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. It was one of the first 40 institutions to receive operational support from the Birmingham Community Chest.

Before 1927 the Mercy Home board, which also oversaw the Alabama Vocational School for Girls acquired a 5-acre parcel at Cedar Station on the Gate City streetcar line. A second $25,000 building was added nearby to serve as a nursery for Mercy Home, housing as many as 30 children ranging from "bottle babies" to six years old. In 1927, a new $80,000 administrative and dormitory building for the older children was completed. It was 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 brick building housed boys in one wing and girls in the other with administrative offices in the center. $60,000 toward its construction was provided from the sale of the 11th Avenue North property.

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.

Directors

• Esther Richter, 1925–

References

• "60 Little Ones Plan For Move Into New Mercy Home At Cedar Station: One Of Chest Beneficiaries To Enter Choice Location On Gate City Line." (October 9, 1927) Birmingham News—Age-Herald, p. 16
• "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