2017

2017 is the 146th year after the founding of the City of Birmingham.

Events

• January 10: Mayor William Bell delivered the 2017 State of the City address at the Harbert Center.
• January 12: President Barack Obama established the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument by presidential proclamation.
• January 21: The 2017 Women's March was held to promote women's rights as human rights.
• January 28: The exhibition "Third Space: Shifting Conversations About Contemporary Art" opened at the Birmingham Museum of Art.
• February 8: Former Governor Don Siegelman was released from federal prison into supervised probation.
• February 20-February 21: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg visited Birmingham and Tuscaloosa with his wife, Priscilla Chan.
• March 26: A family of four was killed in the 2017 Hayden plane crash.
• April: Rickwood Field was closed for emergency structural repairs.
• April 15: The Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument was dedicated at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
• April 15: Four people were injured by gunfire at the Center Point Spring Carnival.
• June 22: Four people were injured by the 2017 Fairfield tornado.
• July 3: William Bell signed a Sister City agreement with the Mayor of Maebashi, Japan at a ceremony in the "Toshinan" (tea house) in Birmingham's Japanese Gardens.
• August 21: The Birmingham area experienced a partial solar eclipse, with approximately 93% of the sun covered by the passage of the moon at 1:32 PM. The "zone of totality" passed through central Tennessee and northeast Georgia.

Business

• Birmingham's DirectPath acquired Patient Care of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• The Schauenburg International Group acquired a majority stake in OHD USA Inc.
• The Peoples Independent Bank of Boaz acquired Horizon Bank of Fyffe.
• April: Revelator Coffee Co. acquired Octane.
• April: Warren Averett acquired Kinsight.
• April: Courtney French bought WATV-AM from Sheriden Broadscasting of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
• May: Vulcan Materials Company acquired Aggregates USA for $900 million.
• June: Accounting firm Borland Benefield merged with Lovoy Summerville & Shelton.
• June: Standard Creative merged with ArchitectureWorks.
• August: Royal Cup Coffee acquired Richgood Gourmet.
• September 1: David Walker succeeded Tim Collins as CEO of EBSCO Industries.

Establishments

• January: Cosecha Urban Kitchen opened at LIV Parkside.
• February 8: Publix supermarket opened at 20 Midtown.
• Atomic Lounge opened on 1st Avenue North.
• February 15: The first vendors in the Pizitz Food Hall opened for business.
• February 20: II Fish V Loaves opened in Norwood.
• February 21: SoHo Social opened in Homewood's SoHo Square.
• Eugene's Hot Chicken opened at Uptown
• May 22: Miami Fusion Cafe opened on 5th Avenue North.
• Wheelhouse Salon opened a second location in the Graves Building.
• Spireworks opened at Innovation Depot
• Shelby County's 1,500-acre Cahaba River Park opened.
• National Mill Maintenance reopened the former Tarrant Hydraulic Service plant.

Disestablishments

• January: Tracy's Cafeteria closed.
• Food Depot in Pelham closed.
• Jewels by Rose in Vestavia Hills closed.
• February 27: Bravo Food Service was acquired by Four Foods Group.
• April: Computer Technology Solutions was acquired by CGI Group Inc.
• April 29: Renaissance Consignment Boutique closed.
• Mike's Hot Dogs in Homewood closed.
• Deposits Online was acquired by LendingTree.
• Wilkerson Heating & Cooling closed.

Education

• June 1: Southeastern Bible College suspended operations.

Government

• The Birmingham Water Works Board was expanded from five to nine members.
• January 31: The Birmingham City Council adopted a Sanctuary City resolution.
• February 9: Luther Strange was appointed by Robert Bentley to fill Jeff Sessions vacant seat in the United States Senate.
• February 8: Jeff Sessions was confirmed as Attorney General of the United States.
• August 22: 2017 Birmingham municipal election

Sports

• January 9: The Clemson Tigers defeated the 2016 Alabama Crimson Tide football team 35-31 in the College Football Playoff National Championship game in Tampa, Florida.
• February 3-5: 2017 Davis Cup first round tie was played at Legacy Arena.
• February 12: Dominic Korir and Sarah Pease won the Mercedes Marathon.
• February 25: Boxer Deontay Wilder defended his WBC world heavyweight title with a TKO of Gerald Washington at Legacy Arena.
• March 8-11: The 2017 Conference USA Men's Basketball Tournament was held at Legacy Arena.
• April 12: The 2017 Birmingham Barons lost to the Montgomery Biscuits in their home opener at Regions Field.
• June 2-15: 2017 National Senior Games
• September 2: The 2017 UAB Blazers football team made their debut with a 38-7 victory over the Alabama A&M Bulldogs at Legion Field.
• NCAA 2017 Division II Men's and Women's Indoor Track & Field championships were held at the Birmingham CrossPlex
• NCAA 2017 Division II Winter Festival were held at the Birmingham CrossPlex

Individuals

Awards

• Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame: Brian Barr, Paula Martese Marino, H. Stuart Starrett, Bill Harbert and Todd May
• Birmingham Business Hall of Fame: Sterling Edwards Jr, Leon Edwards, Bill Featheringill, Jay Grinney, Bill L. Harbert, William T. Warren
• Lou Wooster Public Health Hero Award presented to Joyce White Vance, JD for her leadership in creating a broad-based response to the heroin epidemic in northern Alabama.
• Miss Alabama: Jessica Proctor

Marriages

• Graham Boettcher succeeded Gail Andrews as director of the Birmingham Museum of Art.

Retirements

• Bill Battle III, University of Alabama Athletics Director
• Edward Partridge, Comprehensive Cancer Center director
• Eric Fancher, 10th Judicial Circuit of Alabama

Deaths

• January 2: Albert Brewer, former Governor of Alabama
• January 4: James C. Lewis, developer and contractor
• January 6: Courtney Haden, audio producer, radio host and columnist
• January 12: Ignatius Crockett, Orthodox priest
• January 30: Naomi Truman, former director of the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District
• February 1: Artist and Space One Eleven founder Anne Arrasmith
• February 2: Tom Drake, former professional wrestler and Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives
• February 18: Jack Warner, Westervelt Company CEO and art collector
• February 19: Kyle Mabrey, professional bass angler
• February 19: David Tinsley, radio deejay
• March 4: John Hodnett, former Mayor of Hoover
• March 15: Rena Hudson, former Mayor of Warrior
• March 16: Lewis White, radio personality and educator
• March 16: Lee McKee, blacksmith and metal artist
• April 30: Boots Carroll, actress
• April 30: Kevin Sutton, chief of the Fairfield Fire Department
• June 2: Former Auburn University president James E. Martin
• June 5: Attorney, political consultant and author Vic Gold
• June 23: Attorney, political candidate and former "Mickey Mouse" portrayer Buddy Hendrix
• July 8: Actor Nelsan Ellis
• August 9: Janie Shores, former Alabama Supreme Court justice
• September 14: Philip Morris, editor and civic activist
• Vic Rumore

See also, List of homicides in 2017.

Works

• "Let There Be Light", a feature film directed by Kevin Sorbo and shot in the Birmingham area.

Books

• Robb, Frances Osborn (2017) Shot in Alabama: A History of Photography, 1839–1941 Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press ISBN 081731878X

Buildings

• 20 Midtown apartments and retail in midtown
• Birmingham Intermodal Facility on Morris Avenue
• CrossPlex Village
• Finley Center at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex
• Homestead Village shopping center in Trussville
• Metropolitan Apartments in Lakeview
• Park 35 on Clairmont apartments in Lakeview/Forest Park Village
• Row5 townhouses on Morris Avenue
• UAB Football Operations Building and Legacy Pavillion at UAB
• The Waites apartments and retail in Southside
• Expansion of the Mercedes-Benz US International assembly plant in Tuscaloosa

Demolitions

• Hooper Creek Apartments on 4th Avenue South
• UAB Parking Lot 15A on University Blvd
• UAB Parking Lot 55 on 20th Street South
• Paul S. Worrell Building

Context

In 2017 Donald Trump was inaugurated as President of the United States and the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus ceased operating. The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl 34-28 in overtime. Several people were killed in a bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England.

Notable deaths in 2017 included actors Powers Boothe, Miguel Ferrer, June Foray, John Hurt, Martin Landau, Mary Tyler Moore, Roger Moore, Charlie Murphy and Bill Paxton; comedians Dick Gregory, Jerry Lewis, Don Rickles and Jay Thomas; authors William Blatty, Bharati Mukherjee and Robert Pirsig; columnist Frank DeFord, poets John Ashbery and Derek Walcott; musicians Gregg Allman, Walter Becker, Chuck Berry, Glen Campbell, John Geils, Bruce Hampton, Al Jarreau, Pete Seeger and Butch Trucks; Roe v. Wade plaintiff Norma McCorvey; former Panamanian president Manuel Noriega, convicted terrorist Omar Abdel-Rahman; banker David Rockefeller, filmmakers Jonathan Demme and George Romero, NAMCO founder Masaya Nakamura and Little Caesars founder Mike Ilitch.

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