2016

2016 was the 145th year after the founding of the City of Birmingham.

Events

I-22 was dedicated June 20, 2016

• January 3: Vinny Vito's restaurant in McCalla was destroyed by fire.
• January 14-16: The renovated Lyric Theater re-opened with a "Moderne Vaudeville" production.
• January 18: Democractic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders held a campaign rally at Boutwell Auditorium.
• January 29: WVTM morning news anchor Ken Lass hosted his final program before retiring.
• March 11: The Village Creek Greenway in Ensley was dedicated.
• March 16: Fire damaged the Reliable Formed Plastics plant at 911 2nd Avenue North.
• April 6: The Rotary Trail on 1st Avenue South was dedicated.
• April 22-24: The 33rd Magic City Art Connection was held at Linn Park.
• May 3-5: The 2016 Cities United Conference was held at the Sheraton Birmingham.
• May 6: The Rotary Trail opened to the public.
• May 7: The High Ore Line Trail was dedicated.
• June 13: Women of Soul collided with a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting in Linn Park.
• June 20: I-22 was dedicated.
• July 6: The Birmingham City Council approved changing the name of a two-block section of 1st Avenue South adjacent to Regions Field to Willie Mays Drive.
• July 16-17: The second annual Sloss Music & Arts Festival was held at Sloss Furnaces.
• August 14: Six people died in the 2016 Northport plane crash.
• August 16-18: Richella Heekins and Ben Marlow made their "BHM not BHX" visit on their way back to Birmingham, England from Las Vegas, Nevada.
• September 27-29: 2016 Minor League Baseball Promotional Seminar.
• October-November: An extreme drought affected most of Alabama.

Business

• January 1: Accounting firms Dent Baker & Co. and Moses Phillips Young Brannon & Henninger merged to form Dent Moses LLP.
• January 19: Cahaba Brewing Company opened its new brewery and tap room in the Continental Gin complex.
• January: Sam Giffin closed his 15th Avenue South Roly Poly location to concentrate on operating the downtown store on 20th Street North.
• January: The Foundation for Progress in Journalism purchased the Birmingham Times.
• O2 Ideas opened an office in Chicago, Illinois.
• March: The Peanut Depot moved from Morris Avenue to 3rd Avenue South in Parkside.
• April 1: The Red Cat coffee house opened a second at Liv Parkside
• April: Atlas RFID Solutions moved into the top two floors of the Booker T. Washington Building.
• April 26: John Sherman succeeded Claude Nielsen as president and CEO of Coca-Cola Bottling Co. United.
• April 30: What's on 2nd? reopened at 2123 1st Avenue North.
• October 13: The relocated Western Supermarkets location opened in Lane Parke.
• Real estate attorneys Hale Sides and Hill, Hill & Gossett merged to form Hale Sides Hill Gossett.
• Forstall Art Center moved from the Palisades Shopping Center to 20th Street North.
• Infinity Property & Casualty relocated from 3700 Colonnade Parkway to the former Birmingham News building on 4th Avenue North.

Establishments

• January 6: Sky Castle Gastro Lounge opened at 29 Seven.
• January: Miss Dots restaurant opened in Crestline Village.
• January: The Wooden Goat restaurant opened in Avondale.
• Attorneys Eric Langley and Robin Bromberg formed Langley & Bromberg.
• Former Regions Bank executives Chris Aliotta and Will Bryant founded Quantalytix.
• Lovelady Thrift Store opened a second location in Clay.
• March 9: Fancy's on 5th opened in Avondale
• March 15: Real and Rosemary opened in downtown Homewood.
• March 15: Holler & Dash opened in downtown Homewood.
• June: Saigon Noodle House opened on 3rd Avenue South in Avondale.
• July: Hot Diggity Dogs opened on 5th Avenue South in Avondale.
• Summer: Canary Gallery opened on 2nd Avenue North
• Ground Floor Contemporary opened on Richard Arrington Jr Boulevard South.
• October 3: Cashio's Meatball Market opened in Lakeview.
• Taco Morro Loco opened on 5th Avenue South in Avondale.
• Big Bad Breakfast opened a second location in downtown Homewood.
• December 15: Magic City Brew opened at Pickwick Plaza.

Disestablishments

• Vinny Vito's Italian & Steaks restaurant in McCalla
• January 28: The Wal-Mart Supercenter in Fairfield closed.
• February 28: Atherotech Diagnostic Lab closed.
• February 28: Cosmo's Pizza closed.
• March 19: Rocky's Pizza closed.
• April 1: House of Threads was acquired by the Würth Group of Künzelsau, Germany.
• May 27: La Bamba Grill in Edgewood closed.
• May 31: Sam Jackson's Emporium in Tuscaloosa closed.
• June: Oak & Raleigh closed.
• June: Brown Mackie College, with one location in Birmingham, halted new enrollments and began winding down classes.
• August: Higdon Paper was acquired by MAC Papers.
• August: The Café on Main in Trussville closed.
• August: PT's of SoHo closed.
• September: The Griffin Wheel Co. plant near Bessemer closed.
• September 6: ITT Technical Institute, with one location in Bessemer, ceased operating.
• Atlas Keg Co. was acquired by Keg Logistics of Lone Tree, Colorado.
• October 15: Fat Sam's Sub Station closed after 26 years.
• October 15: The Wooden Goat closed after 9 months.
• Fuego Cantina closed.
• December 6: The Birmingham City Council voted to declare Bob's Cafe a nuisance and revoke its license due to "multiple incidents".
• Bon Ton Hatters closed after 109 years.
• Doug's Coin & Jewelry in Homewood closed.
• Hardie-Tynes closed.
• World of Beer at Pickwick Plaza closed.

Education

• Linda Flaherty-Goldsmith succeeded Edward Leonard III as president of Birmingham-Southern College.
• Bottenfield Middle School was renamed Minor Middle School.

Government

• January 12: Mayor William Bell delivered his 2016 State of the City Address to the Kiwanis Club of Birmiingham at the Harbert Center.
• August 23: Many area cities held municipal elections.
• September 12: The "Operation Green Wave" clean-up program began operating.
• October: The City of Birmingham announced a 2-year contract with SRS Inc. of Gallatin, Tennessee to perform energy upgrades and install Trane HVAC equipment in 125 city-owned buildings.
• October 18: 2016 Birmingham neighborhood elections were held.
• October 26: The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office opened the Metro Area Crime Center.
• November 8: The 2016 general election was held.

Sports

• January 11: The 2015 Alabama Crimson Tide football team defeated the Clemson Tigers at Glendale, Arizona to win the College Football Playoff National Championship.
• March 8-12: The 2016 Conference USA Basketball Tournaments were held at Bartow Arena and Legacy Arena.
• April 4: Rob Ehsan succeeded Jerod Haase as head coach of the UAB Blazers men's basketball team.
• April 24: Simon Pagenaud won the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama.
• May 14: The Birmingham Hammers made their National Premier Soccer League debut in a home match against Chattanooga FC at the Sicard Hollow Athletic Complex.
• May 16-22: The Regions Tradition PGA Champions Tour golf tournament was held at the Greystone Golf and Country Club.
• November 26: The Alabama Crimson Tide beat the Auburn Tigers 30-12 in the 2016 Iron Bowl at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
• December 3: The Alabama Crimson Tide beat the Florida Gators 54-16 in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta, Georgia.

Individuals

Awards

• February 5: Graham Boettcher was named Deputy Director of the Birmingham Museum of Art
• March 31: Alabama State Superintendent of Schools Tommy Bice retired.
• Alabama Sports Hall of Fame: James Brooks, David Cutcliffe, Jim Fulmer, Oscar Gamble, Martha Jones Lang, Chris Samuels, Calvin Smith and Andrew Toney
• Alabama Women's Hall of Fame: Sarah Gayle and Ann Mae Beddow
• Miss Alabama: Hayley Barber
• Vulcan Awards: Odessa Woolfolk (lifetime achievement), Carrie Leland (servant leadership), John Croyle (hero), Henna Budhwani (newcomer)
  • Spear Awards: Bill Heintz and Philip Morris (servant leadership), Tajuan McCarty and James Strong (hero), Jarralynne Agee and Jim Wooten (game changer), Victoria Hollis and Daniel Branum (newcomer)

Retirements

• April 26: Coca-Cola Bottling Co. United president Claude Nielsen retired.
• May 1: Fairfield Police Department chief Leon Davis retired.
• August 5: CAP executive director Teresa Thorne retired.

Deaths

• January 19: David Orange, Jefferson County Commissioner
• January 20: Wash Booker, Civil Rights activist and political consultant
• January 25: Thornton Dial, artist
• February 5: Luvenia Little, mother of Mayor William Bell
• February 7: Andrew Glaze, Poet Laureate of Alabama
• February 7: Redding Pitt, attorney and Alabama Democratic Party chair
• February 10: Fleda Edwina Burns, wife of "Country Boy Eddie" Burns
• February 12: Norm Reilly, UAB Associate Athletic Director
• February 16: Jim Davenport, Giants third baseman and manager
• February 26: Clarence Lewis, soul singer
• February 27: Longin Soverow, artist
• February 29: Gil Hill, Detroit police inspector and city council president
• March 19: Dean Taylor, Jefferson County Board of Education member
• March 21: Frank Sikora, Birmingham News reporter and author
• March 23: Sang Lyda, former Alabama Crimson Tide associate athletic director
• March 23: James Owens, Auburn Tigers football player and Miles Golden Bears head coach
• March 24: Kevin Turner, former Alabama and NFL fullback
• March 27: Mother Angelica, founder of EWTN and the Our Lady of the Angels Monastery
• March 28: Norma Bumpus, principal of Leeds Elementary School
• April 4: Virginia Van der Veer Hamilton, journalist, educator and historian
• April 17: Mary Kay Beard, reformed bank robber and minister
• April 19: Raed Awad, imam
• April 24: Perry Hooper Sr, former Alabama State Supreme Court chief justice
• April 26: Myron Sasser, building inspector
• May 2: Bill Cather, commercial printer
• May 13: Bob Johnson, political reporter
• May 13: Irene Jordan, operatic soprano
• May 13: Raymond Harris, architect
• May 18: Sam Shatara, sandwich shop owner
• May 20: Doug Jones, former Helena Police Chief
• May 22: Wallace Carden, analytical chemist
• May 23: John Brophy, Birmingham Bulls (WHA and CHL) hockey coach
• May 31: Leroy Bandy, former Birmingham City Council member
• June 7: John C. Hall, naturalist and educator
• June 7: Wilmer "Bodie" Hinton, former Auburn University band director
• June 13: Byron Holdbrooks, former Alabama Crimson Tide football player
• June 26: Marilyn Witte, Miss Alabama 1954
• July 4: Ben Branscomb, pulmonologist
• July 13: Garry Drummond, chairman and CEO of Drummond Company
• July 20: Jason Kelley, television meteorologist
• July 29: Vasser Hemphill, Tuscaloosa civic activist
• August 5: Arris Jebeles, owner of Andrew's Sandwich Shop
• August 10: Mike Vanderboegh, anti-government activist and blogger
• August 15: Paul Spence, Mervyn H. Sterne Library founding director
• August 15: Mary Helen Foster, World War II aviator and librarian
• August 17: Jim Bennett, historian and former Alabama Secretary of State
• August 17: James Griffin, homeless character
• August 20: Harry Gilmer, Pro-Bowl quarterback
• August 20: George Curry, journalist and columnist
• August 22: Jeannine O'Grody, museum curator
• September 5: Ira Chaffin, sculptor
• September 18: Helen Lewis, vice-president and CFO of The Birmingham Times
• September 30: Sterling Brewer, radio and TV announcer and advertising executive
• October 5: Cameron Moore, former UAB Blazers basketball player
• October 7: Richard Joseph Smith, salon owner
• October 11: Mary Jo McMichael, former owner of the Irondale Cafe
• October 14: Lucy Baxley, former Lieutenant Governor of Alabama
• October 27: Everett Lawler, musician, arranger, bandleader and educator
• November 5: Ernest Brock, Alabama Crimson Tide football team physician
• November 16: Keith Hannah, Bibb County Sheriff
• November 16: Nolen Otts, artist and graphic designer
• November 23: Alan Drennen, insurance executive and Birmingham City Councilor
• November 28: William Christenberry, artist and teacher
• December 16: Mack Cumoze, owner of Little House on Linden Art Center

See also, List of homicides in 2016.

Works

• July 20: The Willie Mays statue was dedicated at Regions Field

Books

• Great Temple of Travel: A Pictorial History of Birmingham Terminal Station, 1909-1969 by Marvin Clemons

Buildings

• January 20: UAB's new Hill Student Center held its grand opening.
• April 6: The Rotary Trail was dedicated.
• May 5: Coyote Drive-In at the Outlet Shops of Grand River held its grand opening.
• Iron City Lofts
• 4700 Colonnade apartment complex
• Maxine Herring Parker Bridge
• swimming pool and splash pad at Maclin Park
• 4,000 square foot addition to Mitchell's Place

Demolitions

• New Woman All Women Health Care
• Vestavia Hills City Hall (1956)
• Tuscaloosa YMCA Building

Context

2016 was an election year dominated by media coverage of Donald Trump's breakthrough campaign for President. Barack Obama made an historic state visit to Cuba in March. Voters in the UK opted to leave the European Union. The World Health Organization announced an outbreak of the Zika virus in the Americas. The summer Olympic games were held in Rio de Janeiro. In June a man inspired by the Islamic State terror group shot 49 people to death at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

Notable deaths in 2016 included boxer Muhammad Ali, musicians David Bowie, Dave Brubeck, Leonard Cohen, Glenn Frey, Merle Haggard, George Michael, Prince and Leon Russell; actors Carrie Fisher, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Ron Glass, Florence Henderson, Debbie Reynolds, Alan Rickman, Robert Vaughn, Abe Vigoda and Gene Wilder; authors Richard Adams, Harper Lee and Umberto Eco; former first lady Nancy Reagan; astronaut/US Senator John Glenn, former Cuban president Fidel Castro, former Israeli president Shimon Peres, golfer Arnold Palmer, basketball coach Pat Summitt, astrophysicist Vera Rubin, radio host Gwen Ifill, and music producer Sir George Martin.

The Denver Broncos won the 2016 Super Bowl. The Chicago Cubs broke a 109-year drought by defeating the Cleveland Indians in the World Series. Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

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