New BHC Office – Pythian Building

Newsletter
Birmingham history Center
New BHC Office – Pythian Building
Vol. 5 No. 1
J AN., 2015
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IN THIS ISSUE
Page 2
Notes from the Director
Featured New Artifact
Page 3-5
Arthur Rothstein
Centennial
Page 6
An exhibit featuring the artifacts and storyline of the
Birmingham History Center at the
Pythian Building
Alabama Power Archives Museum
600 North 18th St.
Birmingham, AL
205-257-2067
Page 7
Weld for Birmingham
Article
Exhibit Dates: - May 15 – August 8, 2014
310 18th Street North, Suite 401, Birmingham, AL 35203
Tel/Fax – 205-202-4146 www.birminghamhistorycenter.org
Thomas E. Jernigan, Sr. Memorial
Newsletter
Birmingham history Center
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Note from the Director
The best that can be said about the year 2014 and the Birmingham
History Center is that we are still here, hanging on. Our 13,000 item
artifacts collection and wonderful exhibits remain in storage while
we operate on a budget with one shoestring. But hope remains
eternal, there are always possibilities, so we are looking forward to
the new year and the hope that we will have some good news soon.
Meanwhile, we continue to provide a service for the citizens of Birmingham – we still
collect. The importance of this was brought home to me when a young reporter
from Weld for Birmingham, Cody Owens, called up and asked, “What’s new?” I took
him and a photographer to our storage unit and showed him some of the priceless
things we have saved from the dumpster. The result was a wonderful article in Weld
in December of 2014 which can be found on page 7 of this newsletter.
Artifact of the Month – Tutwiler Hotel Print
In November of 2014 the
management and staff of the
current Tutwiler Hotel held an
event to celebrate the 100th
anniversary of the opening of
the original Tutwiler in 1914.
The BHC was proud to exhibit a
case of Tutwiler memorabilia
from its collection (still on
display in the hotel lobby) on
that occasion. We were also
pleased to receive a limited
edition print of the current
Tutwiler to add to our collection.
The Tutwiler Hotel by Kate Smith, Print 11 of 25
As the foremost interpreter of metropolitan Birmingham’s
history, we will enable the public to understand more
about the city’s past and present and to shape its future.
Newsletter
Birmingham history Center
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Arthur Rothstein Centennial – 1915 - 2015
Arthur Rothstein
Born in Manhattan in 1915, Arthur Rothstein
became one of the most famous and prolific
photographers of the Great Depression. After
graduating from Columbia University, Rothstein
was hired as part of the photo unit of the
Resettlement Administration (RA), which became
the Farm Security Administration (FSA) in 1937.
The unit, which included such famous photo
journalists as Walker Evans, Marjory Collins, and
Dorothea Lange, were employed to publicize the
living conditions of the rural poor in the U.S.
Farmer and Sons in Dust Storm, Oklahoma, 1936
Perhaps Rothstein’s most famous photograph
We will recognize our responsibility to help build a better future—
locally, regionally, nationally, and globally—through history. We
will bring a credible and authoritative historical perspective to
bear on civic issues, and we will help to shape the future by
fostering historical scholarship and understanding.
Newsletter
Birmingham history Center
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Rothstein Centennial (cont.)
In February of 1937, Rothstein visited
Alabama, an assignment which came from
the interest generated by congressional
consideration of farm tenant legislation
sponsored in the Senate by John H.
Bankhead, a moderate Democrat from
Alabama. While most of his time was
spent taking pictures at Gee’s Bend, he
stopped in Jefferson County for a few days
and took some iconic photos, many of
which have found their way into the
collection of the Birmingham History
Center. In 1940, Rothstein became a
photographer for Look magazine. He died
thirty years ago in 1985.
Senator John Hollis Bankhead, II
Sign,
Birmingham,
Alabama,
February
1937, Arthur
Rothstein
Every museum needs help to achieve its vision. Fortunately, we are
not alone in wanting to help people make meaningful and personal
connections to history. Throughout greater Birmingham, there are
many who share this passion. We need their help.
Newsletter
Birmingham history Center
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Rothstein Centennial (cont.)
Negro Road Gang,
Jefferson County,
Alabama
February 1937,
Arthur Rothstein
Coal Miners, Birmingham, Alabama,
February 1937, Arthur Rothstein
Steelworks, Birmingham, Alabama
February 1937, Arthur Rothstein
We will recognize our responsibility to help build a better future—
locally, regionally, nationally, and globally—through history. We
will bring a credible and authoritative historical perspective to
bear on civic issues, and we will help to shape the future by
fostering historical scholarship and understanding.
Newsletter
Birmingham history Center
P age
Pythian Building - Office Suite 401
Artifact of the Month
We are very pleased with our new office on the
4th floor of the Pythian Building on 18th Street
North. It has enough space for our needs, has a
great view of downtown Birmingham, and a
nice little conference room.
The building also has
quite a history, having
been the home of the
first Penney Savings
Bank in Alabama. It was
built in 1913, designed
by Wallace Rayfield, the
second formallyeducated practicing
African American
architect in the United
States. It is on the
National Register of
Historic Places.
As the foremost interpreter of metropolitan Birmingham’s
history, we will enable the public to understand more
about the city’s past and present and to shape its future.
6
Newsletter
Birmingham history Center
Weld Article – December 11, 2014
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Birmingham History Center
The Birmingham History Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
formed in 2004 by a group of preservation-minded citizens
who wanted a repository and exhibit platform for artifacts
of local history Thanks primarily to a bequest from the
Thomas E. Jernigan, Sr. foundation and other donors, the
History Center operates from offices at 1807 Third Avenue
North in Birmingham, adjacent to the Alabama Theatre.
Mission Statement
The Birmingham History Center seeks to educate
and entertain the general public by collecting,
preserving and presenting the comprehensive
history of the Birmingham region.
310 18th Street North, Suite 401
Birmingham, AL 35203
Officers
Dr. Bayard Tynes, Chairman
Fox De Funiak, III, Co-President
Garland Smith, Co-President
Samuel A. Rumore, Jr., Vice-President
Alice Williams - Treasurer
Board of Directors
William A. Bell, Jr.
Harry Bradford
Thomas Carruthers, Jr.
Patrick Cather
Connie Grund
Wyatt R. Haskell
Anne Heppenstall
Mary Hubbard
Thomas E. Jernigan, Jr.
John Nixon
Terry Oden
William A. Tharpe
Scott Vowell
Lee Woehle
Stamp