2008

Skyline of Birmingham framed by a UAB parking deck. April 18, 2008 by DelosJ

2008 was the 137th year after the founding of the City of Birmingham.

Events

The Birmingham logo, unveiled in 2008

• 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
• March: Completion of the Pinhoti Trail connection was celebrated at Hernandez Peak in Cheaha State Park.
• April 7: The "Friendship bell" at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens was dedicated.
• 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
• July 16: Birmingham Airport Authority approved renaming the airport for Fred Shuttlesworth.
• 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
• October: Bici Cooperative was founded behind Greencup Books
• November 7 - 9: Southern disComfort 3
• November 21: The last Patti and Dollar Bill show aired on WDXB-FM.
• The Ilovecomix online archive was founded by Steve Cottle Jr
• Chrys Worley and John Pike founded the A.Skate Foundation
• Laborers In Christ Ministry was founded.

Business

Old Car Heaven opened in 2008

• January: The former HealthSouth corporate headquarters and incomplete HealthSouth digital hospital was sold to the Daniel Corporation for $43.5 million.
• February: The Harbert family sold Regions-Harbert Plaza.
• Rica Lewis-Payton became director and CEO of the Birmingham VA Medical Center.
• The Red Mountain Restaurant Group purchased La Paz from the Atlanta-based chain's owners.
• Greg Canfield sold his Canfield Insurance & Financial Services to Nationwide.

Establishments

• February: Book store and publisher GreencupBooks opened.
• February 5: Responsible Media, LLC record label was founded.
• February 9: Red Mountain Market opened.
• March 29: Edgewood Creamery 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.
• July 16: Sol's Sandwich Shop reopened downtown after a 13-year absence.
• July 21: Seafood D'Lite opened downtown.
• July 25: Promenade Tannehill shopping center opened in Bessemer.
• August 8: Ezekiel Hameen opened Z's Restaurant on 17th Street North.
• November: ScooterCo opened on 16th Avenue South.
• December 31: Old Car Heaven opened.
• WJLD-FM (partner to WJLD-AM) began broadcasting on low-power FM 104.1.
• The Alabama Spay Neuter Clinic opened in Irondale.
• Soluble Therapeutics was founded.
• MAFIAoZA's pizzeria opened in Crestline Village.

Disestablishments

• January: Nightclub The Station closed.
• January 25: Nightclub Zen opened.
• June 27: Nonna's restaurant closed.
• July 12: Eve's Leaves closed.
• November: Hawthorn Gallery closed.
• The Burly Earl closed its doors.
• The Music-N-More chain of record stores closed.

Education

• June 30: Bill Cleveland replaced the retiring Jodi Newton as superintendent of Homewood City Schools.
• Dicky Barlow became assistant superintendent of Mountain Brook Schools.
• 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.
• Kevin Maddox replaced Vic Wilson as principal of Homewood High School.
• Martin Nalls replaced Kevin Maddox as principal of Homewood Middle School.
• Vic Wilson replaced Dicky Barlow as principal of Mountain Brook High School.

Goverment

• Tracey Morant Adams was appointed Director of the Mayor's Office of Economic Development for the City of Birmingham.
• Paul Bailey retired from his position as Mayor of Baileyton.
• Shelley Tyree succeeded John Lee as chief of police at the University of Montevallo.
• 2008 primary elections
• 2008 general election
• 2008 municipal elections

Religion

• Youth Force Ministries began holding regular Saturday night youth events in Warrior.

Sports

• 2008 Birmingham Barons
• 2008 Iron Bowl
• 2008 SEC Baseball Tournament
• 2008 BSC Panthers football
• 2008 Samford Bulldogs football
• 2008 UAB Blazers football
• May 10: The third annual Birmingham Zoo Run was held.
• December 3: Tommy Tuberville resigned as the Auburn Tigers football coach.
• Basketball coach Chris Graves left Pell City High School for an assistant's job with the BSC Panthers.
• Jim McElwain became offensive coordinator for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team.

Individuals

• Paget Pizitz returned to Birmingham to serve as development director for the Alabama Council for Economic Education.
• Patti Wheeler retired from WDXB-FM.
• Mark Wilson was promoted to chief of staff of Cooper Green Mercy Hospital.

Births

• July 28: Willow, giraffe at the Birmingham Zoo

Graduations

• Lawrence Conaway from the Birmingham Theological Seminary.

Marriages

• March: High school teacher Andrew Gunn to former Miss America Deidre Downs.

Awards

• Alabama Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame: Bert Bank
• Alabama Lawyers' Hall of Fame: John Scott, Vernon Crawford, Edward Friend Jr, Elisha Peck
• Alabama Military Hall of Honor: Bert Bank
• Alabama Press Association Best Opinion Columnist: Joey Kennedy
• Leadership Birmingham: 48 graduates
• Miss Alabama: Amanda Tapley
• Miss Shelby County: Jessica Andrews
• Inaugural University of Alabama Health Services Foundation Endowed Chair in Biomedical Research: Dale Benos

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 27: Martha Wilson, civic and business leader in Gardendale
• 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
• April 27: Rob Lehmeyer, musician, conductor, translator and professor
• May 3: C. Paul Perry, physician
• May 13: Randy Mixon, Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service Captain
• May 13: Al O'Brien, painter
• May 13: Eddie Perry
• May 14: Brandee Skinner
• May 14: Ben Saxon
• May 23: JoBo Country, Mayor of Cardiff
• 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 9: Leon Vlahos, confectioner
• July 31: Alice Chalifoux, harpist
• August 2: John Mark Stallings, son of Alabama head coach Gene Stallings
• August 7: Simpson Pepper, sports announcer
• August 11: Bert Langerwerf, lizard breeder
• August 12: Gilles Bilodeau, Birmingham Bulls left winger
• 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 15: Dennis "The Rock" Dumas, musician and bandleader
• September 16: Warren Slater and his wife, Angie Felton
• September 25: Kent Lipham, actor
• September 26: Barbara Shook, philanthropist
• October 2: Joseph Gayles Jr, physicist and Talladega College president
• October 4: Al Gallodoro, saxophonist
• October 6: Sheba, a Birmingham Zoo lioness
• October 21: Tom Caldwell, pediatrician
• November 7: Abraham Woods Jr, minister and civil rights activist
• November 15: William Bowron, former CEO of Red Diamond
• November 20: Mary Ross Strudwick, artist
• November 25: Thomas Brigham, dentist and ski resort developer
• December 2: Odetta, folk singer
• December 19: James Bevel, Civil Rights activist

See also List of Birmingham homicides in 2008 and List of Jefferson County homicides in 2008

Works

Blaze statue

• April 8: "Stough Cross", sculpture by Cordray Parker at Carpenter House
• April 13: Seven Springs Ecoscape
• April 29: Blaze statue, a brightly-colored concrete mascot for UAB
• July 12: Linear Motion, a kinetic sculpture at the McWane Science Center
• August 29: Banksy graffiti, a controversial stencil painting in Ensley
• "Proceed and Be Bold!, documentary film about Amos Kennedy

Buildings

• January: Heritage Hall at UAB and an addition to Covenant Presbyterian Church in Homewood
• January: The Birmingham Social Security Administration Center opened.
• 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
• July 25: Colonial Promenade Tannehill
• 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
• November 18: Bass Pro Shops at Grand River in Leeds
• Birchall at Ross Bridge
• Buck Creek Greenway
• Chelsea Creek Center shopping center
• Hoover Fire Station No. 9
• John Hudson residence
• True Love Church
• Washington K-8 School
• Ben Erdreich townhouse
• Slossfield Community Center was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
• Holy Family Hospital was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.
• Mt Olive United Methodist Church, new sanctuary

Demolitions

• January 2: The Power of God Deliverance Ministry was destroyed by fire.
• February: The blue roofed Pilgrim Church on Montclair Road was demolished for redevelopment of the site.
• February 17: The Parliament House was brought down by controlled implosion.
• March 25: The derelict former Avonwood Cleaners was demolished.
• June 7: The John Hudson residence was destroyed by fire during construction.
• The Peter Ingle residence on Tyler Road was dismantled for redevelopment of the site.
• April: The Mountain Brook Inn was demolished for redevelopment of the site.
• September 22: The Terminal Station Skate Spot was dismantled by the Alabama Department of Transportation.
• The Tower Court Apartments were demolished for redevelopment of the site.
• December 13: The G. H. Stevenson residence, home of Glenn Shadix, was destroyed by fire.

Books

• Birmingham, 35 Miles, a novel by James Braziel
• Who's Who in Black Birmingham recognizing African-American leaders

See Also

• 2008 City Stages
• 2008 Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival

2000s

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Births - Deaths - Establishments - Events - Works