{BN}} - via {{BPLDC}}
* "Glen Iris Park set trend for hillside housing." (December 19, 1971) {{BN}} - via {{BPLDC}}
* Kindred, Ingrid (June 21, 1978) "[http://bplonline.cdmhost.com/cdm/ref/collection/p4017coll2/id/869 Council zoning decision may boost preservation effort]" {{BN}} - via {{BPLDC}}
* Kindred, Ingrid (June 21, 1978) "[http://bplonline.cdmhost.com/cdm/ref/collection/p4017coll2/id/869 Council zoning decision may boost preservation effort]" {{BN}} - via {{BPLDC}}
* White, Marjorie Longnecker (July 1979) "Glen Iris Park and the Residence of Robert Jemison, Sr." ''Journal of the Birmingham Historic Society''
* King, Pamela Sterne & Ellen Merkins (May 6, 1983) "[http://focus.nps.gov/GetAsset?assetID=97af4ce9-12ed-4222-bd19-d6c0be0d006b National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form]", enrolled August 30, 1984
* Fullman, Lynn Grisard (November 13, 1983) "[http://bplonline.cdmhost.com/cdm/ref/collection/p4017coll2/id/865 Neighborhood Profile: Glen Iris Park]" {{BN}} - via {{BPLDC}}
* Fullman, Lynn Grisard (November 13, 1983) "[http://bplonline.cdmhost.com/cdm/ref/collection/p4017coll2/id/865 Neighborhood Profile: Glen Iris Park]" {{BN}} - via {{BPLDC}}
* Archibald, Alecia (May 11, 2008) "Glen Iris: Gated Southside enclave." {{BN}}
* Archibald, Alecia (May 11, 2008) "Glen Iris: Gated Southside enclave." {{BN}}
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* [http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=27520 Glen Iris Park] historical marker at hmdb.org
* [http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=27520 Glen Iris Park] historical marker at hmdb.org


[[Category:Subdivisions]]
[[Category:Birmingham subdivisions]]
[[Category:Glen Iris]]
[[Category:Glen Iris]]
[[Category:Robert Jemison Sr developments]]
[[Category:Robert Jemison Sr developments]]
[[Category:1898 works]]
[[Category:1898 works]]
[[Category:16th Avenue South]]
[[Category:16th Avenue South]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places]]
[[Category:11th Place South]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Birmingham]]

Latest revision as of 16:43, 7 April 2022

Glen Iris Park is a 40-acre residential subdivision, the namesake of the Glen Iris neighborhood in Birmingham's Southside.

The subdivision was developed beginning in 1898 when Robert Jemison Sr, Rufus Rhodes and Stephen Thompson formed the City Land Company and purchased the property in a hollow or "glen" north of Red Mountain from William Walker's Walker Land Company for $4,000. Jemison hired landscape architect Samuel Parsons and architect Thomas Walter III to assist in creating what was to be Birmingham's first professionally-landscaped residential park. Norman Schoel drafted the final plat of the property, and landscape gardener G. E. Luffman supervised the planting of oaks, maples and spruces shading terraces of Kentucky bluegrass in the central park space.

The twenty estate-sized home lots at the heart of the development were sold to friends and associates of the incorporators with restrictive covenants, including the use and maintenance of the five-acre park space and the semi-private drive encircling it which was accessed from a gated entry on 16th Avenue South near 10th Place South. Another twenty-four small house lots fronting on 11th Place South were also part of the 40-acre subdivision, but were sold off without the amenities and restrictions applied to the estate lots on the circle.

Among the restrictions agreed upon by owners of the estate lots were to build only one residence per lot, with a minimum initial construction cost of $3,000, to preserve a minimum lot frontage of 100 feet in the case of resubdivision, a responsibility to share in the maintenance of the shared amenities by means of a $25 annual fee, and a provision that no one could sell their lot without the unanimous consent of their neighbors. Jemison reserved Lots 14, 16 and 18 for himself, and commissioned his architect, Thomas Walter, to design his own house on the combined lot, which was completed in 1902.

Thirteen of the houses were completed before 1910, and the last three original houses were completed before 1930. After World War II many of the large homes remained in the hands of aging residents a generation or two removed from the first builders. After their children (and servants) moved out, their incomes were strained to keep up maintenance, leading to the loss of three historic homes from condemnation. Nevertheless, residents were proud of their subdivision and wary of social changes, such as the growth of the Medical Center, which were perceived as threatening the community's future.

In 1970 the Alabama Land Investment Corp. and Redman Development of Houston, Texas proposed to build a 900-unit apartment complex at Glen Iris Park. They pledged to respect the natural terrain by terracing the apartment buildings, and to preserve most of the trees in the central open space which would feature a swimming pool, tennis, handball and volleyball courts and a large clubhouse. The developer noted that the redevelopment would increase the ad valorum tax payments to the city from Glen Iris Park from around $3,500 to $205,000 per year.

Glen Iris residents, believing that change was inevitable, voted unanimously in favor of selling out at the above-market prices offered, and the Birmingham City Council approved rezoning the subdivision to R-6. The agreement, however, failed to move forward after William Anderton, a non-resident Glen Iris Park property owner, objected. A provision in the agreement to recommend for a return to single-family zoning was not acted upon. The attorney involved in drafting the agreement died in a traffic accident before the matter was brought back to the City Council.

A Glen Iris Neighborhood Group was formed in 1975 with George Bohorfoush as president. They petitioned the City Council to reverse the rezoning back to single family, but were unsuccessful in a 1978 vote. Council member Larry Langford complained that the debate was moot since the use of the property was restricted by covenant. Anderton argued in favor of keeping the R-6 zoning because the ability to rent out rooms would help generate income so that owners could maintain the aging houses.

The group also supported historical research that allowed the subdivision to be added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 30, 1984.

Houses

References

External links

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