Belview Heights
| Belview Heights | |
 |
Birmingham neighborhoods |
| District(s) | 8 |
|---|---|
| Community | Five Points West community |
| Population | 5,247 |
| Area | N/A |
| President | Johnny Gunn |
| Meeting site | Brown Elementary School, (map) |
| Meeting day | 2nd Tuesday |
| Website | |
| Neighborhood map | Belview Heights |
Belview Heights is a neighborhood in Birmingham's Five Points West community. It is bounded on the west by Fairfield across Avenue H, on the southeast by the Green Acres and Central Park neighborhoods across Bessemer Road and Avenue Q, to the north by the Ensley Highlands neighborhood across Warrior Road, and to the northwest by the Ensley neighborhood across I-20/59.
Belview Heights was first developed in 1910 by the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company as a residential district for the families of supervisors at its steel plant in Corey. Robert Jemison Jr's Corey Land Company surveyed the street grid as a continuation of nearby Ensley's.
A Tudor Revival style Birmingham Fire Station No. 24 at Avenue Q and 44th Street was constructed in 1915. Architect George Turner continued that style for a number of "picturesque" homes commissioned by developers Newman Waters and W. A. Poindexter in the 1920s. Slow sales during the 1926 downturn in real estate prompted the developers to establish a private bus service to bring prospective buyers to the area. With those precedents in place, Belview Heights' Tudor Revival character continued to expand even during the depths of the Great Depression.
In the early 1980s the aging neighborhood saw a rapid increase in crime. The Neighborhood Association implemented an aggressive neighborhood watch program which earned it the "Neighborhood of the Year" trophy from the Mayor's Police-Community Relations Committee. The Association also purchased the former Central Park Library building for use as a community center.
The Belview Heights Historic District, between 41st and 45th Street Ensley and Avenue M to Martin Avenue, was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 22, 2000.
The Belview Heights Neighborhood Association meets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at Charles A. Brown Elementary School on Court J.
The neighborhood is represented in Birmingham City Council District 8. Students in Belview Heights attend Brown Elementary School and William Councill Elementary School.
Neighborhood presidents
- Allene Carbonie, 1980–1984
- Steven Hoyt, 2002–2006
- Carolyn Northington, 2006–2010
- Dianne Caine, 2010–2016
- Sherry Lewis, 2016–
- Johnny Gunn, 2021-
Demographics
- 2010: 5,679 (95.2% Black)
- 2020: 5,247 (93.5% Black)
References
- Roe, Kathy (April 26, 1983) "Belview earns neighborhood of year trophy" The Birmingham News - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
- Fullman, Lynn Grisard (April 8, 1984) "Belview Heights: Neighborhood Profile" The Birmingham News - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections