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Samford University

WRIGHT CENTER

Join us for Step Sing, acclaimed artists, lectures, movies and performances by students and faculty.

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Samford University’s Wright Center

The Assad Brothers February 21

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thelocalbham.com | 1

Welcome I’m thrilled to invite you along as we engage in the growth of Birmingham.

The Local is inspired by Birmingham’s vibrant character—and the way it is reinventing itself. Birmingham is constantly changing, and this magazine is our canvas for displaying the city’s revitalization.

As a team of journalists, we had the challenge of conveying the evolution of Birmingham to you. We wanted to illustrate the way the city is able to maintain its historic charm while adapting to a changing world.

To do this, we found ourselves reinventing The Local. This edition takes on a new, fresh look and a different approach to storytelling. Our vision was to craft a readable work of art. The content of this magazine pushed us as journalists outside our comfort zones prompting us to develop as thinkers and writers. I hope that it pushes you, too.

We want you to engage with the stories you find in The Local. Our goal is to express the human experience in a way that readers can connect with as we bring moments to life through vivid details and striking stories.

I have been astounded by the unity of our team and our clear vision from day one. Each member contributes unique talents and perspectives that have allowed them to dig deeper below the surface to find the stories that are easily overlooked.

These stories belong to the people of Birmingham. The Local is committed to sharing these people’s stories, their goals and defeats, and how they converge to shape this diverse culture.

We want readers to be enchanted, to fall in love with the Magic City. Amid the hurried pace of life, this magazine is an invitation to savor the goodness Birmingham has to offer.

Claire Jaggers Editor-in-Chief

A GLANCE INTO THE

LO C A L Welcome

L Beginnings

Humanity

8 Seeds of Change | Teaching the art of farming 12 Birmingham without Walls | Grow proximate to Birmingham homeless

Roots

18 Iron Bowl|Our city’s roots in the SEC’s biggest rivalry 20 Coleman Estate | Uncovering history in these walls

Cultivate

28 My Magic City Success | Secrets from successful local entrepreneurs 34 Talladega | Hike the awe-inspiring, enchanting forest 38 Timid Sons | Band juggles work, school and practice

Revitalize

40 Pizitz | Food hall opening downtown 45 If These Walls Could Talk | Covering Birmingham in art

We are committed to...

Providing contemporary coverage and insight on a historical city from a youthful perspective. We foster a culture that challenges young people to engage in the growth around them. The Local captures powerful moments that reflect the vibrant character of the Magic City.

STAFF Publisher Clay Carey Editor-in-Chief Claire Jaggers Print Managing Editor Charis Nichols Online Managing Editor Madison Browder Art Director Asia Burns Photo Editor Kate Sullivan Social Media Specialist Hannah Garrett Copy Specialists McLane Evans Hannah Diamond Caleb Jones

ON THE COVER Oliver Tell Studio is a local hand lettering and design shop located in Winslet & Rhys in Avondale.

Pictured is this year’s holiday mood board inspired by owner and creative Brittany Baker.

The Local is a biannual magazine published by students at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. The stories and photographs that appear in The Local are produced by students in Samford University’s print and online journalism practicum program. The views expressed in The Local do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff or of Samford University. Samford University is anEqual Opportunity Institution and welcomes application for employment regardless of race, color, age, sex, disability or national or ethnic origin.

BIRMINGHAM 3

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MAGIC CITY STAYCATION 1

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Mix and match some of Birmingham’s best for the perfect staycation. This list is comprised of some of the Local Staff’s top places to eat, stay, and play in the Magic City.

Story By Charis Nichols Map by Kate Sullivan

EAT

STAY

PLAY

1. Fancy’s on Fifth: An oyster dive and burger bar located in vibrant Avondale. Meet friends here for some casual weekend grub.

2. Glory Bound Gyro Co.: Induldge in some delicious greek cuisine. Located minutes from Regions Field, it is perfect for preand post- game celebrations.

3. Bamboo on 2nd: Offers topshelf quality Asian dishes. Located in the heart of the Downtown Loft District it is a great start to your night.

1. Grand Bohemian: Luxury hotel located across from the Botanical Gardens and steps away from popular shopping and cuisine in Mountain Brook.

2. The Redmont: This newly renovated business bills itself as the oldest hotel in the Magic City. Find some of the best views of the city lights from its rooftop.

3. The Westin: Rewind and relax in this modern southern upscale hotel located in the city’s Uptown District.

1. Rotary Trail: Running through the center of downtown, this green space is the perfect place to take an afternoon stroll.

2. Lyric Theatre: As part of the theatre district, the Lyric is a great place to catch shows, films and even educational events.

3. Urban Air Trampoline Park: A new addition to the Homewood community, this jump park is for kids of all ages. Stop by during the day or night, with friends, or with family.

4 | Beginnings

Banditos are unashamedly themselves in their life and music. Photo courtesy of David McClister.

Banditos in search of BIG break

Guitarist Corey Parsons sits down with The Local to discuss the band’s goals, influences and accomplishments

T

he Banditos are natives of the Birmingham area, but they currently live in Nashville as they pursue their music career full time. The band is comprised of six friends who describe themselves as more of a “gang” than a musical group. This rag-tag gang has been making music together for more than five years now. They started out playing in bars and out on the streets of downtown Birmingham for tips. Now, they have put out a full-length, self-titled album with a second album on the way. Guitarist Corey Parsons recently discussed the band’s journey with “The Local.”

What has been the biggest challenge that you have overcome as a band? Being able to make a living by playing music is a challenge within itself.

How does the music you play relate back to your everyday lives? Definitely, most everything we write has come from personal experience. And if not, it certainly does now.

What other artists (past or present) inspire you? A few that come to mind are: Chuck Berry, Etta James, Gram Parsons, Ramones, Lightnin’ Hopkins, 13th Floor Elevators, Sly and the Family Stone, Dr Hook, Bob Seger and The Banana Splits.

What are the band’s long term goals? To do our best to smooth the rough edges of life for anyone needing so.

What would you want your fans to know about the band that they might not? We’re genuinely appreciative of them.

What inspires the lyrics for your songs? It’s different every time, but we all take from personal experiences in some way or another.

Story by Caleb Jones thelocalbham.com | 5

Meet the Owners | 1. Winslet & Rhys: Brittany Baker, Mallory Collier Opened in September 2016, Winslet & Rhys is a one-of-kind mercantile shop created out of two women’s dreams to provide Birmingham with a store of high quality handmade goods.

Both women spent much of their lives traveling around the world where they grew to appreciate the beauty in simplicity. That lifestyle resonates throughout Winslet and Rhys. Stop by the store and browse for yourself.

2. Small Box Co.: Eric Tasker

Opened in October 2016, Small Box Co. is exactly what it sounds like: a company in a small box. Local entrepreneur and architect Eric Tasker set out to create spaces where Birmingham startups could test out their markets, locations and products.

Rainy Day Studio, a retail collective of southern artists was the first enterprise to fill the box. Check out the box located at the corner of Railroad Park.

3. Artefact Supply: Brandon Hays

Opened in September 2016, Artefact Supply was created out of one man’s struggle to find a local brick-and-mortar store where he could buy well-crafted men’s apparel. Brandon Hays, a lawyer at Second Row Law, has a passion for any and all well-crafted products. He made it his “passion project” to create the essential men’s apparel shop in downtown Birmingham.

Artefact Supply is committed to supplying men with quality timeless apparel and goods, such as denims, chinos, sweaters and button-downs.

The personalites behind Birmingham’s newest retailers

Favorite items in the store right now? Yield Design Co.’s French Press, Hackwith Sweater in Peach and the House Candle.

Best part about being located in Avondale?

The neighbors (MAKEbhm). It’s like having a little family all for each other!

Most amazing place you have traveled?

Fez Morocco. It’s Morocco’s hidden secret.

Why this current venture? I wanted to create a space to help people achieve their vision. Small Box works as a building block for new retailers to gain customers, build their lines, and work towards acquiring a brick and mortar location in the future.

Favorite downtown activity? I have two kids and my wife and I love to take them biking on the Rotary Trail.

Describe your business in a mantra: Small boxes for big ideas.

How did you choose the brands you would include? I searched for brands that were unique and cultured, but also had a good price point.

Just to name a few: Life After Denim, 3Sixteen, Billykirk and Red Wing Heritage.

Why 2nd Avenue? 2nd Avenue is the heartbeat of downtown right now. Dining, bars and retail are filling the area…a great place to gain foot traffic.

Favorite place to be downtown ? At Urban Standard drinking coffee and eating cupcakes or catching a concert at Iron City or WorkPlay.

Story by Charis Nichols Photographs by Charis Nichols, Kate Sullivan, and Mountainside Photo Co.

6 | Beginnings

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Seeds of Change

Jerick Hamilton works on the farm.

Teaching Students the Art of Farming

J

erick Hamilton is a student farmer that finds the farm behind his school to be a quiet respite from the chaos of the city. He starts his afternoon with a careful plant inspection. Moving row to row, Hamilton bends down to pull away stray, dead leaves to ensure the livelihood of the crops.

Hamilton loses track of time as he moves deeper into the sunflowers or gets lower to the earth’s soil with the radishes and turnips. His eyes light up as he is asked to differentiate an array of brightly colored produce— produce that he helped grow.

“Amazing. Jaw-dropping. Fun.” These are the words Hamilton, a junior at Woodlawn High School used to describe the school’s recent partnership with Jones Valley.

Jones Valley Teaching Farm empowers students to grow, sell and eat their own produce. By inviting Woodlawn High School students to participate in the farming process, Jones Valley is equipping change makers.

Each weekday, Hamilton can be found carefully weeding one of the 10 beds of vegetables in Woodlawn High School’s Urban Farm.

8 | Humanity

Among the sunflowers, turnips, radishes, mustard greens, chard, broccoli, cauliflower and kale are the fingerprints of student farmers who stay behind after school and diligently tend this plentiful garden.

He is eager to share his new passion for gardening with others.

“Ever since I’ve started doing it, I feel like I can take it anywhere I go. It can even help me in the long run,” he said. “Maybe one day I will want to have my own farm in my backyard, or a garden.”

For Hamilton, this opportunity has presented more than just a new hobby—it has given him vision for the future.

“I want to be a little bit of everything. I feel like you can’t just choose one thing and stick to it, you are gonna always change. Change is good. But if I could pick one thing, it would be industrial engineer.”

Hamilton is one of the students at Woodlawn participating in an early college program established through Jones Valley. This partnership allows him to work while also receiving school credit for his threehour afternoon shift at the farm.

W the a gr is w scien direc food Fe Jone class Jo dow to fr farm curr Birm In desig the s W Valle with of w heal

s on the farm.

Woodlawn High School Urban Farm sits just behind the school and is equipped with two farming acres, a greenhouse and an outdoor teaching area. That is where Scotty Feltman, the school’s environmental science teacher who doubles as the farm program director, brings his classes to expose students to healthy foods.

Feltman’s hands-on approach to teaching aligns with Jones Valley’s mission to “connect discoveries in the classroom to action in the community.”

Jones Valley originated as an urban farm in downtown Birmingham that provides better access to fresh produce. It has since evolved into a teaching farm through the implementation of a specialized curriculum model, Good School Food, in several Birmingham city schools.

In that program, students experiment in Farm Labs designed to provide learning environments that engage the senses.

With seven teaching farms across Birmingham, Jones Valley exposes students to nutrition as they interact with fresh food daily. That creates a greater awareness of where food comes from and emphasizes the value of healthy lifestyle choices.

“I want students to be able to graduate knowing, ‘If I grew 200 pounds of radishes and I was able to feed my neighborhood, I can do a lot of stuff. Maybe college isn’t so scary.’”

Scotty Feltman

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(Clockwise from left): Taylor Witt with fresh produce, Scotty Feltman’s hands as he teaches, the farm with view of Woodlawn High School behind it, sunflowers grow on the farm.

thelocalbham.com | 9

The leap to Woodlawn High School happened last year in an effort to create a K-12 learning experience where children participate in the growing process in different stages throughout their education.

The program culminates in Feltman’s high school environmental science class, where the urban farm is used as a tool for engagement.

Feltman was a fifth grade science teacher at Avondale Elementary when the idea for the urban farm began to formulate. He committed to the role of farm program director after realizing it would be a great opportunity to impact a lot of students.

Feltman impresses upon his students the fact that they can help others through farming. His ultimate goal is that students leave the farm experience with confidence in who they are and what they can accomplish.

Senior Taylor Witt felt that empowerment. Witt uses her time on the farm to evaluate her lifestyle. “Maybe I can change my ways of eating and influence my friends and family members. I want to influence my nephews the most because they are young, the oldest is 7 and the youngest is 5,” she said.

Witt got involved with Jones Valley after her ninth grade biology teacher encouraged her to attend an interest meeting. That meeting introduced the urban farm concept to the Woodlawn community.

Witt worked with a group of students to brainstorm, provide input and contribute to the planning process as this idea materialized. The farm came to life last year, and it taught Witt a great deal about patience.

10 | Humanity

“It’s a learning process. It’s building up your skills. I feel like each day I am out here is a day I am learning something new,” said Witt.

Like Witt, the student farmers at Woodlawn have played an integral role in the process of building the garden from the ground up. Starting work in August, the team works in a student-driven manner where everyone’s voice is heard.

Feltman, who oversees the co-op, is in a position to hear those distinct voices, as he develops personal relationship with the students involved. One of these voices belongs to Hamilton, who met Feltman as a student in his fifth grade class. His message to Feltman is one of profound gratitude, “Thank you, thank you for hiring me. Thank you for believing in me and showing me there is more to life,” said Hamilton.

Clearly the art of farming transcends health to benefit students in areas of attitude, success in school, family life and relationships. Jones Valley uses fresh food as a powerful tool to apply disciplines of patience, responsibility and teamwork to real-life situations.

Through the process of farming at Woodlawn High School Urban Farm students find vision, purpose and an outlet for personal growth. The influence of the program extends far beyond growing plants to the change taking root within the lives of students.

Story By Claire Jaggers Photographs By Emily Cullum

a l ph a de lta pi we live for each other | since 1851

Birmingham

W

m

Without

Walls

L

eroy sat in Linn Park waiting for a ride to the bus station on a warm, November afternoon.

He was not alone in the park; in Alabama, it is still warm enough for short sleeves in November, so people with no other place to go can sit outdoors comfortably.

He leaned forward on his cane, a crutch he found necessary after a surgery left him with metal rods in his leg. His rough hands—one with stitches running across the palm—crossed one over the other at the crook of the cane. Leroy’s leg surgery left him unable to work, he explained. He draws a disability check for $925 a month and collects $16 in food stamps each month. After a divorce, Leroy found himself with no place to live.

“I lived in my car for a while,” he said. “But I lost my license. I would be in my car all day, driving from Greenville to Mobile, Mobile to Birmingham, Birmingham to Montgomery. I fell asleep. I was in the right lane so I went off the road, but the officer pulled me over. He thought I was drunk.”

The bus he was waiting on this day would take him to Greenville, nearly two hours away from Birmingham, where his car was. He had $300 in his pockets—money he planned to give to a contact in Greenville to pay back a debt. It was all the money he had to his name.

“I can’t get an apartment by myself,” he said. “I only get $925 a month for everything. An apartment—that’s my whole check.

I wouldn’t have anything left over for anything else.”

Leroy is one of the thousands of homeless men and women living in Birmingham.

He is one of a smaller subset considered “chronically homeless.”

According to the study “A Needs Assessment of the Homeless

“He put that stamp on his identity and assumed that the nice girl that gave him food was going to walk away.”

Mallory Pettet of Birmingham and Jefferson County,” 29 percent of the homeless population in Birmingham fit the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s definition of chronically homeless. Chronically homeless people either have disabling conditions and have been homeless for a year or more or have been homeless four times within three years.

Many of those homeless people said that “personal relationship issues” caused their homelessness.

“Ninety-one percent report experiencing at least one undesirable life event over the last year. The most common events are job loss, death of a close friend, family member or partner, physical abuse, or problems with a spouse or partner,” the study said.

On Nov. 9, 2011, Jefferson County filed for bankruptcy, according to county records. The debt of $3.14 billion made it the most expensive municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history at the time. Since then, the availability of jobs has been decreasing.

Birmingham has an estimated homeless population of about 3,000 people. That is 0.13 percent of the overall population of the city living without a home.

More people are without work and fewer of them are able to find employment. The loss of job infrastructure caused by being homeless creates a vicious poverty cycle that local activists and volunteers say is not easy to break.

Defining homelessness There is a common, grim 14 | Humanity

image traditionally associated with homelessness: a dirty, desperate man with a long beard sitting on the corner of a street alone, occasionally begging passersby for nickels.

However, this public image of the indecent homeless man does not reflect the true demographic of the homeless community. In truth, most homeless individuals consider the streets too dangerous to live on.

“They’re scared,” Mallory Pettet said. “One woman I met—she was homeless—but she was mugged and was scared out of her wits.

Some men followed her and robbed her of everything she had. And she doesn’t have a place to go and lock a door.”

Pettet and her close friend Hannah Baker visit members of the homeless community in Five Points every week. The pair help lead a Bible study, which they say is mostly led by a seven-year member of the Five Points houseless community.

Even more contrary to the common face of homeless is the fact that the majority of the homeless population is hidden from view.

According to the needs assessment study, only 12 percent of the homeless population in Birmingham stay on the street.

About 34 percent stay in transitional housing, 22 percent in emergency shelters and 12 percent in treatment facilities. Around 82 percent of Birmingham’s homeless have been homeless for less than two years.

Pettet said that many of the people who live on the streets of Birmingham suffer from severe loss

Above: This infographic depicts the length of time people in Birmingham were considered homeless.

Previous: Leroy sits in Linn Park waiting on a ride to the bus station.

of identity and dignity as a result of being homeless.

“I had a conversation with a guy a couple weeks ago at a grill-out at Five Points,” Pettet said. “This one man wouldn’t look me in the eyes.

I asked him his name and who he was and why he wouldn’t talk to me, and he mumbled ‘I just got out of prison.’”

“He put that stamp on his identity and assumed that the nice girl that gave him food was going to walk away,” Pettet said.

A Voice for the Homeless When they moved here from Nashville in 2009, Ryan HamiltonSchumacher and his wife, Hope, noticed a hole in Birmingham.

They saw a clear division between two communities in the city.

“We recognized the privilege that we didn’t earn, but were born into,” Hamilton-Schumacher said. “That

privilege unfairly gave us a larger voice than others.”

The computer programmer and his wife, a doula, decided to fill that hole by creating a newspaper catering to Birmingham’s homeless community.

“We wanted to provide a medium for those who didn’t have a voice to have a voice, whether it was creative writing, poetry, drawing or reporting on occurrences in the city,” Hamilton-Schumacher said.

The street paper, aptly named The Voice, was a carefully designed business model intended to lead Birmingham’s most impoverished citizens back into the work force.

“What we saw as a problem was that if you’re experiencing homelessness, it’s difficult to earn a job. Employers ask for all these key pieces of information that someone who is homeless will not have,” thelocalbham.com | 15

A large community of homeless people gather at Birmingham’s Linn Park. They gather near the fountain, as the sound of running water blocks out street noise, citizens say.

Hamilton-Schumacher said.

“So, this was an avenue to reintroduce individuals to the job market. We wanted to be able to provide some infrastructure to their work and help them earn their own money. They also have someone to put as a work reference. We say it is a tool to help individuals pursue other jobs.”

Hamilton-Schumacher said combatting homelessness begins with employing people who are experiencing homelessness.

According to HamiltonSchumacher, the inability to maintain a reliable source of income aggravates the cycle of homelessness.

“There is a large community of people in the religious community 16 | Humanity

that want to help homeless and houseless people, with all the best intentions in the world,” he said, “but the issue of homelessness cannot be solved just by giving money and feeding people. You can’t rent an apartment, pay for food and send your children to daycare while working at McDonald’s. There is no way to survive. You have to get more than one job, but you won’t be there for your family.”

Homeless in Birmingham Hamilton-Schumacher often tells the story of the best newspaper seller he ever met.

“If all our time invested in The Voice came down to one story and one life that was changed, this would justify it all,” he said.

in, ay.

“The story is of this man that came to us. I don’t remember his name,” Hamilton-Schumacher said. “He was a builder—a contractor—living paycheck to paycheck.

“He came from up north and all of his jobs were numbers in his phone and he lost his phone one day. And losing his phone created a snowball effect. This guy who had been his primary contact wasn’t able to communicate with him and probably interpreted his silence as the inability to follow up on a job.

“He lost his work and was evicted from his apartment. Because he had no money coming in, he lost his car insurance. Since he was no longer able to drive it, he sold it because he needed cash. He eventually ended up on the streets. And he is a skilled builder that—because of the loss of his phone—ended up on the streets.”

Hamilton-Schumacher said those circumstances play out over and over; one mistake or one slip sentences people to years of poverty to be served on a street corner or in transitional housing. In the city of Birmingham, the rate of unemployment is 5.4, comparable to 5.0 in Atlanta and 5.2 in New York and a half a percentage point higher than the national average.

“I feel that homelessness is systemic and there are not only current but also historical events that have led to what we are experiencing today,” HamiltonSchumacher said. “There are individuals in this city who are living paycheck to paycheck.”

Proximate Hollie Woodis, a student at Samford University, said she was given insight to a different perspective of homeless by sheer happenstance.

“My boss went out of town and asked me to run errands while he was gone,” Woodis said. “He asked

me to run a check to the post office.”

But the trip that was supposed to be a straight-shot to the post office took a turn that Woodis did not expect. That was the day she met a Birmingham citizen living without a home.

“I saw a man walking on the side of the road,” she said, “and he had his big bag and was looking down on himself, like he wanted a ride.”

Woodis picked up the man, whose name she later learned was Lonny Williams, and gave him a ride to the post office.

“Our relationship formed out of that,” she said “I gave him my number and he calls me when he needs a ride, usually to the post office or to his nephew’s house.”

When Woodis was confronted with this image of homelessness— one that she said she had never seen before—it gave her the opportunity to view homelessness differently.

Woodis said it was this personal relationship with a member of the houseless community that allowed her to combat houselessness in Birmingham—not through ministry or activism, but through simple understanding and friendship.

Mallory Pettet, who works with homeless people in Five Points recalls a conversation she had with a local activist. “One thing he told me that raised my hair is this: ‘In order to change the narrative we have cast, we must proximate ourselves with the parts of our city that are broken,’” Pettet said.

“We just want to know them,” Hannah Baker said. “So many [of the homeless] are so broken and are so willing to admit ‘I did wrong, I made a mistake and now I’m stuck.’

It’s not because they are a different kind of people. There is just a lot of hopelessness in trying to get out of that.”

Story by Asia Simone Burns Photographs by Kate Sullivan thelocalbham.com | 17

A City Divided R

A History of the Iron Bowl

oll Tide! War Eagle! What may seem like simple words are actually phrases that hold an unexplainable meaning for two very loyal fan bases.

Phrases that have become battle cries ringing in the air all year long, sparking both friendships and fights.

In an interview with Charles Barkley for AL.com, University of Alabama football head coach Nick Saban said people who grow up in the state are raised in the football rivalry and it is a part of them.

“And they have a lot of passion and they don’t have a lot of other choices. There’s not an NFL team, there’s not an NBA basketball team. So, everybody relates to one of these two schools and there’s a lot of passion for it.”

Alabama and Auburn fans wait all year long for

February 22, 1893: First game played at Lakeview Park in Birmingham

that one day when their teams take the field against each other. The whole state of Alabama turns its attention to the game, and the neutral neighbors of these rabid fans are forced to pick a side. That day is known as The Iron Bowl.

The Iron Bowl gets its name from its Birmingham ties, as the city was the location of the game for 53 seasons, including the first. The programs met in 1893 in Lakeview Park for the first time ever in front of a crowd of about 5,000 strong. Drama ensued from the start as there were arguments as to whether the game should count for the 1892 or 1893 season.

Word of the two teams playing and the subsequent tension drew interest as people began to discover the sport of football.

December 4, 1948: Series resumed at Legion Field 1907: Series suspended due to disagreements

As Auburn was enjoying early success, threats from the university almost put an end to Alabama’s growing program. The dangers of football as well as the cost associated with funding a whole football team, had the University of Alabama’s faculty questioning the need for such a sport at the collegiate level.

Luckily for the Crimson Tide, football would be preserved and the yearly game against the Tigers would resume, that is until 1907 when the series was put on hold for financial discrepancies between the two teams.

Forty years later, the battle was reinstated after the Alabama House of Representatives brought forth a resolution to resume the rivalry by implementing full athletic programs for both schools. The state legislature went one step forward by threatening to withhold funding for the two universities unless they agreed to bring the Iron Bowl back.

The game was to return to Birmingham where the largest stadium in the state, Legion Field was located. By the time the game was officially moved to be played at each team’s respective fields in 1998, the game had earned its title of “The Iron Bowl” due to the city’s rich iron history.

While Birmingham may no longer play host to the most heated rivalry in all of college football, the roots of the teams run deep throughout the city with a plethora of both Alabama and Auburn fans as residents. It is easy to assume that almost everyone in the city has a side with which they align themselves in the series. However, this doesn’t always hold true.

In 2011 the Capital Survey Research Center in Montgomery surveyed throughout the state to see which team they pulled for. Of those surveyed, 37 percent identified themselves as Alabama fans and 18 percent said they cheer for Auburn, but 20 percent said they cheer

December 2, 1989: First Iron Bowl played at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn

Keeping Score: Stats Through the Years Overall series record: Alabama leads (44-35-1) Games played in Birmingham: Alabama leads (34-18-1) Games played in Auburn: Auburn leads (7-3) Games played in Tuscaloosa: Auburn leads (8-5) Largest margin of victory: 2012 - Alabama won 49-0 *Some games were played elsewhere and are

unaccounted for here.

“There’s not an NFL team, there’s not an NBA basketball team. So, everybody relates to one of these two schools and there’s a lot of passion for it.”

Nick Saban

for both teams and 22 percent said they cheer for neither.

Essentially, 42 percent of the polled population said they don’t care which team wins.

Birmingham is growing and with that growth comes new waves of people who don’t have a background with either team. Regardless of their football preferences though, new residents often find themselves in a bizarre situation of having to choose a team, either by coworkers, neighbors, friends or significant others.

Kasey Mack, a college student in Birmingham, found herself having to choose sides despite her background as a University of Georgia fan. “I moved to Birmingham for school and all of a sudden I was surrounded by all these Alabama and Auburn fans who wanted to know not what my team was, but whether I cheered for Alabama or Auburn. It was like they weren’t satisfied with my response of not really caring between the two.”

Mack said as a Georgia fan she was raised to hate Auburn because they were one of Georgia’s rivals, thus she found herself cheering for Alabama when the Iron Bowl rolled around. Ultimately, she was just watching the game as a fan of football as opposed to a fan of either team. Her Bama fandom was solidified when she began dating an Alabama graduate.

“Yeah, I pretty much have to root for Alabama now. When he found out I didn’t really care which team won, he looked at me like I had two heads. I’m still a Georgia fan at the end of the day, but I find myself saying ‘Roll Tide’ a lot more often now.”

Story by Madison Browder Photograph by Kate Sullivan

November 18, 2000: First Iron Bowl at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa

November 21, 1998: Last Iron Bowl at Legion Field

History Restored

Preserving the Past for the Future

20 | Roots

T

o the average person, the Coleman Estate in Birmingham looks like just another mansion. Also called Chaucer Hall, the fivestory estate stands tall on top of Red Mountain.

But what many don’t know is the rich history that lies in the walls of this home. Zach Westall has unique insight into the home, after creating a state of the art landscape design for the property.

thelocalbham.com | 21

Built at the height of the steel boom by Theodore Swann from 1927-1930, the estate was far ahead of its time. The house has been through everything from prohibition to the Great Depression. History is seen in the walls— literally.

In the basement of the home, a door hidden in plain sight leads to secret chambers that were used to hide party guests during the time of prohibition. The hinge hides in the design of the wall paper, and the door opens to narrow passages that guide guests to a parlor room. The home was built to look directly over 3rd Avenue, where Swann’s office was. There is a rumor that behind one of the many fireplaces in the estate, a tunnel runs underground to the office building.

Theodore Swann lost everything in the depression, including the home. A string of owners led into the 1960s, when Joseph Simpson bought the estate. He and his wife Virginia were well known among the community, through their heavy involvement in the Birmingham Museum of Art, and the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. In August 1977, Virginia was found murdered in the house— a murder that is still unsolved to this day.

Detailed ceilings enhance each room. Next page: Beautiful landscaping frames the estate.

The current owners, Daniel and Brooke Coleman, are responsible for the ongoing restoration of the mansion. “Brooke has had an integral part in selecting style and paint choices and colors,” explained Westall. They have involved the best of the best, including architect Paul Bates who leaves no detail overlooked. The combination of local materials like the stone from Red Mountain used in the structural building and the international imports creates a unique blend.

History is important to the family, and preserving the originality of the home is top priority. “[The Colemans are] very aware of historical value.

They’re wanting to keep it as true to the house with keeping a modern functionality to it,” Westall said. Each room of the house focuses on a different era of history, so walking through the home is like walking through architectural history.

“No matter what era we’re in in modernism, people need a leader. I think the Colemans, unaware of it, are leaders in the fact that they believed in the city and they’re helping restore it.”

Zach Westall Although it remains a private residence to this day, the Coleman Estate holds a rich piece of the history of our city. It symbolizes the height of Birmingham. “No matter what era we’re in in modernism, people need a leader. I think the Colemans, unaware of it, are leaders in the fact that they believed in the city and they’re helping restore it,” he said. Westall’s respect for the meaning of the home is evident.

He realizes that the restoration process goes beyond the four walls— it reaches out to the very walls of the Magic City.

Story by Kate Sullivan and Hannah Diamond Photographs by Kate Sullivan Art by Katherine Mixson 24 | Roots

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My

Magic City Success

S

uccess is a difficult term to define, and it can be hard to pinpoint where you draw the line between successful and unsuccessful. Some Birmingham entrepreneurs have found that success is never quite achieved. As a result, they keep pushing themselves and their companies to innovate and create engaging products that promote culture and creativity in the Magic City.

Here are some of their stories.

Will Pearson

“A lot of people hesitate to start something if they feel like it won’t be great from day one. There is something to be said about being willing to just get out there even before you know it’s going to be a premium product.”

P

assion drives some people to set goals and to work to make them happen. Will Pearson concocted the magazine Mental Floss through conversations with college friends who had the desire to be intellectually stimulated and help others learn about areas outside of their realm of study.

“From day one, we were waking up every day and thinking, ‘How do we take Mental Floss a step forward?’” Pearson said.

Hard work stems from passion and is essential to a startup, and “non-stop focus” made Pearson’s dream a reality.

From working summer jobs to asking campus departments for donations, there is nothing Pearson wouldn’t do to get his magazine started. “The term ‘irrational commitment’ is something we talk about quite frequently that it has taken to make this work,” Pearson said.

Mental Floss has taken off since its initial conception in Pearson’s Duke University dorm room, with more than 160,000 magazines in circulation per issue and 20 million unique visitors to its website every month. The growth only fuels his eagerness for the brand. “We were just as excited about it when it was 5,000 people as we are now,” Pearson said.

Although Pearson sold the company to Dennis Publishing in 2011, he is still active in finding the most reliable and relatable avenues for the magazine and digital components to give information to its consumers.

Connections inside the industry push careers and business ideas to the next level. Passionate conversations about your goals can open doors, leading to more doors, that will eventually bring you to the audience you want in front of you.

Pearson communicated his ideas to anyone that would listen.

Even through telling a friend’s mom in New York City about the magazine’s plans connected him to a future publisher.

30 | Cultivate

“It’s about getting something out there and saying ‘we’re going to do this,’” Pearson said. “It’s not where it needs to be, but have people look at it, understand where we want it to go and see it evolve over time.”

In a successful business, you must always think about the audience you are trying to reach. Pearson has had to adapt with Mental Floss over the years in order to best engage his audience in a world of communication that is constantly changing and shifting. In fact, Mental Floss is moving away from the magazine altogether at the end of 2016 and will move to a completely digital world.

But Pearson continues to be open to ideas that allow him to invest in new areas where the company can engage its audience.

He is experimenting with new methods to communicate with consumers while also using effective digital platforms such as YouTube and Twitter to provide enough information that they are able to stand alone from their print counterpart. “Part of why it worked was because we didn’t have a rule book saying if you launch a magazine you must do these things exactly. I think we brought a fresh perspective to it,” said Pearson.

Research about your industry will also move your career plans forward. Keep learning and stay updated on the latest news in your field because it will unfailingly fuel your passion.

Pearson owes a lot of the magazine’s success to studying what was happening in the media world around him. “Learning as much as we possibly could about the industry and about anything we could do was such a huge part of this and then communicating that with as many people as we could,” he said, as Mental Floss continues to blend the ever-changing world of intellect and culture.

Brandon Cain Find a mentor. Learn from their mistakes and successes. Then, find someone to pour into and “make a deposit in their emotional bank account.”

A

s the chef and co-owner of Post Office Pies, Saw’s Soul Kitchen and Roots & Revelry, Brandon Cain has gone through the trials and triumphs of running a successful business. With elite culinary training, Cain worked under some of Birmingham’s finest chefs and learned as much as he could before stepping out into the industry on his own in 2009. He recalled sleepless nights and countless hours of creating, refining and polishing plans that have evolved into restaurants filled with culture that keeps customers coming back for more.

Cain and best friend John Hall dreamed up Post Office Pies, and when Hall returned to Birmingham from working at New York City pizza restuarants, they began putting their plan into action.

“We are just gourmet chefs that want to make an honest pizza,” Cain said. And with the dream in mind, Cain has followed some fundamental guidelines that have helped him build successful restaurants over the years.

Developing a business plan can be overwhelming and daunting. But whether it’s finding a template online or creating one from scratch, the business plan will be the most important material you can have when going to the bank, Cain said. Using this plan, demonstrate to the bank that you are a trustworthy client that is prepared to take the next step.

Businesses can succeed or fail, and banks are a deciding factor in the beginning phase, so maintain a good relationship with your bank.

As you get farther along into the process, you will also have to seriously realize the cost.

“Once you get funded, it becomes fun and stressful at the same time,” Cain said. Sometimes he wasn’t able to afford the whole dream all at once, and he was OK with that. As you

work out what is within your means, you can start physically structuring and maneuvering parts of the business to create your vision.

Especially if you’re in the food industry (or looking to get into it) inspections are a big hurdle that business owners have to get over before the doors open. Therefore, you need to go to the city officials early. Sending in paperwork and making sure everything is up to code early prevents mishaps from occurring later in the process.

“If you can have the city on your side, then you’re 50 percent of the way there,” Cain said. He also noted that while the first time you go through this process it feels personal, it’s not, and the officials are doing their best to create a safe environment.

Once a business is up and running, staying close to the core of the project can be tricky. In some instances, Cain has had to fight his corporate business sense in order to keep the culture of the restaurant in tact, even if it means spending an extra hour peeling the skins off tomatoes or making pizza dough from scratch. These basic measures preserve the authenticity so that when customers walk into the restaurant, they feel like they’re in a neighborhood pizza place.

“The culture is what everyone’s buying into,” he said. “All people care about is a good time and a good quality product that is consistent.”

Establishing a reliable atmosphere will comfort customers, who know they will have a better experience each time they come back. “Trust is the biggest thing in growing our brand,” Cain said. He strives to push Post Office Pies as well as his other restaurants to improve their technique and efficiency each day they serve the community. thelocalbham.com | 31

Heidi Elnora

“Pray about [starting a business]. Pray for God’s guidance and diligence.”

H

eidi Elnora came to be one of Birmingham’s most wellknown bridal gown designers by accident.

Literally.

Soon after she was eliminated from Lifetime’s Project Runway series, Elnora was in a car accident. She was living in Atlanta at the time and moved to Alabama to recover and be close to her mother. While she was here, she met the man who would become her husband.

The couple settled down in Birmingham and a new realm of work opportunity opened up for her. “How can I take what I love to do and make it special for someone else? And what’s more special than a wedding dress?” she said.

Design has always been a passion for the Morris Ave. business owner. As her bridal store, hiedi elnora Atelier, continues to grow, she is driven every day to give the boutique a welcoming atmosphere. “The best part about the job is the brides.” Elnora said. “It’s about how good they feel in their dress, and I want them to feel confident in what they are wearing.”

While business plans and loans can be intimidating, look for organizations that can assist you in making these first crucial steps. Elnora used a local business-training organization that helped her get her feet on the ground. “They helped me write my business plan, and I was also able to get my very first loan at 25,” she said.

Eagerness to engage with customers and diligence to create the best product can evolve into incomparable opportunities. With Elnora’s success in the Magic City, she has been involved in numerous projects including starring in her own television show on TLC, Bride by Design. “I loved doing it because I really got to showcase my work,” she said.

Passion can be contagious, especially when you have a celebrated product. In Elnora’s case, her craft’s influence is not confined to the borders of the United States. “I’ve had people as far as Dubai fly in,” she said.

While business owners are always looking for ways to expand and grow, milestones are convenient points when you can regroup and look ahead to the future. Elnora continues to look to the future, as this year marks the boutique’s 10th anniversary. “We are moving to e-commerce and have just opened up our new 8,000 square-foot shop,” she said. But this expansion will not push away her end goal. “I want to live a happy life. No amount of fame or notoriety will fulfill me.”

32 | Cultivate

Photos courtesy of Heidi Elnora

Story by Hannah Diamond Photographs by Hannah Diamond and Kate Sullivan

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exceed the expectation samford.alphaomicronpi.org

Talladega National Forest Into the forest we go, to lose our minds and find our souls

P

assing through the hustle and bustle that exists on Interstate 20 on a cool autumn morning, many drivers are unaware of the calm and relaxed experience that lies nearby in the Talladega National Forest.

Talladega is not just a superspeedway in Alabama. The natural beauty of the massive Talladega National Forest will bring people into an awe-inspiring, different world that is found off exit 185 outside Oxford, Alabama.

Alabama has four national forests that are part of the the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service 191 national forests, national grasslands and land utilization projects. The headquarters, located in Montgomery, are in the early stages of officially linking Alabama’s forest paths to the Appalachian Trail.

“Theses are your national forests and they are free for you to use any time,” Talladega Area Ranger Gloria Nielsen said. Into the forest we go, to lose our minds and find our souls as we hope to escape the chaos of everyday life, even if just for a few hours.

Talladega is an easy hour and a half drive from Birmingham that takes adventure seekers to the Cheaha Trailhead to start their hike along the Pinhoti Trail.

The Cave Creek Trail begins in the Cheaha Wilderness and runs into the Talladega National Forest.

34 | Cultivate

Starting there, people can park their cars for the day at no cost. Hikers then begin along the Cave Creek Trail that will take them to the start of the Pinhoti Trail. The Pinhoti National Trail stretches for 335 miles across Alabama’s Appalachian Mountains and into Georgia.

The part of the trail found in Alabama was established in 1970 within the Talladega National Forest. The trail is a loop that leads to one of the best overlooks in Alabama, Mt. McDil (1,730 foot elevation). This is a popular destination for overnight backpacking trips.

Hikers all seem to have one simple thing in common: happiness. When people go to Talladega National Forest, they experience solitude. The forest provides a true escape from city life that can be difficult to find in more urban parks. The trail through the forest is clearly marked and easy to follow.

During a recent hike, people could be found on the trail traveling for the day from Alabama. One weekend eight students from The University of Alabama at Birmingham went backpacking, and a girls Bible study group from Auburn chose to hike the trail for the day. These people all acknowledge one another

The leaves display a spectrum of color along the hiking trail during the fall.

“Whenever I’m hiking, I feel as though I’m testing myself not just physically, but mentally and soulfully as well,” says Jacqueline Taylor.

along the way on the trail, exchanging well wishes and enjoying the remoteness of the forest. They use this as an opportunity to connect with their thoughts, have conversations with their friends and enjoy the peace the great outdoors brings to everyone who encounters the forest for a day.

“The views here are even better than what you see in the Smoky Mountains. I think it’s an easier hike too because it is flatter and it feels much more like the wilderness here,” said hiker Ryan Haskins.

Talladega is open year round, but fall can be the most captivating time visually. Shades of red, orange and yellow surround hikers as they step into an enchanting, magnificent world. This is a place where the only noises are wildlife, birds chirping and the gentle breeze swaying its way through the trees. Even the most ordinary, city person who is unaccustomed to being outdoors, can connect with the greatness of the forest. Whether you gather a group of friends or come alone, Talladega can be your gateway to a true escape for the day.

Story by McLane Evans Photographs by Kiani Yiu

“The woods are a nourishing home to me, and the strength I find out there is the same strength I take back into the business of life, and it gives me the motivation to return.”

Jacqueline Taylor thelocalbham.com | 35

Plane wreckage in the Talladega National Forest.

Pilot Dies from Plane Crash in Talladega National Forest On the way to the Mt. McDil lookout, hikers will come across the wreckage of a small plane in the middle of the national forest. The pilot was 21-year-old John Gilbert Jr. from Pell City, Alabama. He was on his way to the Atlanta area on a Thursday evening, but his plane was found wrecked on a Friday afternoon about two miles north of Heflin. The plane was a Piper PA-28 Cherokee that was registered to Grills Aviation Inc. Gilbert died in the crash. Today, the wreckage can still be seen.

Hiking Advice •

• • • • • Top: Shades of red, yellow and orange surround the hiker on this clearly marked trail.

Below: Whether you set up a tent or simply bring a hammock, Talladega National Forest is a popular backpacking destination for hikers.

36 | Cultivate

•

Leave origin, path, and destination details with several people from different groups. Give them your expected time of return.

Always take pictures of the map on your phone so you will have multiple copies.

Pack some first aid materials such as adhesive bandages and wipes.

A handkerchief may come in handy if you encounter any open wounds that need extra applied pressure.

By bringing hard candy to snack on, you will be able to keep your sugar level up.

Proper layering is key because the temperature can change dramatically throughout the day.

Bring at least two liters of water and hydrate yourself the day before you hike.

- McLane Evans

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thelocalbham.com | 37

The

Timid Sons

The

juggling

act begins

Trip Wood, Trѐ Mason, Frank Robertson and Preston Little relax after a long day of work, school and band practice.

T

he band lounged around on the couch after a late night practice session, visibly exhausted but genuinely in love with the opportunity they have to make music.

However, The Timid Sons, comprised of Trip Wood, Frank Robertson, Tré Mason, Preston Little and Luke Brown, only get to make this music after their full days of work and school. They come together late at night to practice and develop new songs, and wake up the next day to do it all over again.

The band’s only studio-recorded album to date, a self-titled work, includes its most popular single, “Cocaine Lips.” This up-and-coming band loves to play shows in the Birmingham area, but also likes to travel as well.

“It all started when Frank walked up to me in the food court and said he had a song idea,” Wood said. “We weren’t in a band yet, but he proceeded to pull out a napkin with the words ‘cocaine lips and a hurricane smile.’ I was expecting a chorus or something at least, but all I got was a phrase.”

“That ended up being all I needed though; I took the napkin back to my apartment, sat down and wrote the whole song that day. In that moment The Timid Sons were born,” Wood said.

38 | Cultivate

The band’s name, The Timid Sons, came about when Robertson was reading a book called “I Am Sorry to Think I Have Raised a Timid Son” by Kent Russell. The book itself is based off a famous Davy Crockett quote. With a band name and one song under his belt, Wood was ready to churn out music at a rapid rate.

“This book really resonated with us,” Wood said. “The idea that a father would really rail his son and be that openly disappointed with him made the realization that we are all born into expectations. People naturally have expectations of us. While you are born into a world of disappointment, that doesn’t mean that you are a disappointment. While we are imperfect, and while we aren’t necessarily a band with full time musicians, we accept it, move on and make music we want to hear.”

Wood said he had a handful of ideas already in his head from the previous few years. At the time he didn’t think he would actually use them. Some of the lyrics he had were from experiences that happened that month and others were just things he thought about and wrote down.

Following their first song, “Cocaine Lips,” the band spent about a month recording eight songs at Mountain Brook

Community Church. The album came together quickly because Wood would spend days on end recording music, often sleeping in the studio to maximize time.

“Back when we were recording, a few days would pass,” Robertson said, “and I wouldn’t have seen Trip, so I would stop by the studio. I found him there multiple times, tucked away by himself, with several cups of coffee, some fresh, and some not so fresh. Trip would have this twitchy, kind of crazed look about him, but he was producing our songs at a ridiculously fast rate.

Sometimes you just let the man work and appreciate the results.”

At this time, the band was moving quickly and Wood was rushing the process because he wanted to have a couple of singles to release right away. Because of that pace, only three of the band members actually recorded on the album. It was challenging for their old drummer from Atlanta to drive to Birmingham to record, so they began to reach out to find a new drummer.

The Timid Sons faced several challenges in its early days, such as finding a permanent drummer in the Birmingham area, recording for the first time and singing in front of an audience for the first time. Wood said he was unsure of how to carry himself in front of others and found the experience of playing live nerve racking at first.

The band is currently working on two new songs, including one Trip wrote about a blind man called Jim James. The song, he explained, is about how easily we can get wrapped up in our own frustrations while much worse things happen in the world.

“I was driving back from my Spanish test and was obsessing about how bad I had done. I was drinking my Starbucks, listening to my favorite music, and just being super self-indulgent,” Wood said. “I was going down Lakeshore Drive and reached the part where there isn’t anything for about a mile and that’s when I saw this guy at the bus stop. He was blind, and he was sitting out there on the bench, in the sun, during the hottest part of the day, in the middle of the summer.”

“In that moment it became really obvious how selfindulgent I was being. Some of the lyrics I wrote were completely bashing myself and I had to refrain from keeping them in the song. How could I be so selfobsessed? This man is probably going to work right now, and probably not to his first job, more than likely, to his second one and he is blind. There was just a lot of things going through my mind at that moment and I was able to get it out on paper.”

Story by Hannah Garrett and Caleb Jones Photos by Kate Sullivan

In their own words Trip Wood What does music mean to you?

It’s meant a lot of different things to me, especially in the last few years. If I’ve learned one thing about music, it’d be this: Music can be a stress reliever, a medium to express yourself and so much more. However, once you start expecting something from it, you start to lose it.

How does your music reflect who you are as a person/musician?

Sometimes I worry that it reflects who I am a bit too much: fast, irrational, and not thought through.

Describe a typical day for you.

My average day changes frequently. Right now, the only things that are constant are how much I eat and that I write two songs’ worth of lyrics a day.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What role does your music play in that plan?

Hopefully I’ll still be pursuing music as a career. Like I’ve said before, the men and women that do this full time are incredible. It takes a lot of guts to decide to make your living off of something so inconsistent.

" It's a

good adventure. " Frank Robertson What do you play in the band? How long have you been playing?

I play guitar and have been playing since about seventh grade.

What do you do when you are not playing with The Timid Sons?

I work part time and am trying to figure out if I want to go back to school this coming year or pursue full time work.

Is it hard to balance music and work?

The biggest challenge is to feel like I’m being responsible in my pursuit of both.

It seems like practices can only happen later at night, but I have to be up by 6 a.m. in order to start my morning for work.

What is your best memory with the band?

One of our first shows back from the summer at a venue called the High Note.

It was one of our first shows at a legitimate venue with a real sound guy and PA system, and this stage that was so tall but not very wide. It was one of the first moments that “we’re a real band” clicked in my head.

thelocalbham.com | 39

40 | Revitalize

A BUILDING for the PEOPLE

The Pizitz Building experiences new life as it reopens its doors for the first time since 1988

I

n the early 1900s, a young Polish man named Louis Pizitz opened his first store, known as the “People’s Store,” in the heart of downtown Birmingham. According to historian Tim Hollis, the name reflected the young man’s desire to cater to the common man. By the 1920s, the store had grown into the Louis Pizitz Dry Goods Company, a department store that was a staple of everyday life in Birmingham. This year the building is reopening its doors as it embodies the character and ambition of the Magic City.

The Pizitz Building will express in the best form the heart of downtown living: eat, play, live and work. The space will serve as home to Birmingham’s first food hall as well as many office spaces and apartments. The lower level will be headquarters to the Sidewalk Film Festival and will also include two art and film theaters, offices and educational facilities.

thelocalbham.com | 41

Previous: Pizitz Sketch by Katherine Mixson Above: Photograph of the newly renovated Pizitz Building by Charis Nichols.

Opposite Page: Food Hall Renderings contributed by The Wilbert Group showing what the inside will look like.

The Food Hall A lasting attribute of Birmingham is the quality and array of dishes created in the local restaurant scene. The food hall will act as a place for people of all ages to come together and fellowship while indulging in local cuisine.

“I’m most excited for the day I walk in the food hall and there are hundreds of people there with the same vision, all going to and from the food hall doing different things,” said Tom Walker, development manager at Bayer Properties, the company spearheading the renovation of the Pizitz Building. “I want people to use the food hall for a basis of operation and a gathering place downtown.”

The space will be made up of roughly 15 food stalls that will include an array of dishes, such as burgers, tacos, dumplings and more. All the food stalls will be set up around a central bar that will serve as the heart of the hall. In addition to the food stalls, there will be three full-service restaurants, as well as two areas with more traditional retail including the local printing company YellowHammer Creative.

Reveal Kitchen, a product of REV Birmingham, is one of the food stalls that will be a part of the hall.

The stall will feature up-and-coming local chefs every six months who have graduated from Create Birmingham’s CO.STARTERS program.

Deon Gordon, director of business growth at REV, said he is thankful Bayer Properties approached him on this opportunity, as it fills a significant need in the business model for culinary startups. The incubator will bridge the gap between culinary pop-ups, food trucks and takeovers to chefs moving to a more permanent brick and mortar location. Reveal Kitchen provides startups with six months of sales, real market validation, exposure, experience, expertise and targeted technical assistance to back their growth progress, Gordon explained. The stall will contribute a well balanced mix of new upcoming dishes to the food hall while being consistent in providing exceptional quality.

“I’m most excited for the day I walk in the food hall and there are hundreds of people with the same vision”

Tom Walker

42 | Revitalize

A Role in Revitalization Birmingham is a city that is growing and evolving.

Entrepreneurs, creatives, artisans and chefs from all over are calling Birmingham home. People like Louis Pizitz in the 1900s, have shown up in Birmingham to start lives for themselves, and for many that is in central downtown.

The Pizitz Building acted as a gathering place for those people together back then, and it will do the same thing again today.

Walker, who has been working on this project with Bayer Properties for the past five years, said the venture is important to the revitalization happening in the downtown area.

He said it is exciting to participate in the historic rehabilitation of the Pizitz building because of the significant role it has played in Birmingham’s past. He remembered one instance when he was giving a tour of the building and many of the guests remembered walking the halls of the Pizitz building as a child.

The building not only brings back a sense of nostalgia, but it also builds a sense of pride and ambition in the people. “The Pizitz Building forces people to raise their expectation for what our city can do and what should be done… it raises audacious belief in Birmingham,” Gordon said. The Magic City has seen major growth through projects such as Railroad Park, which were once thought to be illogical but have drawn more people downtown.

The Pizitz Building has the opportunity to continue the vibrant story being written and told downtown.

Opening Soon The Pizitz building is located on 19th Street between 1st and 2nd Ave N. The food hall is set to open this December 2016. The apartments will open later in December. Visit the www.thepizitz.com for more information.

Story by Hannah Garrett and Charis Nichols

“The Pizitz Building forces people to raise their expectation for what our city can do and what should be done” Deon Gordon

GREEK LIFE PURPOSEFUL

FAITHFUL

REAL

Blank Space mural outside Woodlawn’s Redemptive Cycles.

If These Walls Could Talk B

lank Space Bham incorporates art into the daily activities of Birmingham locals. The project features the work of a collective of artists who believe in Birmingham and see art as a medium to highlight the city’s successes.

Meghan McCollum, is one of the masterminds behind the Blank Space project.

She described the work of Blank Space Bham as an effort to invite people into a conversation.

By creating mural art in the busyness of downtown Birmingham, the Blank Space Team hopes to counter the demands coming at people from all directions.

Mural art serves to interrupt the hurried flow of the day, allowing passersby to simply take a break. This intervention is born out of a desire to merge public space with a sense of pride in community. The artwork of this initiative seeks to provide local artists and the people of Birmingham with a powerful voice.

McCollum believes art is more than colors, shapes and lines. Art has the potential to spark narrative. This is the narrative Blank Space Bham is creating one mural at a time.

thelocalbham.com | 45

What is your definition of art?

I think art is expression. It is overwhelming. It can be overwhelming and underwhelming, it can be overwhelming with how underwhelming it is, the simplest thing, a line on a page. It is subjective and it is what you make it. For me, I can find pleasure in almost anything I look at because I enjoy using it as a medium to speak to how I am feeling, even if I didn’t make the piece.

If I can look at a piece and use it to interpret how I am feeling without being able to verbalize that, then it helps give me a voice. That ties back into my big passion of wanting to create a voice for communities and expression of their pride of place that they felt like they couldn’t articulate, maybe because they feel small in their government, or they feel small and unimportant in their communities. Maybe, they can look at a wall and say, ‘That’s a piece of me.’

Where did the idea for Blank Space Bham originate?

Kyle and Stephanie Cruz did the Vulcan mural first and called it Vulcan Mural Project. Kyle knew Andy Jordan who was the artist for the larger theatre district 90’ by 30’ piece. I did my masters in London studying street art, so a lot of my research was around street art. They were like ‘Meghan we know you like this, do you want to come in?’ So one night we were just sitting around a table talking about plans for this giant mural project and just got really excited and thought, this needs to be a thing. This needs to be a movement.

You mentioned the regeneration of Birmingham, so could you talk some more about what that looks like?

I think something that all of us are really passionate about is making sure that whatever project we're in is accessible to everyone. We’re not looking to radically change things to make them unrecognizable, but rather enhance neighborhoods and make people feel proud of where they come from. We make sure that we are tapping into the community’s voice throughout everything that we do.

You studied street art in London, could you talk about how that’s impacted your vision for Blank Space?

My thesis was really looking at authentic places and taking the idea of imagine geography— if you’ve never been somewhere, how would you imagine it. I really found that street art influenced every identity of a neighborhood that was possible and what people’s preconceived notions were. It’s right there in your face; it starts dialogues which start change and that’s how you build communities.

Blank Space murals capture the essence of Birmingham’s history.

“Every time you do art, you are leaving a bit of yourself on the paper, on the wall, on whatever medium. I don’t know if I would ever be that brave.

That’s such an awesome thing to be invited into, to think, ‘That’s how someone’s mind works...wow!’”

Meghan McCollum

Once someone gets an idea, what does it look like getting that idea onto the wall?

The artists we work with get the dimensions, and the idea. They create a sketch and then approach the client to work out the business side of things.

I have gotten to see the different strengths of my team members. We don’t want it to be a oneman show. Right now, no one is making money with it, so it really comes from this passion of seeing Birmingham thrive, seeing it be the best it can be and knowing what makes it it’s best is its people and its vision.

How do you think street art can brighten Birmingham as a whole?

I don’t meet a lot of people who aren’t excited about what’s happening in Birmingham right now. It is really positive for us. It takes down a lot of barriers...It captures your attention. That’s what we are trying to do. I feel like lots of time we are so transient in our lives. We are always looking for the next thing, trying to go to our next meeting, our next class, and we get so absorbed in whatever we are trying to accomplish. We want these murals to be invitations to stop, to pause, even just briefly. That will trickle into everything, every aspect of your life I think. It might be rather ambitious of me to say, but I know it impacts me.

Story by Kate Sullivan and Claire Jaggers Photographs and Art by Kate Sullivan

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