List of Birmingham parks

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This is a list of Birmingham parks, made up of those dedicated as public parks by the Birmingham City Council. Once a park is dedicated, the land can no longer be sold or the space used for any other purpose unless approved in a voter referendum. Action by the council requires a survey of the proposed park land along with other documentation. Except for some parks which operate under agreement with independent boards or organizations, the parks are managed by the Birmingham Park and Recreation Board and maintained by the Birmingham Department of Public Works.

By 1958 the Department maintained 65 city parks covering more than 1,200 acres. In 1961 the park system employed 110 full-time Civil Service workers, 64 unclassified laborers, and another 50 summer workers. It organized summer recreation programs at 28 parks and year-round activities at 12 community centers. The system then operated 84 tennis courts, 29 softball fields (12 lighted), 25 baseball diamonds (3 lighted), 8 swimming pools and 4 golf course. That fall, the Birmingham City Commission voted to close all of the city's parks rather than comply with a federal court order to allow them to be used by people of all races. In 1962 the city debated whether it could sell the parks, collectively valued at more than $8 million, to private individuals. The city's law department researched the legal status of the parks and divided them into six categories based on how the property was acquired, each requiring different actions in order to permit sale. After the installation of a new form of government for Birmingham in April 1963, the newly-installed city council made it their first order of business to reopen parks (except for swimming pools) on an integrated basis.

By 1994 there were almost 100 named parks, but only seven had been formally dedicated. A number of others were nominally protected by the terms of sale or a bequest, but the degree of protection depended on how the deeds were worded. A developer's 1990 proposal to build houses on Altamont Park led to a public outcry, which resulted in its formal dedication to the public. Following that controversy, the park board undertook a planning process. Many of Birmingham's parks were rededicated under an amended ordinance in 2000. The new ordinance required property surveys, deeds, and council records to be kept on file in the City Clerk's office.

In 2018 the Trust for Public Land credited Birmingham with having 3,979 acres of dedicated park land in 118 parks.

Public parks

District parks

Special parks

Other parks

Parks owned by the city and managed by other parties

Parks partially owned by the city and managed by other parties

Public parks in the city of Birmingham, owned and managed by other parties

Former parks

References

External links

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