Celebrating 192 Years of Birmingham's History in Pictures
Today is the anniversary of Birmingham's first land entry. Add your own photos to these snapshots of the city's past.
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Looking north up Old Woodward Avenue 101 years ago.
Birmingham Historical Society
Photos (18)
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When I set off to learn about Birmingham's history, I got in a bit over my head. After all, Birmingham has a long history—192 years of it, to be exact. Today marks the anniversary of the first land entry in what is now considered Birmingham, when Col. Benjamin H. Pierce—brother of future President Franklin Pierce—laid claim on a parcel of land abutting the intersecton of what is now Maple Road and Pierce Street downtown.
After that first claim on what was supposed to be a marshy stretch of land between Detroit and Pontiac, Birmingham's history explodes. The city was a way station, conveniently located on a dirt track that cut diagonally through the county; later Woodward Avenue would serve as the artery for Detroit's industry and people as they traveled outward to create what is now considered Metro Detroit.
Birmingham was built on the backs of its residents, and the streets and schools reflect that: Benjamin Pierce, Fred V. Quarton (the namesake of Quarton Elementary) and Martha Baldwin. Baldwin may be one of the city's most inspiring stories, and not the least because she was a woman living and working during the latter half of the 19th century. According to resources at the library, Baldwin Public Library, Martha Baldwin Park and the former Baldwin High School are all named in honor of Birmingham's first lady.
But then, these are just words. The work of Martha Baldwin, John Hunter, Charles Shain, and Harry Allen are important, as are the history of other Birmingham institutions such as the transit station and The Community House. But sometimes, stories are better told not in words, but with images of the past juxtaposed with how far we've come.
However, history is alive and I know there are more stories out there. And so, in commemoration of Birmingham's 192-year-anniversary, I invite you to add your own photos to the gallery below, depicting the Birmingham you knew throughout the years. Leave a comment telling your own stories, send in your home videos. We want to celebrate the years and the people who've lived here—whether they lived in 1896, 1956, or 2006.
Happy anniversary Birmingham. I can't wait to learn even more.
In This article
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The Community House
380 S Bates St, Birmingham, MI -
Quarton Elementary School
771 Chesterfield Ave, Birmingham, MI -
Baldwin Public Library
300 W Merrill St, Birmingham, MI -
Martha Baldwin Park
W Maple Rd & Southfield Rd, Birmingham, MI
Alan Stamm
11:45 am on Friday, January 28, 2011
There's no Bangs Boulevard, Crowe Court or Whitall Way, but those names belong to 1970s pioneers who also are part of Birmingham's legacy. Because rock 'n' roll never forgets, here's a spin through our city's role in music journalism history. (Click on classic rock to set the mood.)
Creem Magazine, published from 1969-88, was a brash, irreverent rock monthly depicted in the 2000 film "Almost Famous" -- directed and written by Cameron Crowe, a onetime Creem cub reporter. Not long after launching in Detroit, publisher Barry Kramer moved the crew to a Walled Laked farm and then to second-floor offices at the Birmingham Theater Building on Woodward -- "a trajectory that describes success," as early editor Dave Marsh later wrote.
Kramer bought a house nearby at 416 Brown St., where key staff lived -- including the legendary, influential Lester Bangs (1948-82).
The staff included, at varied times, enduring names in music journalism such as:
* Marsh, a 60-year-old native Detroiter who first used "punk" in May '71 to descrbe an emerging style and who now hosts three Sirius XM Radio shows.
* Susan Whitall (editor, 1976-Jan. '83), a Seaholm grad now living in Royal Oak, covering entertainment/culture for The Detroit News, and completing her 2nd music book.
* Robert Christgau, contributor, now 68 and a self-styled "dean of American rock critics."
* Jaan Uhelszki, a Detroiter on Creem's founding team, soon went from selling subscriptions to writing cover stories. [More below]
Alan Stamm
11:47 am on Friday, January 28, 2011
[ Cont. from ^ ]
Described as "one of the first women to work in rock journalism," Uhelszki lives in Berkeley, Calif., with her husband and writes about music for Relix magazine and two UK publications.
As for Birmingham itself, check out what British rock critic and musician Nick Kent (a 1973 Creem drop-in and Bangs acolyte) wrote last year in a book titled "Apathy for the Devil: A '70s Memoir":
"Birmingham, Michigan -- unlike its plug-ugly namesake in the English Midlands -- was an attractive middle-class suburb boasting good schools, high-end property, condos, classy boutiques and chintzy antique stores. But sedition still lurked within its carefully manicured borders: The town had lately begun to play host to Creem magazine and its rowdy editorial staff.
"The ferociously irreverent monthly had recently upped its national sales to 150,000 per issue and celebrated by splashing out on new office space on the second floor of the Birmingham Theater building. Barry Kramer also rented a nearby house -- 416 Brown Street -- for the magazine's key employees to share."
And that's the final chord of this time trip. Now you know a bit about a colorful era in Birmingham, which still rocks.