2009

Banners enlisting support for a domed stadium were produced by Mayor Larry Langford's staff and hung downtown in July 2009

2009 was the 138th year after the founding of the City of Birmingham.

Events

• January 27: 2009 State of the City address
• February 2: Birmingham signed a Sister City agreement with Winneba, Ghana.
• February 3: APT's For the Record aired its final program
• March: Natalie Kelly launched My Green Birmingham.com.
• March 6–8: Over 45,000 people attended the Davis Cup first round matches at the BJCC
• May 1: Bici Cooperative opened their shop at Rhodes Park.
• May 9: The first Spring-a-Ling-a-Ding-Dong festival was held in English Village.
• August 25: 2009 Birmingham City Council election
• September 11 - 12: Artwalk was held in the Loft District.
• September 13: Cross Creek Church was founded at South Shades Creek Elementary School.
• September 27: St Michael's Episcopal Church held its final service.
• October 15: Forever Wild acquired 94-year hunting leases for the 33,280-acre Mulberry Fork WMA Tract and 27,894-acre Cahaba River WMA Tract.
• October 19 - 28 : Larry Langford federal corruption trial was held at the Tuscaloosa Federal Courthouse, resulting in conviction.
• October 28: City Council president Carole Smitherman assumed the duties of acting mayor.
• November 24: The new Birmingham City Council was sworn in, electing Roderick Royal as president (and acting Mayor of Birmingham)
• The Avondale Presbyterian Church closed its doors.
• The Alabama Symphony Orchestra commissioned "Dream, Child. Hope" from Adolphus Hailstork.
• Marcus Carson founded the Growing Kings mentorship organization.

Business

• June: Don Drennen Motor Co. was advised their relationship with Buick would be ending.
• October: Don Drennen Motor Co. was informed General Motors would again have them as a Buick dealer.
• Playhouse Costume moved to Irondale.
• Shwetak Patel sold Zensi to Belkin, Inc.
• Daniel Day McSwenny and Melody Music opened Daniel Day Gallery/Dream Mecca on 6th Avenue South.
• Art Sign Co. moved from Central Avenue Homewood to Crestwood Boulevard.

Openings

• January 29: Lite Box Gallery opened.
• January: Steve Dubrinsky opened Max's Delicatessen at The Colonnade.
• January: Wu Lung Chen opened Mr Chen's Chinese Cooking at Hoover Court.
• February 7: Frigid Records opened.
• February: Blackwell's Pub opened in Cahaba Heights.
• March: James Hardin opened Brannon's: A Public House in the Farley Building.
• April: Saigon Noodle House opened at the River Ridge Shopping Center.
• April 20: Ezell's Catfish Cabin opened in Trussville.
• May 27: Coffee Shoppee opened in Five Points West.
• June 9: Dyron's Lowcountry opened in Crestline Village.
• June 26: Donut Joe's opened in Pelham.
• June: Kool Korner Sandwiches opened in Vestavia Hills City Center.
• July: Aquil Abdur-Rasheed Jr opened Muzik & More in Five Points West.
• July: Brett MacDonald opened Fuego Cantina in the Spanish Stores at Five Points South.
• September 1: Charm opened.
• October 15: Dodiyós opened in Homewood.
• Creig Hoskins resigned from Giattina Aycock Architecture Studio to found his own firm.
• Za Za Trattoria opened on 20th Street North.
• The Tidwell Group regained its independence from the Reznick Group and lost partner Ken DeWitt.
• Joe's On Seventh opened on 7th Avenue South.
• Forest Perk Coffee opened on Clairmont Avenue.
• Above opened atop the Redmont Hotel.
• Michael's opened in the Aloft Hotel.
• Tanya Jones SalonSpa opened at Cahaba Village Plaza.
• Try-Us grocery opened in Lipscomb.
• Dixon Glass Gallery & Studio was founded.
• Rusty's Bar-B-Q opened in Leeds.
• Big Bolton’s Barbecue opened in Argo.
• Saw's BBQ opened on Oxmoor Road in Edgewood.
• Bruce Hoadley founded Vikon Surgical.
• The Three Earred Rabbit opened in Trussville.

Closings

• March 6: Bromberg's downtown store closed.
• April 14: Tria Market closed.
• May: Don Drennen Motor Co. lost its standing as a Chrysler dealer.
• September 4: Grey House Grille closed.
• September: Floyd & Beasley Transfer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
• Bodine was sold to DeKalb Office of Atlanta, Georgia.

Education

• Jess Lanier High School closed.

Sports

• January 9: Alabama running back Glen Coffee declared for the 2009 NFL draft.
• March 6-8: The 2009 Davis Cup first round tie was held at the BJCC Arena.
• April 25: Brad Keselowski won the Aaron's 499 at the Talladega Superspeedway.
• April 25: The Miracle League Baseball field in Gardendale was dedicated.
• May 1-3: Mat Mladin won the Honda Superbike Classic.
• May 13-17: Keith Fergus won the Regions Charity Classic.
• May 16: The fourth annual Birmingham Zoo Run was held.
• May 20-24: LSU won the 2009 SEC Baseball Tournament at Regions Park.
• May 27: The 2009 Rickwood Classic was held at Rickwood Field.
• May 29: Eric "Butterbean" Esch won a Pro Wrestling Syndicate Heavyweight Championship.
• June 1-5: The 2009 National Veterans Golden Age Games were held at the BJCC.
• August: Bev Head completed the "Viking Route" from Norway to the US at the helm of the 52-foot sloop Maryam.
• October 31: Alabama A&M defeated Alabama State 21-7 in the Magic City Classic at Legion Field.
• November 27: Alabama defeated Auburn 26-21 in the 2009 Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
• The Civiettes Club began an annual 8K run to help cerebral palsy sufferers.

Individuals

• February 1: Tom Bradley retired as Hoover's fire chief and was succeeded by Chuck Wingate.
• December 24: MountainTop Community Church founder Bill Elder suffered a stroke.
• Hubert Green retired from professional golf.
• Annetta Verin served a one-year term as president of the Magic City Bar Association.
• Ward Drennen succeeded his father, Don Drennen Jr, as president of the Don Drennen Motor Co..
• Vijay Misra was appointed a full professor at the UAB School of Medicine.
• Richard Shahan became associate pastor at First Baptist Church of Birmingham.
• Bill Steltemeier retired from the position of CEO of EWTN.
• Edward Crenshaw retired as band director at Ramsay High School.

Births

• February 15: Edward, a Baringo giraffe at the Birmingham Zoo
• May 13: Ingadze, an African elephant, was born at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
• June 29: Shifu, a red panda at the Birmingham Zoo
• Napoleon, a pony at the Birmingham Zoo

Awards

• Alabama Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame: Joe Langston
• Alabama Lawyers' Hall of Fame: Francis Hare, James Birney, Michael Figures, Clement Clay, Samuel Pipes III
• Derrick Thomas was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Mark Ingram Jr won the Heisman Trophy
• Miss Alabama: Liz Cochran
• Miss Shelby County: Ashlee Stiglich

Marriages

• October 17: Jeff Baker married Heidi Elnora Baker at Mountain Brook Community Church.
• October 24: University of Alabama professors Stuart Rachels and Heather Elliott married.

Deaths

• January 1: Henry Stanford, former Birmingham-Southern College president
• January 4: Frank Bettencourt, former bandleader and arranger
• January 9: Chuck Morgan, former Civil Rights attorney
• January 12: Gage Bush Englund, former principal dancer with the Birmingham Civic Ballet
• January 20: Joe Domnanovich, football player
• January 25: Martin Bell, Episcopal priest
• January 30: Guy Hunt, former Governor of Alabama
• February 3: Michael Dubruiel, priest and author
• February 4: Thomas Corts, former President of Samford University
• February 10: Kirkwood Balton, former CEO of Booker T. Washington Insurance Company
• February 14: Carole Samuelson, former Jefferson County Health Officer
• February 14: John Evins, former president of Hart-Greer, appliance distributors
• February 14: Hugo Marx Jr, investment banker
• February 19: Dan Holliman, biologist and Birmingham-Southern College professor
• February 26: Harry Ford, retired Air Force Colonel and former Tuskegee Airman
• February 27: Paul Bailey, former BSC professor and Mayor of Baileyton
• February 28: Jimmy Lee Jr, former CEO of Buffalo Rock Company
• March 5: Bill Ireland, former Vulcan Materials executive and philanthropist
• March 7: Ken Owens, architect
• March 7: Bill Waites, Chief of the Pleasant Grove Police Department
• March 10: Jack Granata, sculptor and art professor
• March 17: Former Brownell Travel president George Brownell Jr
• March 27: Roberta Alison Baumgardner, tennis player
• March 28: Walter Palmer, Tuskegee Airman
• April 5: Jim Dearth, former CEO of Children's Hospital
• April 5: Angela Hernández, former math department chair, University of Montevallo
• April 12: Billy Jack Holcombe, musician and businessman
• April 15: Carroll Harmon, architect
• April 20: Delores Manyama, Carver High School English teacher
• April 21: Miriam Witherspoon, attorney and Birmingham City Council member
• April 24: Marvin Harper, Northport preservationist
• May 6: Nina Miglionico, attorney and former Birmingham City Council president
• May 17: Danny Hicks, former Mayor of Oneonta
• May 19: Randy Sandford, architecture enthusiast and documentarian
• May 21: Rex Hollis, founder of Jim Davenport's Pizza Palace
• May 25: Steve Zaslofsky, headmaster of Shelby Academy
• May 26: James Travis, Tuskegee Airman
• May 29: Charles Wagner, Lutheran pastor
• June 3: Joseph Cunningham, pathologist
• June 7: James Walbert, pianist, composer and teacher
• June 10: Barry Beckett, pianist and music producer
• June 10: Richard Quick, Auburn Tigers swimming coach
• June 11: Jack Trawick, convicted murderer
• June 14: Lillie Fincher, educator and community leader
• June 16: Marian Ann Dowdell Woods, librarian, widow of Rev. Abraham Woods Jr
• June 22: Bert Bank, World War II veteran and Tuscaloosa radio executive
• June 23: Bill Holdefer, former UAB surgeon and professor and medical director for MEDjet
• June 24: Jamie, Birmingham Zoo gorilla
• June 28: Iola Baylor, high school coach
• June 29: Robert Miller, former Episcopal Bishop of Alabama
• July 2: Don Cummings, Tuskegee Airman
• July 2: Trieu Duong, jeweler
• July 3; John Blackburn, former University of Alabama administrator
• July 4: Billy Pappas, hot dog vendor
• July 11: Paul Hemphill, newspaper columnist and author
• July 12: Mildred Howard, founder of the Gospel Harmonettes
• July 16: Ray Woodard, soccer coach
• July 19: Sister Mary Joseph, co-founder of the Our Lady of the Angels Monastery
• July 23: Camille Baird, aviator
• July 24: Kevin Peasant, Elmwood Cemetery salesman
• July 30: Joel P. Smith, newspaper publisher
• August 3: Cleve Wester, former Auburn Tigers tackle
• August 3: Florine Beckham, former Miss Birmingham
• August 12: Gladys Gillem, professional wrestler and lion tamer
• August 17: J. P. Rotton Jr, auto racing promoter
• August 18: Leven Hazlegrove, chemist and Samford University professor
• August 22: Alfred Habeeb, pioneering anesthesiologist
• August 24: John Holcomb Jr, long-time president of Britling Cafeterias
• August 26: D. K. Ruth, co-founder of Auburn's Rural Studio
• August 30: Evan Zeiger, Sr, former Samford University vice-president and athletic director
• September 2: Dolly, cheetah at the Birmingham Zoo
• September 5: Rosamond McDuff, Army aviator, police officer and computer programmer
• September 10: C. Orian Truss, physician
• September 18: Robert Adams, Birmingham News photographer
• September 20: Lester Cobb, drummer and social activist
• September 22: Steve Norris, radio announcer
• September 27: Homer Jackson, Alabama Republican Party treasurer
• October 4: Robert Walker, Sr , former Birmingham Police Department deputy chief
• October 5: Claude Gray, former police dispatcher and Birmingham Zoo Express conductor
• October 6: Doug Moore, contractor and sculptor
• October 10: Frank Carnaggio, former owner of Carnaggio's restaurant
• October 10: Robert Wharton III, former Delta Air Lines executive
• October 20: Edgar Arendall, former pastor of Dawson Memorial Baptist Church
• October 21: Jack Nelson, Los Angeles Times journalist
• November 1: Alan Ogg, basketball player
• November 1: Robert Kaufmann, art librarian
• November 8: Marion Yester, prosthetist
• November 10: Kevin Dudley, pastor, Gulf War veteran, and robber
• November 17: Margie Orr Carter, former Miss Alabama
• November 18 : James Armstrong, barber and civil rights activist
• November 18: Derric Rush, media director for Garywood Assembly of God
• December 3: Ernie Dunn, mayoral candidate
• December 4: Philip Davis, Pelham Police Department officer killed in the line of duty.
• December 7: Jack Bingham, attorney
• December 7: Gary Childs, BPD East Precinct commander
• December 19: Ted Galloway, band director
• December 22: John Godbold, US Circuit Court judge
• December 29: Morefu, giraffe at the Birmingham Zoo

See also List of Birmingham homicides in 2009 and List of homicides in 2009

Works

Artwork

• "Goldie 1971", sculpture by Joe McCreary

Buildings

• 2145 Bessemer Road in Central Park
• Aldi on Crestwood Boulevard
• Aveda Institute in Hoover
• Bank of Tuscaloosa Plaza in Tuscaloosa
• Big B Food Mart in North Birmingham
• Birmingham Fire Station No. 22/10 in Avondale
• Major addition to Birmingham Parking Authority Deck 3
• Cooney Family Field House at Samford University
• Glenbrook at Oxmoor Valley
• Hallman Hill in Homewood
• Home Depot rapid deployment center at JeffMet McCalla
• Interfaith Hospitality House in Woodlawn
• Inverness Country Club clubhouse
• Jefferson County Bessemer Justice Center
• Leeds Middle School
• Southside Residence Inn on 20th Street South
• Reed-Harvey Park in Center Point
• New South Tower at Shelby Baptist Medical Center
• Tarrant Middle/High School
• Tuscaloosa Intermodal Facility
• Renovations to Buck Brock residence on Sterling Road

Books

• April 21: Outcasts United, Warren St John
• Little Angel Comics by Lee Long
• Sloss Furnaces by Karen Utz for the Sloss Furnaces Foundation
• Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound: No Holiday for Justice by Bob McGregor
• The Missing Diagnosis II by C. Orian Truss

Film and television

• Brüno, feature film with segments shot in the Birmingham area
• How to Kill Christian, a "making of" documentary about a film completely shot in the Birmingham area
• "Auburn Football: Every Day", Auburn ISP Sports Network
• "Final Broadcast", public access animation program
• "The First 48", A&E network program with segments featuring Birmingham Police Department homicide investigators

Music

• The Birmingham Tapes, compilation album
• The band Black Jacket Symphony was founded by J. Willoughby.

See Also

• 2009 Birmingham Barons
• 2009 City Stages
• 2009 Iron Bowl
• 2009 SEC Baseball Tournament
• 2009 Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival
• 2009 UAB Blazers football

Context

US Airways Flight 1549 made a miraculous landing on the Hudson River. Barack Obama became President of the United States. The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 in Super Bowl XLIII. Australian bushfires killed 173. Captain Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama was rescued after five days as a Somali pirate hostage. The spread of H1N1 flu was deemed a global pandemic. The New York Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. A soldier at Fort Hood in Texas went on a shooting spree that killed 13 and wounded 30.

Deaths in 2009 included those of Beatrice Arthur, Jack Kemp, Dom DeLuise, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Walter Cronkite, Ted Kennedy, Patrick Swayze, and Soupy Sales.

2000s

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Births - Deaths - Establishments - Events - Works