Mercy Home Orphanage

The Mercy Home Orphanage was a residence for orphaned children operated by Mercy Home (now Gateway) in Woodlawn. The orphanage was established under the leadership of Mrs C. B. Spencer and was originally located at 2130 11th Avenue North.

In 1927 Mercy Home moved to a new facility at Cedar Station on the Gate City streetcar line, addressed then as 429 52nd Place North in Woodlawn, and now as 5201 Messer Airport Highway, just north of I-20/59 and adjoining Forest Hill Cemetery.

The 2-story main building housed administrative offices and dormitories for the older children, boys in one wing and girls in the other. The two-story brick structure was built for $80,000.

On Christmas Day, 1935 the electric lights at the home's Christmas tree started a fire which destroyed the administration building. Superintendent Esther Richter and matron Stella Trice and one 10-year-old boy suffered minor injuries during evacuation, but no lives were lost. The fire continued to blaze well after the gas supply was shut off at 11:00 PM. A separate nursery building was undamaged. The community quickly provided new clothing and Christmas gifts for the 64 orphans temporarily housed at the nearby Woodlawn Infirmary.

The orphanage was rebuilt and continued to operate as Gateway's "Susanna Campus", focusing on housing and treatment programs for youth age 12–18 with severe emotional and behavioral issues.

In 2023 Gateway successfully petitioned the Birmingham City Council to rezone the former Mercy Home property as a commercial district so that they could sell it to Ambipar as a corporate office site.

References

• "Tots Safe In Mercy Home Fire." (December 26, 1935) The Birmingham Age-Herald, p. 1
• "The Near-Tragedy At The Mercy Home" (December 26, 1935) The Birmingham News, p. 6
• Garrison, Greg (March 3, 2023) "City approves Gateway plan to sell Birmingham’s first orphanage campus near airport." The Birmingham News

Category; 1936 buildings