Memories of Downtown Birmingham
Memories of Downtown Birmingham

Author: Tim Hollis

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2014-03-18

Total Pages: 154

ISBN-13: 1625846975

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The bright lights of Birmingham's theater and retail district have shone over the Magic City for nearly one hundred years during the good times and the bad. During the early 1900s, small businesses, largely founded by immigrants who arrived in Birmingham with almost nothing, exploded into immensely popular shopping and entertainment destinations. The stories of entrepreneurs and immigrants like Louis Pizitz and his business rival, Adolph Loveman, exemplify the kind of rags-to-riches tales that make up much of the city's character. The theaters in the district, some with themed restrooms, inspired the head of Paramount Pictures to dub Birmingham's Alabama Theatre the "Showplace of the South." Author Tim Hollis celebrates and revives the spirit of the beloved department stores and famous theaters from the era of silent movies to the days of integration and change to today.

Vintage Birmingham Signs
Vintage Birmingham Signs

Author: Tim Hollis

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9780738553764

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Most people do not stop to realize how many of their fond memories involve advertising signs. Although these neon spectaculars, billboards, and even signs painted directly onto brick walls were created expressly to persuade customers to buy products or patronize businesses, many such signs remained in place for so long that they became beloved landmarks in their own right. For Images of America: Vintage Birmingham Signs, Tim Hollis has scoured the archives of Birmingham's former sign companies, as well as other private collections, to compile some of the best remembered or most obscure signs that dotted the urban and suburban landscape. Here readers will again see the Buffalo Rock bottle pouring its ginger ale into a glass, the Golden Flake clown smiling down at passersby, the Barber's milk clock at the Five Points South intersection, and many more. Through these vintage photographs, readers can once again visit such once-thriving destinations as Eastwood Mall, Burger in a Hurry, and the Kiddieland amusement park.

Pizitz
Pizitz

Author: Tim Hollis

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2010-11-05

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 1614232199

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For nearly ninety years, Pizitz offered Birmingham residents and Alabamans across the state a one-of-a-kind shopping experience. From the Enchanted Forest that sprung up every Christmas to in-store fashion shows, visiting Pizitz wasn't just a trip to the store, it was an event. Yet Pizitz was more than just a department store--it was a Birmingham institution. When Louis Pizitz opened up his first dry goods store in downtown Birmingham in 1899, he began a career as a successful businessman and a generous philanthropist, establishing a tradition of giving freely to local causes that has come to define the Pizitz family. Join Birmingham historian Tim Hollis as he recounts the fascinating history behind one of Alabama's most recognizable names and treasured retailers.

80s Kid
80s Kid

Author: Melanie Ashfield

Publisher: J M Ashfield Ltd

Published: 2001-06-06

Total Pages: 158

ISBN-13:

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A humorous and nostalgic trip through a typical 80s childhood. Told through the eyes of a normal (ish) British kid from the Birmingham suburbs. A time when urban exploration on your bike was a day long adventure, a Wimpy birthday party the equivalent of a party on a celebrity yacht, Diamond White was a teenage rite of passage and people still wrote love letters and dreamed of winning the pools. Where no one did anything online and the only phones at home were landlines that probably had a lock on. 80s Kid tells the story of a different world, even though it wasn't that long ago.

Christimas in Birmingham
Christimas in Birmingham

Author: Tim Hollis

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2021-07-26

Total Pages: 185

ISBN-13: 162585238X

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For decades, the Christmas season in Birmingham was not complete without the sights and sounds of the retail district. During the season, the Magic City made magic with elaborate light displays and the Living Christmas Tree in Woodrow Wilson Park. Many remember the battling Santas of Loveman's and Pizitz, each vying for the hearts of the community. The elaborate Enchanted Forest dazzled shoppers on the sixth floor at Pizitz. In the 1940s, more than 200,000 people lined the streets each year to make merry for the Christmas Carnival parade. Author and local historian Tim Hollis celebrates the happy history of Birmingham's holiday season, reviving the traditions and festivities, the food and shopping of days gone by.

Greetings from Alabama: A Pictorial History in Vintage Postcards
Greetings from Alabama: A Pictorial History in Vintage Postcards

Author: Wade Hall

Publisher: NewSouth Books

Published: 2016-09-01

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 1588383202

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Although he was a native of Bullock County, Alabama, Wade Hall -- teacher, writer, poet, critic, interviewer, folklorist, and documentarian -- spent most of his fifty-year career in Kentucky. But he was never emotionally far from his home as evidenced by his passion for collecting vintage Alabama postcards. In his lifetime he amassed 10,000, which he then graciously gave to the University of Alabama Libraries and Troy University in a large joint bequest that also included rare books, quilts, folk art, letters and more. These postcards date from the late 1800s to the mid-20th century and offer a fascinating and diverse picture of the state. The meaning of postcards that could be purchased as a travel souvenir is largely forgotten today when cameras are commonplace. But the value of Hall's stunning collection cannot be missed. The some 400 cards featured in Greetings from Alabama are revealing of scenes familiar and rare. From Birmingham's Vulcan to Mobile's Bellingrath Gardens, from Enterprise's boll weevil monument to Huntsville's rockets, from Helen Keller's home to William Rufus King's resting place, the scenes offer captivating glimpses of Alabama history.

Adventures of Liv
Adventures of Liv

Author: Amanda de Leon

Publisher:

Published: 2021-06-24

Total Pages: 34

ISBN-13: 9781637650134

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Liv is excited about her first day of pre-K. Liv makes a friend in her class but also runs into her first bully. Her next step is to figure out not only how to deal with the emotions of being bullied, but also what to do in that situation and how to understand it. She learns about different facets of diversity and the beauty in them and that bullies are usually just afraid of things they don't understand. Liv has always been taught that love will always win and wants to teach others that as well. Stay tuned as Liv learns more about different cultures and facets of diversity with this series, 'Adventures of Liv.'