The Magic is brought to you by Advanced Automotive. Don't Get Choked On High Prices! Visit us at 2114 2nd Avenue South, 205.328.8808!
Have you explored the Magic City by Moonlight? YES, Virginia, there really are restaurants, hot-spots, entertainment, and night-life downtown after the sun goes down. Downtown is an exciting experience, with great food, music and drink in a different setting - surrounded by the Cityscape. And, with CAP Services, you are safe downtown. Get Downtown tonight, and any weekend! For a current listing of what's open and available Monday Night - Sunday Night, visit the Downtown Merchants' newest feature on their website, www.downtownbirmingham.org, and click on Magic City by Moonlight!
Don't forget to visit MagicCityMoments' Daily Updated Things to Do - from all over the City!
Want to take a Virtual Tour of Birmingham? Check out these other great Magic City Sites:
Birmingham Public Library Chosen for Sustainability Practices for Special Collections
The Image Permanence Institute (IPI) at the Rochester Institute of Technology has chosen BPL as a partner for their recently announced project on sustainability practices for library special collections. The purpose of the investigation is to discover if controlled shutdowns of environmental control units for special collections can realize energy savings without endangering the collections.
BPL was asked to be a partner after we began using IPI's program to monitor the environmental conditions of our special collections. We are one of only two public library systems in the U.S. that monitor our collections with IPI's program. The other is the New York Public Library (NYPL).
BPL joins the libraries at Yale University, Cornell University, UCLA, and NYPL as partners for the project, which is funded by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services through its National Leadership Grant Program. IPI's team of experts on special collections preservation and building systems is coming in April to begin working on the investigation.
For more information on the project see the RIT University News.
For more information on IPI see: www.imagepermanenceinstitute.org.
From Alabama Tourism News, February 19. Visit www.Alabama.Travel!
Birmingham wins bid to host Fed Cup Semifinal between U.S. and Russia. For more information please see www.usta.com/fedcup or www.fedcup.com.
Stitt, Hastings, Jim ‘N Nicks are semifinalists for James Beard Awards. For the complete article please see http://blog.al.com/bob-carlton/2010/02/stitt_hastings_jim_n_nicks_in.html
Black History sites in Alabama highlighted: Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Birmingham; Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma; Tuskegee Airmen Museum; National Voting Rights Museum and Institute, Selma; Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Multicultural Center, Tuskegee; Kelly Ingram Park, Birmingham; Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail - The 54-mile trail starts in Selma and ends in Montgomery; The Oaks (Booker T. Washington Home in Tuskegee); 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham; Brown Chapel in Selma. For the complete article see http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20102150306
The new $11 million Leeds Hampton Inn, like most hotels, was built for relaxing, and based around Barber Motorsports Park. For the complete article please see http://blog.al.com/businessnews/2010/02/leeds_hampton_inn_takes_decora.html
Enjoy our City, enjoy our State!
Birmingham News, http://www.al.com. John Archibald's column, January 6, 2010:
“Downtown’s Second Avenue has taken root like
wild wisteria, and Reed Books is like a literary amusement park.”
How true! If you haven't been to Reed Books/The Museum of Fond Memories, you haven't seen all of The MagicCity's Treasures! Visit today, 2021 Third Avenue North in downtown. 205.326.4460. Hours: Tuesday
through Friday 10:30am till 5:30pm & Saturdays
11am till 4pm. Visit Reed Books' ad: http://www.magiccitymoments.com/sponsorsguide/visitjimreedbooks.html. Also, see www.JimReedBooks.com.
The Ottawa Citizen ranks RTJ Golf Trail #1 Canadian newspaper The Ottawa Citizen ranked Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail number one on their list of the five best golf trails. From the article “5 best trails on which to golf your heart out” by Margaret Swine in The Ottawa Citizen. Robert Trent Jones Trail Alabama: The 26 public courses on Alabama's Robert Trent Jones Trail are the golf architect's most masterful creations, stretching from the rolling hills of the north to the wetlands of the Gulf Coast and with an average green fee of $50 U.S. offering such incredible value that people come from all over the globe to play the likes of the challenging Ross Bridge, the third longest golf course in the world. www.rtjgolf.com.
Huntsville on Forbes list of the world’s ten smartest cities Forbes magazine lists Huntsville as one of the world’s ten smartest cities. Huntsville joins Singapore, Hong Kong, Curitiba, Monterrey, Amsterdam, Seattle, Houston, Charleston, and Calgary on the global list. From the article “The World’s Smartest Cities” by Joel Kotkin in Forbes:
Huntsville, Ala- This southern city has long had a "smart" core to its economy, a legacy of its critical role in the NASA ballistic missile program. Today the area's traditional emphasis on aerospace has been joined by bold moves into such fields as biotechnology. Kiplinger recently ranked the area's economy No. 1 in the nation.
For the complete article please see http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/03/infrastructure-economy-urban-opinions-columnists-smart-cities-09-joel-kotkin.html
If you live in Alabama, chances are your levels of happiness are among the best in the nation! Andrew Oswald, University of Warwick and Stephen Wu, economist at Hamilton College in New York, conducted the study. Their results come from a comparison of two data sets of happiness levels in each state, one that relied on participants' self-reported well-being and the other an objective measure that took into account a state's weather, home prices and other factors that are known reasons to frown (or smile).
The self-reported information came from 1.3 million U.S. citizens who took part in a survey between 2005 and 2008.
The happiest states:
1. Louisiana 2. Hawaii 3. Florida 4. Tennessee 5. Arizona 6. Mississippi 7. Montana 8. South Carolina 9. Alabama 10. Maine
This new research will be published online on Dec. 17 (2009) by the journal Science.
Check out Social Media Coach David Sher's blog! Daily two-minute podcasts on Social Marketing and Networking. It's FREE, and very useful info! www.whOOyouknow.com.
Historic NYC diner will get hauled to Alabama NEW YORK (AP) -- A classic New York City diner has been saved from demolition - and is moving to Alabama. Businessman Joel Owens said Thursday he'll move the Cheyenne Diner in two sections by flatbed truck from Manhattan to Birmingham. (italics ed) Owens will restore the diner and might add a classic car museum and special events center. The diner is decorated with Native American motifs, with a stainless steel and glass interior. It is making way for a nine-story condominium at 33rd Street and Ninth Avenue. Historic preservationist and Committee to Save Cheyenne Diner chairman Michael Perlman brokered the deal. Terms were not disclosed. The Cheyenne is not the first diner to be moved from Manhattan to another state. The Moondance Diner is now in La Barge, Wyo.
The Resort Collection on Alabama’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail has recently received a host of praise by top national travel and convention publications. “We focus every day on enhancing our guests’ experience at our hotels,” said Dr. David G. Bronner, CEO of the Retirement Systems of Alabama. “Our resorts offer a unique blend of great golf, luxurious accommodations and world-class amenities in picturesque settings. With easy access to airport and the Interstates, we hope to attract even more guests to Alabama through the recent positive national exposure.”
From the article “World champion motorcyclist Kevin Schwantz moving school to Barber Motorsports Park” by Michael Tomberlin posted to The Birmingham News online site Jan. 8: The Barber Motorsports Park will be home to a world champion motorcycle driver's school, drawing hundreds of students from across the country and the world each year. The Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School is moving from Road Atlanta to the Barber track near Leeds. "I've always admired the facility at Barber," Schwantz said in an interview Wednesday. "It's an amazing place. I think it's going to be awesome and we're going to have a great school. I think we can really turn it into the motorcycle mecca of the United States." "We now have two world-class schools here in Birmingham," said Jeff Ray, director of the Barber Motorsports Park. "Kevin's program and the Porsche Sport Driving School make for first-class factory-supported two- and four-wheel operator education programs making Barber their home."
Southern Living features Alabama destinations among Best in the South. Several Alabama destinations were among the top ten winners in the annual Southern Living Readers’ Choice Awards for Best in the South. Featured destinations and their award categories include: Highlands Bar and Grill in Birmingham- Splurge Worthy Restaurants; Gulf Shores/Orange Beach- Best Beaches; Annual National Shrimp Festival in Gulf Shores- Best Festivals; Bellingrath Gardens in Theodore and Birmingham Botanical Gardens- Best Public Gardens; Homewood in Birmingham- Best Neighborhoods for Shopping; Grand Hotel in Point Clear- Best Hotels; Carnival Cruises- Best Cruise Lines; Gulf Shores/Orange Beach- Best Family Destinations; Fairhope- Best Small Towns. Individual rankings of the destinations and a full list of categories can be found in the January issue of the magazine. http://www.southernliving.com/travel/2009-readers-choice-awards-00400000036477/page17.html
This month (9/08) TIME magazine released a listing of “50 Authentic American Experiences”- one for each state- designed for travelers looking to explore beyond chain restaurants and theme parks. The magazine featured University of Alabama football as the pick for the authentic American experience in Alabama.
Hot and Hot Fish Club in Birmingham was featured in USA TODAY this week as one of the top 10 places for solo dining in America. The list was prepared for USA TODAY by Marya Charles Alexander, editor and founder of solodining.com, in celebration of this week being National Singles Week. Hot and Hot Fish Club is featured in the Alabama Tourism Department’s “100 dishes to eat in Alabama before you die” brochure and owners Chris and Idie Hastings served as Culinary Ambassadors during the award-winning “The Year of Alabama Food” promotion.
The ESPN list of “America’s 100 Most Important Sports Venues” features 3 sites in Alabama: Rickwood Field, Talladega Raceway, and Legion Field.http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/080919/venues. Each of these sports venues are being featured by the Alabama Tourism Department during this year’s promotion of “The Year of Alabama Sports.”
Once again, Birmingham was voted America's Most Generous City! Keep on giving Birmingham!
The environmental magazine Plenty lists three Alabama locations on its state-by-state guide to “green hotspots.” Highlands Bar & Grill in Birmingham (also featured on the Alabama Tourism Department’s “100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die” list) was described in the magazine’s guide as being: “American South meets the South of France. James Beard award-winning chef changes the menu daily to reflect regionally in-season ingredients.” The other Alabama spots recommended for econ-minded travelers are the Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve at Auburn University (ecology teaching programs for children and adults) and the Carpe Diem Coffee & Tea Company in Mobile (Earthchic tote bags made of recycled plastic bottles). http://www.plentymag.com/features/2008/07/city_guide_for_local_travel.php Alabama Tourism Dept. News, 7-23-08.
Delta-Sky magazine: Birmingham is “coolest of Deep Southern Cities” The May issue of Delta-Sky magazine features a special “Heart of the City” profile on Birmingham. Area attractions spotlighted include: Vulcan Park, Sloss Furnaces, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Alabama Theatre for the Performing Arts, The Peanut Depot, the Naked Art gallery, Bare Hands gallery, the Birmingham Museum of Art, Metro Bistro & Market, WorkPlay, Ona’s Music Room, The Garage Café, Open Door Café, Irondale Café, Gilchrist Drug diner, Highlands Bar and Grill, and the Hot and Hot Fish Club.
Delta-Sky magazine is published for Delta Air Lines and is available on flights to 305 destinations in 58 countries. For the complete article see http://www.delta-sky.com/2008_05/heartofthecity/
Question: What areas in the City are experiencing the highest property value increases? Answer: The link below contains an article that was in the Birmingham News Sunday, May 6, 2007. It contains information about property values in Jefferson County. South Avondale real estate values increased the greatest over the past year. Forest Park real estate value appreciation is third highest on the list.
USA Today puts Birmingham at top of the list In an article on “10 great places to be enveloped in quilts,” USA Today put the Birmingham Museum of Art first on the list. The list was compiled by Ayesha Court with author and quilter Kyra E. Hicks. Hicks has written “Martha Ann’s Quilt for Queen Victoria.” Hicks mentioned Nora Ezell’s story quilt, “A Tribute to the Civil Righters of Alabama, No.2” and works by the Freedom Quilting Bee Cooperative, Chris Clark and Yvonne Wells. See http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/10great/2006-11-09-quilts_x.htm
According to Salary.com, Birmingham ranks # 2 in best places to get a job!
Salary.com's Salary Value Index
Salary.com uncovered the top (and bottom) US metros for building personal net worth, taking into account local salaries, cost of living, and unemployment relative to the national average.
Birmingham is "obsessed with good food"! according to the New York Times.
New York Times writer Deborah Solomon interviewed New York restaurant owner Danny Meyer and asked him, “What are the up-and-coming food cities?” Along with both Portlands (Maine and Oregon), Seattle and Boston, Meyer named Birmingham, Ala., as being “obsessed with good food.” Click below to read the article:
