j david jordan: My City

Birmingham, Alabama

I love Birmingham. It's my home. It's where God has placed my family and where He has called us to His purpose. Birmingham is in our heart, we want to see it alive with a passion for God.

Birmingham is classic southern charm and hospitality - a vibrant, beautiful city.

It is diversity that is her greatest strength and our strongest appeal. We talk about progress, but with a decidedly Southern accent. We are a spectrum of attitudes and cultures, all a part of the charm that is the South.

With a population of more than a million people, Birmingham is Alabama's largest city.

Birmingham's role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s placed it "at the center of the most significant domestic drama of the 20th century..."

Southern Living, the nation's most successful regional magazine, is published in Birmingham.

Birmingham is home to the nation's oldest baseball park, Rickwood Field, which opened in 1910 and hosted baseball greats such as Jackie Robinson, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Lorenzo "Piper" Davis, Willie Mays and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson.

Time Magazine named Birmingham's Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival among its Top 10 "Film Festivals for the Rest of Us", festivals for those not traveling to Cannes.

Vulcan, the mythical god of metalworking, is the largest iron statue in the world and is second in size only to the Statue of Liberty. The statue was Birmingham's entry in the 1904 World's Fair, where it won first place.

With more than 1,000 acres for biking and hiking, Birmingham's Ruffner Mountain is larger than New York City's Central Park. Birmingham is a national leader in urban green spaces.

Should you have Birmingham pigeonholed as serving only barbeque and fried pies, just remember that the city is home to “the Oscars of dining” with James Beard Foundation winners and nominees.

Birmingham is known as the founding city for the celebration of Veterans Day and hosts the nation’s oldest and largest Veterans Day celebration.

Though Birmingham stands in the heart of the Deep South, it is not an Old South city.

Founded in 1871 at the crossing of two railroad lines, the city blossomed through the early 1900s as it rapidly became the South's foremost industrial center. Iron and steel production were a natural for Birmingham; underground lay abundant key ingredients---coal, iron ore and limestone. As an industry town, Birmingham suffered greatly in the Depression. After World War II the city grew moderately while retaining its strong Southern character.

At the same time a profound movement toward diversification was afoot. The huffing and puffing of Birmingham's legendary iron and steel mills was gradually replaced by a work force of medical and engineering professionals. Today, Birmingham enjoys a balance of manufacturing and service-oriented jobs in a thriving work force.

Birmingham has been through a lot for a city so young. Unlike many older cities, Birmingham is still in the stages of becoming.