Southside, Birmingham, Alabama

The Southside encompasses the southern half of Birmingham's downtown area from the Railroad Reservation to the crest of Red Mountain and from Interstate 65 on the west to Elton B. Stephens Expressway (US 31, or "Red Mountain Expressway") on the east. It is considered to be the Midtown area of the city due its relationship to Downtown.

Southside contains many of the prominent points of interest of the Greater Birmingham area such as the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the adjacent medical center district. It also hosts Birmingham's liveliest entertainment district at Five Points South and a large number of notable homes and churches from the early twentieth century. Highland Avenue connects Southside to the Lakeview area, another center for nightlife.

It also is the most culturally diverse of all of the neighborhoods while the dense residential districts surrounding UAB and the medical center house a very diverse community of all classes, the Red Mountain neighborhoods are dominated by elegant mansions for affluent residents. Culturally, both groups enjoy the amenities of this urban community.

Five Points South in Southside is also the home to several historically and architecturally important churches and synagogues: St. Mary's on the Highlands, South Highland Presbyterian Church, Southside Baptist Church, Temple Beth-El, Temple Emanu-El, and Highlands United Methodist Church.

For the purposes of Birmingham's citizen participation program, the Southside community comprises three neighborhood associations: Five Points South, Glen Iris, and Southside. Most residents would also include the Highland Park and Redmont Park neighborhoods in the broader definition of Southside.

Cycles of urban reorganization and gentrification have challenged the architecture of much of Five Points and the rest of Southside and Highland Park. Generally, the diverse, bohemian nature of the area is meshing with the young upper middle class creating an area of diversity.

Notable points of interest in the area include the Frank Fleming Storyteller Fountain anchoring the central business district. The thriving main area contains restaurants, shops, stores and sidewalks for the residents to enjoy. There are many venues for music, art and personal expression provided for residents.

A notable point of interest previous to the area would have been the Southside jail, where Martin Luther King, Jr. was incarcerated ("Letter from a Birmingham Jail"), but this structure has been demolished.

External links

* [http://www.stevenfordbrown.com/History.htm History of Southside in 7 1/2 minutes or less] at StevenFordBrown.com