South Lakeshore Drive
South Lakeshore Drive is northeast-southwest road in southern Homewood broken into two segments. Both segments parallel the path of Shades Creek, one extending approximately 3/4 mile northeast from Columbiana Road and the other extending about 3/4 mile southwest from Old Montgomery Highway to University Park East. The road was originally a single two-mile stretch between Columbiana to Montgomery Highway. It is two lanes for its entire length.
South Lakeshore Drive was created by the Birmingham Motor and Country Club in the 1910s running along the south shore of Edgewood Lake, hence the road's name. The Club had planned to build a "motor speedway" around the lake. The speedway was never completed, but the north and south runs were graded, eventually becoming Lakeshore and South Lakeshore Drives.
The land along South Lakeshore saw limited development until Homewood High School was built in 1972. The road, previously straight, was now forced to run south around the school and up a steep portion of the base of Shades Mountain. The construction of University Park in the mid-1990s saw the road broken into the existing two segments. Western access to the high school was provided by a new bridge built over Shades Creek to Lakeshore Drive across from Samford University.
In 2000, the Homewood City Council voted to create a conservation easement on 33 acres of city-owned land along the road between Homewood High School and Old Montgomery Highway. The city had originally bought the land a few years earlier to prevent construction of an apartment complex on the steep slope. The Council's intention was to ensure the land would stay undisturbed except for its use as an outdoor classroom. The city then gave the Homewood Tree Commission a conservation lease on the property, giving the group control of the land.
Notable locations
- Columbiana Road intersection (continues west as West Lakeshore Drive)
- Homewood Soccer Park
- Single family homes
- Ends at cul-de-sac next to University Park
- Resumes at University Park East intersection
- 1901: Homewood High School
- Bulldog Soccer Field (Samford University)
- 2100: Homewood Armory
- Covenant Presbyterian Church (address is on Old Montgomery Highway)
- Old Montgomery Highway intersection
References
- Summe, Sheryl Spradling. (2001). Homewood: The Life of a City. Homewood, AL: Friends of the Homewood Public Library.
- "Council protects 33 acres." (March 7, 2000). The Birmingham News.
- "Homewood Council OKs woodlands preservation." (May 23, 2000). The Birmingham News.