From the 1890s to the 1970s, the thriving area of Birmingham between Eighteenth and Twenty-first Streets along First, Second, and Third Avenues was the bustling heart of this quickly growing city. Before the age of the shopping mall, the downtown was the center of retail and entertainment in Birmingham. Along these streets, entrepreneurial immigrants built department stores--including Pizitz and Loveman, Joseph, and Loeb--while the marquees of the Alabama, Ritz, and Lyric theaters, among others, shined over the busy downtown sidewalks.

Birmingham's Theater and Retail District

History

Hollis, MR Tim

Americas

Arcadia Publishing Library Editions

Birmingham, Alabama, has enjoyed a long and distinguished broadcasting history. The city's first radio station aired in 1922, and television arrived in 1949. Both media produced personalities who became household names in the city. Audiences came to know Joe Rumore, Tommy Charles, Country Boy Eddy, Cousin Cliff Holman, Rosemary, Pat Gray, Tom York, and many others as if they were members of their own families. Even the commercials became as memorable as the news, entertainment, talk, and children's shows they interrupted.

Birmingham Broadcasting

Humor & Entertainment

Radio

When Six Flags Over Georgia opened in June 1967, it became the first theme park in the Southeast. Although the park is best known today for its high-speed roller coasters, this book recaptures its earlier years when it was devoted to the various periods of Georgia's history. Six Flags Over Georgia revisits such classic rides and attractions as the Log Jamboree, Tales of the Okefenokee, Jean Ribaut's Adventure, the Krofft Puppet Theater, the Happy Motoring Freeway, and many others. It also explores how the park's focus changed and expanded over the decades and takes a look at some of its classic advertising and souvenirs.

Six Flags Over Georgia

Business & Money

Industries

Most people do not stop to realize how many of their fond memories involve advertising signs. Although these neon spectaculars, billboards, and even signs painted directly onto brick walls were created expressly to persuade customers to buy products or patronize businesses, many such signs remained in place for so long that they became beloved landmarks in their own right. For Images of America: Vintage Birmingham Signs, Tim Hollis has scoured the archives of Birmingham's former sign companies, as well as other private collections, to compile some of the best remembered or most obscure signs that dotted the urban and suburban landscape. Here readers will again see the Buffalo Rock bottle pouring its ginger ale into a glass, the Golden Flake clown smiling down at passersby, the Barber's milk clock at the Five Points South intersection, and many more. Through these vintage photographs, readers can once again visit such once-thriving destinations as Eastwood Mall, Burger in a Hurry, and the Kiddieland amusement park.

Vintage Birmingham Signs

Arts & Photography

Graphic Design

Stone Mountain Park

The Great Smoky Mountains and Sevier County, in particular, have been major tourist destinations since the 1920s. Since then, many attractions, motels, restaurants, and other businesses have come and gone, including Jolly Golf, Magic World, Archie Campbell's Hee Haw Village, the Rebel Railroad, Goldrush Junction, and dozens more. This book collects and preserves the memories of these "lost attractions" that formed the foundation of today's Sevier County tourism economy.

Lost Attractions of Sevier County

Soward, Mitzi

In 1966, North Carolina tourism moguls Grover, Harry, and Spencer Robbins began exploring ways to utilize their new ski facilities atop Beech Mountain during the summer. They brought in their associate Jack Pentes to come up with an idea. As a long-time fan of The Wizard of Oz, Pentes planned and developed the Land of Oz theme park, opening in June 1970. The park did not resemble the famous 1939 MGM movie or the Oz as depicted in L. Frank Baum s book. Instead, Pentes interpreted his own vision of Oz, with a comical Wicked Witch and a wizard who did not turn out to be a fake. The Land of Oz closed after its 1980 operating season and was left to deteriorate. Since 1990, however, its remnants have been secured and restored. The property is now available for special events, and a giant Oz celebration takes place each autumn."

The Land of Oz

Photography & Video

For nearly ninety years, Pizitz offered Birmingham residents and Alabamans across the state a one-of-a-kind shopping experience. From the Enchanted Forest that sprung up every Christmas to in-store fashion shows, visiting Pizitz wasn't just a trip to the store, it was an event. Yet Pizitz was more than just a department store--it was a Birmingham institution. When Louis Pizitz opened up his first dry goods store in downtown Birmingham in 1899, he began a career as a successful businessman and a generous philanthropist, establishing a tradition of giving freely to local causes that has come to define the Pizitz family. Join Birmingham historian Tim Hollis as he recounts the fascinating history behind one of Alabama's most recognizable names and treasured retailers.

Pizitz: Your Store

Biography & History

History Press Library Editions

For decades, the Christmas season in Birmingham was not complete without the sights and sounds of the retail district. During the season, the Magic City made magic with elaborate light displays and the Living Christmas Tree in Woodrow Wilson Park. Many remember the battling Santas of Loveman's and Pizitz, each vying for the hearts of the community. The elaborate Enchanted Forest dazzled shoppers on the sixth floor at Pizitz. In the 1940s, more than 200,000 people lined the streets each year to make merry for the Christmas Carnival parade. Author and local historian Tim Hollis celebrates the happy history of Birmingham's holiday season, reviving the traditions and festivities, the food and shopping of days gone by.

Christmas in Birmingham

Around two hundred million years ago, geological forces produced an expansive grove of rocky caverns and outcroppings atop Lookout Mountain. It was not until the twentieth century, however, that this awe-inspiring citadel evolved into a nationally recognized tourist attraction when Garnet Carter and his wife, Frieda, developed the natural marvel into the Rock City Gardens we know today, an enchanted tribute to fairytales and a breathtaking homage to nature. Join Rock City expert Tim Hollis as he guides you through the origins of the site's most fascinating spots, including Fairyland Caverns, See Seven States and Lover's Leap. Also learn the story behind the world-famous 'See Rock City' marketing campaign, as well as the steep challenges the landmark has faced in an often volatile tourism industry. Perhaps the only aspect of Rock City more enchanting than its physical beauty is the fairytale story that surrounds it.

See Rock City: The History of Rock City Gardens

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Books by Hollis, MR Tim