Timeline of Linn Park history

This is a Timeline of Linn Park history, noting special events held at and changes made to the city park now known as Linn Park.

Events

• 1870s: An Alabama Mineral Exposition Building was built to showcase the region's mineral wealth for visitors to the city.
• January 17, 1883: The Birmingham Board of Aldermen approved a contract to take ownership of the the three originally-planned parks from the Elyton Land Company for a nominal price of $20 plus reimbursement of $90 for recent fencing.
• February 21, 1883: Deeds were issued to the City of Birmingham for the three parks.
• March 8, 1883: The city's deeds were recorded by the Jefferson County Probate Court.
• 1883: The Manufacturing Exposition of 1883 used the exposition building.
• November 24, 1883: A mob broke Lewis Houston out of the Jefferson County Jail and lynched him from a pine tree in the park.
• 1884: James Garrett planted four ginkgo trees in the park.
• 1885: The former Exposition Building was replaced with a larger, 3-story structure.
• 1886: The Exposition Building was forced into service as classrooms for students from Powell School, displaced by a fire.
• 1891: Hudgins' fountain was moved to the park and the Exposition Building was demolished.
• April 26, 1894: The cornerstone for the Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Monument was laid.
• June 27, 1895: The first concert was held in a newly-constructed band stand. Two existing electric lights were moved closer to the fountain.
• July 6, 1895: Fred Grambs led his Grambs Military Band in a concert for 2,000 listeners.
• 1899: Under the direction of the Park Committee of the Birmingham Board of Aldermen, the fountain was, "changed into a flower bed," at very small expense to the city.
• May 17, 1900: The citizens of Birmingham accepted the gift of a Spanish 8-foot gun captured in Panama by the United States.
• December 14, 1904: The William Elias B. Davis statue was dedicated.
• April 26, 1905: The completed Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Monument was dedicated.
• October 24, 1905: President Theodore Roosevelt delivered a speech from a platform in front of the Confederate monument.
• 1908: The Mary Cahalan statue was dedicated.
• April 6, 1909: A two-balloon race launched from the park to celebrate the opening of the new Birmingham Terminal Station.
• November 3, 1909: President William Taft delivered an address at Capitol Park.
• April 24, 1913: "Chief Potlatch" passed a peace pipe and presented a hatchet to be buried as part of the 1913 Potlatch to heal dissension among city leaders.
• 1914: The city sponsored nightly "photo-play" (cinema) screenings in the park.
• May 16-18, 1916: The 1916 Reunion of the United Confederate Veterans included several events around the Confederate Memorial and an encampment of the "Orphan's Brigade" of Kentucky.
• During World War I Sundays at the park were highlighted by "community sings" in an 800-seat wooden amphitheater.
• December 3, 1918: The park was officially renamed for Woodrow Wilson.
• 1920: A tree was planted in the park in memory of World War I aviator Arthur Meredyth Roberts.
• 1921: President Warren G. Harding delivered a landmark speech on race relations during the Semicentennial of Birmingham
• 1921: A Fashion-Industrial Exposition was staged inside a temporary Exposition Building during the Semicentennial of Birmingham
• November 11, 1923: The Spirit of the American Doughboy was dedicated as a World War I memorial.
• 1927: The Birmingham Public Library opened.
• 1927: A stone Zero mile marker was placed in the park.
• 1931: The Jefferson County Courthouse was completed.
• 1932: The Old Elyton Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution planted an oak tree in memory of president George Washington in the southeast quadrant of the park.
• 1937: The Revolutionary War Veterans Memorial was moved to the park from Five Points South.
• 1938: The first Sidewalk Art Show was held.
• 1944: The pedestal for the Memorial to the Spanish American War was erected.
• June 2, 1946: The Memorial to the Spanish American War was dedicated.
• December 4, 1948: The burial of an actual hatchet in the park by the presidents of the Student Government Associations of the University of Alabama and Auburn University preceded the renewal of the annual Iron Bowl football rivalry in Birmingham after a 40-year intermission.
• 1948: The Azalea Garden Club donated 1,000 plants to the city, many of which were planted at Woodrow Wilson Park over the next five years, in order to make it a, "bower of azaleas."
• 1950: The Birmingham City Hall opened.
• February 10, 1951: "To Strengthen the Arm of Liberty", an 8-foot-4-inch pressed copper replica of the Statue of Liberty, was dedicated on a limestone plinth in the park's central reflecting pool. It was donated by Boy Scouts' Birmingham Area Council.
• May 3, 1959: The Birmingham Museum of Art opened in the Oscar Wells Memorial Building facing the park.
• 1959: A live Christmas tree was planted in the park.
• August 26, 1960: A political campaign rally for Richard Nixon was held on the steps of City Hall with the crowd filling the part of the park. (photo)
• May 7, 1963: More than a thousand young protesters assembled in the park during widespread civil disobedience at the peak of the Birmingham Campaign.
• May 20, 1964: George Wallace delivered a campaign speech to a crowd of 2,500 at Wilson Park.
• July 4, 1968: During the city's 15th annual Independence Day celebration a plaque honoring Vietnam War casualties from Jefferson County was dedicated at Wilson Park. Lt. General Jonathan Seaman was guest of honor at the ceremony, and the Floral Map of Alabama was redesigned with a "Big Red One" to honor his 1st Infantry Division.
• March 15, 1969: The Eternal Flame of Freedom was dedicated.
• May 11, 1970: The Birmingham Peace League held an anti-war rally at Woodrow Wilson Park after a march from the University of Alabama Extension Center.
• May 1971: The park's Floral Map of Alabama was bedecked with an All-America City shield in honor of the city's recognition by the National Civic League.
• 1972: A "Freedom Tree" was dedicated "with the vision of universal freedom for all mankind." It was ringed with plaques remembering 14 U.S. servicemen who were reported missing in action.
• May 3, 1976: President Gerald Ford delivered an address at Wilson Park.
• October 31, 1981: Willie Mays Day was celebrated with a parade around the park.
• February 4, 1983: The "Friends of Woodrow Wilson Park" was incorporated as a non-profit.
• October 4, 1988: The renovated Linn Park was dedicated.
• June 16–18, 1989: The first City Stages festival was held.
• May 4, 1992: More than 700 people gathered at the park to protest white nationalist activity in the region, following the April 18 murder of Benny Rembert by members of Bill Riccio's Aryan National Front.
• 2005: American Idol finalist Taylor Hicks performed a mini-concert for home-town fans which was filmed for the television program.
• November 11, 2007: The Raymond Weeks Memorial was dedicated.
• 2013: A bronze statue of Charles Linn, sculpted by Branko Medenica, was installed at the park.
• July 1, 2015: The Birmingham Board of Parks and Recreation voted to pursue removal of the Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Monument from park property.
• October 23, 2015: A Nina Miglionico statue was dedicated near Birmingham City Hall.
• June 13, 2016: Women of Soul collided with a candlelight vigil for the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting in Linn Park.
• May 31, 2020: A mob that assembled as part of the George Floyd protests and riots damaged several monuments in Linn Park, toppling the Charles Linn statue and defacing several others before they were dispersed.
• June 1, 2020: City crews began to dismantle and remove the Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Monument.
• August 7, 2020: The Birmingham Board of Parks and Recreation voted to rename Linn Park for Fred Shuttlesworth and John Lewis.
• October 30, 2020: Be A Blessing Birmingham unveiled its mobile showers for the homeless.
• July 21, 2021: A tree fell in the park, causing minor injuries to one person.
• October 4, 2022: The Birmingham City Council approved a 1-year contract with My Goat Inc. to furnish and maintain four robotic mowers to tend to the grassed areas of the park at a cost of $11,720.