Birmingham City Hall

For earlier city halls, see Birmingham City Hall (disambiguation)

Birmingham City Hall from Linn Park. January 2007

The Birmingham City Hall is the primary governmental office building for the city of Birmingham. The 12-story modern-style building faces Linn Park from across 20th Street North between Park Place and 8th Avenue North.

The project for a new City Hall was led by then-mayor Cooper Green. The building was constructed in 1950 for $3,850,000, which was paid for before the building opened without a bond issue or raising new taxes. The building, which complements the 1932 Jefferson County Courthouse opposite the park, is accented by contrasting vertical bands of limestone and granite. The architect was Charles McCauley and the builder was J. A. Jones Construction Co..

The cornerstone was laid at an August 3, 1950 dedication ceremony. Governor Jim Folsom, Sr attended and statements were given by Francis McCormack of St Anthony's Catholic Church, Abraham Mesch of Temple Beth-El, and John Googame, Jr of 6th Avenue Baptist Church. David A. Lawrence, the Mayor of Pittsburgh and President of the U. S. Conference of Mayors, gave the dedication address. Hill Ferguson of the Birmingham Historical Society placed the cornerstone time capsule.

Trivia

• The "Design for Progress" model of Birmingham was converted into an interactive exhibit for City Hall's lobby in the 1970s.
• The cornerstones of the previous City Halls were incorporated into a sculpture for the south entrance.
• The City Council chambers were refitted in November 2005 in order to accommodate the needs of newly-elected Councilor Miriam Witherspoon, who uses a wheelchair.

References

• White, Marjorie Longenecker (1977) Downtown Birmingham: Architectural and Historical Walking Tour Guide. Birmingham: Birmingham Historical Society.