Oxmoor Road
Oxmoor Road is an approximately three and three-quarters mile long street running roughly northeast-southwest through Homewood between Independence Drive (U.S. Highway 31) and West Oxmoor Road. It is part of a road dating back to at least the 1860s which was previously known as Oxmoor-Irondale Road and connected the Cahaba Iron Works in Irondale with Oxmoor Furnace in Oxmoor, hence the road's name.
History
In the 1860s, Oxmoor-Irondale Road was used to haul pig iron from both Irondale and Oxmoor south to Selma. The road was also important for early settlers of Shades Valley as it was easier to use it to access the two furnace's commisary stores for supplies than to cross Red Mountain to Elyton, or later Birmingham, for them. It was along this road that the settlements that would eventually become Homewood took shape. At some point in the first half of the 20th century, the road became known simply as Oxmoor Road.
Mining camps along Oxmoor Road were used as filming locations for the 1925 silent feature Coming Through.
During the late 20th century, two bypasses were created along Oxmoor Road. First, during the 1970s, West Oxmoor Boulevard was built north of Oxmoor Road to provide light industry that appeared on West Oxmoor Road a multi-lane route to I-65 and avoid a residential area. Oxmoor Road intersects both ends of West Oxmoor Boulevard. Second, during the late 1980s, Palisades Boulevard and Palisades Drive routed traffic through the Palisades shopping center to Green Springs Highway. In this case, direct access into the residential section along Oxmoor was cut off as Oxmoor feeds directly into the two Palisades roads.
Road description
Oxmoor Road is one of the primary east-west roads through Homewood, although the majority of it, except for some left turn lanes at select intersections, is two-lane road. Oxmoor is a five-lane road between Columbiana Road and West Oxmoor Boulevard (near Green Springs Highway and Interstate 65) and between West Oxmoor Boulevard and West Oxmoor Road. At its western end, Oxmoor Road becomes West Oxmoor Road, while the eastern end becomes Hollywood Boulevard.
Just south of the Palisades, Oxmoor Road is on the Birmingham-Homewood border. Between West Oxmoor Boulevard and West Oxmoor Road, portions of Oxmoor Road are fully in Birmingham while others are again along the Birmingham-Homewood border.
Notable locations
For an alphabetical list of locations, see the Oxmoor Road category.
From west to east:
- Intersection/merger with West Oxmoor Road
- 90: InTown Suites Oxmoor
- 102: Sandstone Medical Technologies
- 111: Buffalo Rock Company headquarters
- Intersection with West Oxmoor Boulevard
- 160: Shades Valley Community Church (formerly Oxmoor Ice Lodge and Alpine Ice Lodge)
- 162: Bogue's (formerly Devinci's Pizza, Florida Grille and Sirena's Latino & Seafood Grill)
- 195: Comfort Inn Oxmoor Hotel
- 220: Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q
- Intersection with West Oxmoor Boulevard
- Interstate 65 interchange
- Intersection of Green Springs Highway
- Intersection of Columbiana Road
- 500 block: Traffic diverted into Palisades Shopping Center
- 850: Edgewood Presbyterian Church
- Edgewood Business District
- 901: Edgewood Terrace Apartments
- 920: DWP Construction
- 923: Top Stitchin'
- 932: Sam's Deli & Grill
- 934: Short N Sweet Consignments (former location of O'Neal Drugs)
- 936: Edgewood Creamery
- 940: Homewood Florist
- Intersection of Broadway Street
- Edgewood Business District continued
- 1001: Trilogy Leather
- 1003: Edgewood Frame Shop (formerly Bill's Hobby Shop)
- 1008: Broadway BBQ
- 1010: New York Pizza
- 1014: Cool Beans Coffee House (formerly New York Pizza)
- 1016: Night Owl Paper Goods
- 1018: The Ruby Begonia
- 1019: Dawson Memorial Baptist Church Family Recreation Center (former location of Colonial Stores grocery)
- 1114: Dawson Memorial Baptist Church
- 1400: Trinity United Methodist Church
- 1629: Applause Dancewear
- 1632: Homewood Park/Homewood Department of Parks and Recreation
- Edgewood Business District continued
- Intersection of Central Avenue
- 1706: Nabeel's Café and Market (formerly Hamburger Heaven)
- 1720-28: Our Lady of Sorrows
- 1721: Homewood Public Library
- 1736: Lathan Associates Architects offices
- 1755: Prime Time Treasures
- Intersection of 18th Street South
- 1800 block
- 1800: Ridout's Brown Service Chapel
- 1808: Hallman Hill sales office
- 1900 block: Hallman Hill (formerly Homewood Gardens Apartments)
- 1901: Carriage House Weddings
- 1909: Do It Yourself Crafts
- 1800 block
- Intersection of Independence Drive/becomes Hollywood Boulevard
References
- Summe, Sheryl Spradling. (2001). Homewood: The Life of a City. Homewood, AL: Friends of the Homewood Public Library.