2008
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2008 is the 137th year after the founding of the City of Birmingham.
Events
- January 1: Mayor Larry Langford's Birmingham Economic and Community Revitalization Ordinance sales tax and business license fees increase went into effect.
- January 1: The Birmingham logo was unveiled.
- January 2: The Power of God Deliverance Ministry church building was destroyed by fire.
- January 6: The rear wall of the S. J. Bennett Professional Building collapsed.
- January 11: Groundbreaking was held for Seven Springs Ecoscape.
- January 15: V... The Statue was introduced.
- January 18: 2008 State of the Region luncheon
- January 25: The Bush Hills sinkhole appeared.
- February 5: A Jefferson County Commission special election was held.
- February 16: The Hoover Crescent Islamic Center opened.
- March 14-16: OmegaCon
- May 2-3: Crawfish Boil
- May 10: 7th annual Buck Creek Festival
- May 31-June 1: Magic City Brew Fest
- June 1: Preserve Jazz Festival
- June 7: Alabaster CityFest
- June 29: 2008 Blackwater Creek plane crash
- August 26: 2008 municipal elections
- August 30: Alabama Butterbean Festival
- August 30 - 31: Southern Heritage Festival
- September 5 - 6: Artwalk
- November 7 - 9: Southern disComfort 3
Business
- January: The former HealthSouth corporate headquarters and incomplete HealthSouth digital hospital was sold to the Daniel Corporation for $43.5 million.
- January: Nightclub The Station closed.
- January 25: Nightclub Zen opened.
- February: Book store and publisher GreencupBooks opened.
- February: The Harbert family sold Regions-Harbert Plaza.
- February 9: Red Mountain Market opened.
- April 1: CB&S Bank opened its first Birmingham-area branch.
- June 2: Moe's Original BBQ opened a second area location.
- June 22: Local Mug Shots began publishing its Birmingham-area edition.
- June 27: Nonna's restaurant closed.
- July 16: Sol's Sandwich Shop reopened downtown after a 13-year absence.
- July 21: Seafood D'Lite opened downtown.
- July 25: Colonial Promenade Tannehill officially opened in Bessemer.
- November: ScooterCo opened on 16th Avenue South.
- November: Hawthorn Gallery closed.
Sports
- 2008 Birmingham Barons
- 2008 Iron Bowl
- 2008 SEC Baseball Tournament
- 2008 BSC Panthers football
- 2008 Samford Bulldogs football
- 2008 UAB Blazers football
- December 3: Tommy Tuberville resigned as the Auburn Tigers football coach
People & animals
Awards
- June 8: Amanda Tapley was named Miss Alabama.
- June 30: Bill Cleveland replaced the retiring Jodi Newton as superintendent of Homewood City Schools.
- July 16: Birmingham Airport Authority approved renaming the airport for Fred Shuttlesworth.
- Dicky Barlow became assistant superintendent of Mountain Brook Schools.
- Vic Wilson replaced Dicky Barlow as principal of Mountain Brook High School.
- Kevin Maddox replaced Vic Wilson as principal of Homewood High School.
- Martin Nalls replaced Kevin Maddox as principal of Homewood Middle School.
- Ben Hudson replaced the retiring Garry Rickard as principal of Mountain Brook Junior High School.
- Don Hulin was hired as principal of Hoover High School.
Births
- July 28: Willow at the Birmingham Zoo
Deaths
- January 4: Tom Jernigan, founder and CEO of the Marathon Corporation
- January 4: Doc Soul Stirrer, entertainer and newspaper columnist
- January 6: Geoff Stone, police officer
- January 8: Ace Trammell, labor activist
- January 11: Stead Baxendale, real estate broker
- January 13: Bik Lonnie, music and video producer
- January 19: Bronner Burgess, son of Rick Burgess
- January 20: Clarence Marble, basketball coach
- February 4: Glynn West, business manager
- February 15: Morris Mayer, marketing professor
- February 16: Lee McGriff, insurance executive and former Mayor of Mountain Brook
- February 16: Reverend James Orange
- February 22: Don Cornutt, educator and musician
- February 27: Bishop Ruby Kile
- March 4: Jack Voorhies, voice actor and announcer
- March 10: Dennis Irwin, jazz musician
- March 15: Henry Aizenman, Holocaust survivor
- March 15: Sam Pointer, Jr, retired federal judge
- March 22: Joe Joseph, developer
- March 25: Victor Ellis, newspaper editor
- March 28: Anne Woodward, age 99
- March 31: Alfonzo Scales, minister and local SCLC leader
- April 7: Bobby Hoppe, former Auburn football player
- April 10: Helen Davis, the first female Architect licensed in Alabama
- April 11: Babec, Birmingham Zoo gorilla
- April 12: Joseph Campbell, former Birmingham News editor
- April 15: Charlie Blair, former Birmingham Post-Herald editor
- April 15: Billy Martin, advertising executive
- April 20: Charles Todel, longtime minister in Gate City
- May 3: C. Paul Perry, physician
- May 13: Randy Mixon, Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service Captain
- May 13: Al O'Brien, painter
- May 14: Brandee Skinner
- May 14: Ben Saxon
- May 27: Willie Scoggins, high school basketball coach
- June 2: Mary Anne Blake
- June 24: Chuck Dryden, World War II pilot and Tuskegee airman
- June 27: Clarke Stallworth, newspaper editor and reporter
- July 1: Kenneth Daniel, CEO of ACIPCO
- July 7: Chick Allen, Hueytown High School choir director
- July 31: Alice Chalifoux, harpist
- August 2: John Mark Stallings, son of Alabama head coach Gene Stallings
- August 7: Simpson Pepper, sports announcer
- August 14: Jackie McDougal, Bessemer municipal judge
- August 14: Lou Zaden, proprietor of Lou's Pub and Package Store
- August 18: Thomas Hearn, former president of Wake Forest University
- August 22: Jason Dean, Bessemer City Councilor
- August 26: Charles Alford, UAB doctor
- August 28: Jack Bulow, director of the Birmingham Public Library
- Late August: Jeffrey Ronilo, bookkeeper for Bessemer Public Library
- September 7: David Stiles, former principal of Mountain Brook High School
- September 8: "Cousin Cliff" Holman, children's television personality
- September 15: Brooksie Lovvorn, Center Point dry cleaner
- September 15: George James, long-time football coach for Alabama State University
- September 16: Warren Slater and his wife, Angie Felton
- September 26: Barbara Shook, philanthropist
- October 4: Al Gallodoro, saxophonist
- October 21: Tom Caldwell, pediatrician
- November 7: Abraham Woods, minister and civil rights activist
- November 15: William Bowron, former CEO of Red Diamond
- November 20: Mary Ross Strudwick, artist
- December 2: Odetta, folk singer
- December 19: James Bevel, Civil Rights activist
Works
- Blaze statue, a brightly-colored concrete mascot for UAB
- Linear Motion, a kinetic sculpture at the McWane Science Center
- Banksy graffiti, a controversial stencil painting in Ensley
Buildings
- January: Heritage Hall at UAB and an addition to Covenant Presbyterian Church in Homewood
- February: The Hoover Crescent Islamic Center in the former Point of Grace Church and the Rick & Bubba Broadcast Plaza and Teleport at the Vestavia Hills City Center
- April: Brewer Plaza at Samford University and the rebuilt Pleasant Sabine Baptist Church in Bibb County
- Serra Honda in Ensley
- May: Aldi on Gene Reed Road in Roebuck
- June: 2600 Highland Avenue and 700 A Condominium, as well as a new Calera High School
- July: Alabama National Cemetery
- August: Ridgecrest Baptist Church, Trussville warehouse conversion
- October: Hewitt-Trussville High School
- October 9: Center Point Fire Station No. 5
- October 13: Trussville Civic Center
- Buck Creek Greenway
- Hoover Fire Station No. 9
- John Hudson residence
- True Love Church
- Washington K-8 School
Books
- Birmingham, 35 Miles, a novel by James Braziel
- Who's Who in Black Birmingham recognizing African-American leaders
See Also
| 2000s |
| << 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 >> |
| Births - Deaths - Establishments - Events - Works |