Underwood Park
Underwood Park is a 3.2-acre Birmingham city park located near the intersection of 26th Street and 10th Avenue South, near the Red Mountain Expressway overpass and backing up to a St Vincent's Hospital parking deck in Southside.
The first Underwood Park was located south of Clairmont Avenue and across 28th Street South from the Lakeview School. It was named in honor of U.S. Senator Oscar Underwood, and in memory of his granddaughter, Eugenia, who had died that year. The dedication took place immediately following the "Floral Parade" during Semi-Centennial Week, on October 27, 1921. The Senator, along with his wife and his mother, were present at the ceremony which was presided over by Independent Presbyterian Church pastor Henry Edmonds.
A pedestrian tunnel was constructed below the street to provide safe passage for school children to use the playground.
Some improvements were made to Underwood Park in the early 1930s under the auspices of the Civil Works Administration, primarily redressing slopes and trimming trees. By the 1950s the park was showing signs of disrepair, with storm drains clogged and plantings and equipment not well-maintained.
After Lakeview School closed in 1981 the property was sold to a private developer. The former pedestrian tunnel was filled in with rubble. St Vincent's Hospital negotiated a property exchange with the City of Birmingham to relocate Underwood Park to its present site. The current hilltop park has a lawn with a walking path around it, a small playground, an asphalt basketball court, and a swimming pool with a bathhouse. At the northwestern end of the park Branko Medenica's "Roly Poly Man", a 30-foot long concrete sculpture, was dedicated in 1976.
References
- "Underwood Park Dedication To Be Held Thursday" (October 25, 1921) The Birmingham News - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections