2016

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

Events

• 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 1: Birmingham's minimum wage rose from $7.25 to $8.50 per hour under a local ordinance passed in August 2015 and revised in February 2016.
• April 6: The Rotary Trail on 1st Avenue South opened to the public.
• September 27-29: 2016 Minor League Baseball Promotional Seminar

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: Atlas RFID Solutions moved into the top two floors of the Booker T. Washington Building.

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.
• Lovelady Thrift Store opened a second location in Clay.

Disestablishments

• Vinny Vito's Italian & Steaks restaurant in McCalla
• January 28: The Wal-Mart Supercenter in Fairfield closed.

Government

• January 12: Mayor William Bell delivered his 2016 State of the City Address to the Kiwanis Club of Birmiingham at the Harbert Center.

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.
• 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.

Individuals

Awards

• February 5: Graham Boettcher was named Deputy Director of the Birmingham Museum of Art
• Alabama Sports Hall of Fame: James Brooks, David Cutcliffe, Jim Fulmer, Oscar Gamble, Martha Jones Lang, Chris Samuels, Calvin Smith and Andrew Toney

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: Louvenia Little, mother of Mayor William Bell
• February 7: Andrew Glaze, Poet Laureate of Alabama
• February 7: Redding Pitt, attorney and Alabama Democratic Party chair

Works

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.
• Iron City Lofts

Demolitions

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

Context

In 2016, WHO announced an outbreak of Zika virus in the Americas.

Notables deaths in 2016 included musician David Bowie, actor Alan Rickman, musician Glenn Frey, and actor Abe Vigoda.

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