Birmingham "Quick Facts"

Famous Birminghamians


    Condoleezza Rice
    Secretary of State, "America’s face to the world" President George W. Bush


    Deidre Downs
    Miss America, September 18, 2004
    Samford University graduate and Pelham native


    Michael McCullers
    writer and director of 2008’s hit movie, Baby Mama, former writer with SNL and co-writer with Mike Myers on “Austin Powers in Goldmember” and Indian Springs native


    Mother Angelica
    founder of the multi million dollar Eternal Word Television Network and, according to Time Magazine, the “most influential Catholic woman in America."


    Ruben Studdard
    2003 American Idol winner, Fox Network show
    Birmingham native


    Bo Bice
    2005 American Idol runner-up, Fox Network show
    Lived in Helena


    Diana DeGarmo
    2004 American Idol runner-up, Fox Network show
    Born in Birmingham


    Taylor Hicks
    2006 American Idol winner, Fox Network show
    Hoover native


    Courtney Cox Arquette
    star of hit tv show "Friends"


    Emmylou Harris
    Grammy Award-winning Nashville recording star


    Odetta Holmes
    folk music legend
    She's acted in numerous Broadway plays, collaborated with other folk luminaries from Pete Seeger to Joan Baez. She has been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Folk Music Association and continues to be a successful recording artist.


    Kate Jackson
    original Charlie’s Angel, Scarecrow and Mrs. King


    Alma Powell
    wife of Colin Powell


    Bart Starr
    NFL Hall of Fame quarterback


    Vonetta Flowers
    2002 Olympic Gold Medalist and first black to earn a gold medal in the Winter Olympics.


    Margaret Tutwiler
    highest ranking female member of the George H. W. Bush administration (assistant secretary of state for public affairs), former United States Ambassador to Morocco and immediate past (4/04) Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy --- chiefly, the one person in America responsible for promoting a positive image of our nation overseas. Ms. Tutwiler has joined the New York Stock Exchange as of May, 2004.


    Charles Barkley
    NBA Hall of Fame


    Mel Allen
    the former voice of the Yankees


    Rebecca Luker
    Broadway star
    The Music Man, The Sound of Music, Show Boat, The Secret Garden and in August, 2002, Clara in Stephen Sondheim’s "Passion."


    Bo Jackson
    Heisman Trophy Winner and two sport all-star


    Carl Lewis
    track and field Olympic medalist and world record holder


    Dr. Larry DeLucas
    Space Shuttle scientist and UAB crystallographer (Space Shuttle Captain Tom Mattingly is from Birmingham’s West End)


    Wayne Rogers
    Trapper John from hit tv show M*A*S*H


    Louise Fletcher
    Academy Award winning actress from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest


    Angela Davis
    1960’s radical black activist and philosopher, forever connected with the Black Panthers and SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), onetime U. S. vice presidential candidate for Communist Party.


    John Badham
    Hollywood director of Saturday Night Fever, War Games, Blue Thunder and Short Circuit, Stakeout and Bird on a Wire


    Don Logan
    former Time/AOL, Inc. CEO and now owner of the Birmingham Barons baseball team.


    Fannie Flagg
    comedienne, author and screenplay writer (Fried Green Tomatoes, etc.)


    Rebecca Gilman
    award winning playwright, author of "Spinning Into Butter" and "Boy Meets Girl." Named by Entertainment Weekly as “one of 100 people who represent the future of entertainment.” The Birmingham News, January 28, 2006.


    Howell Raines
    former Executive Editor of the New York Times and Pulitzer Prize winner.


    Bobby Bowden
    Florida State football coach, closing in on becoming the winningest coach in college football history.


    Todd Jones
    pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, runner-up in the 2006 World Series
    still splits his time at home in Pell City


    Alan Hunter
    original MTV VJ and 1980’s cultural icon
    Now owns WorkPlay in Birmingham and co-founded the Sidewalk Film Festival


    Heather Whitestone
    Miss America 1995


    Mary Badham
    Oscar nominee for her role as Scout in "To Kill A Mockingbird"


    Amber Benson
    played "Tara" in the hit television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer


    John Zimmerman
    first place in pairs skating (with partner Kyoko Ina) in the 2002 U. S. Championships, fifth place in the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics and Bronze Medalist in the 2002 World Figure Skating Championships in Nagano, Japan and a finalist on 2006’s hit TV show “Skating with Celebrities.”


    Phil Mulkey
    Olympian and former world record holder in the decathlon


    Chuck Leavell
    keyboardist for the Rolling Stones


    Hubert Green
    professional golfer and winner of the PGA and U. S. Open
    also assisted in the design of Birmingham's Greystone Golf Course


    Diane McWhorter
    Pulitzer Prize winning author of "Carry Me Home," the definitive tome on Birmingham’s role in the Civil Rights Era


    Richard North Patterson
    best selling author of Degree of Guilt, Silent Witness, The Safe Place, Protect & Defend, Balance of Power


    Robert R. McCammon
    international best selling horror novelist, author of Boy’s Life, Swan Song, Speaks the Nightbird; his novels have won more awards from the Horror Writers of America than any other writer


    James Redfield
    author of the best selling The Celestine Prophecy


    Sena Jeter Naslund
    author of the best selling Ahab’s Wife and Four Spirits


    Daniel Wallace
    author of Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions and a hit movie nationwide in 2004


    Eric F. Wieschaus
    won a share of the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1995


    Pat Sullivan
    winner of the Heisman Trophy


    Michelle Scarborough
    the new star of Donald Trump’s hit tv show "The Apprentice" in 2005


    Robert Henrikson
    CEO of MetLife, Inc., the nation’s largest life insurance provider, (in 2005 acquired The Travelers Life and Annuity Co. for $11.5 billion.)


    Sam DiPiazza
    CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers, America’s largest accounting firm

    credit: Bill Slitzmann
    Maria Taylor
    singer/recording artist with Azure Ray
    Met singing partner at Alabama School of Fine Arts


    Charles Ghigna
    “Father Goose”, poet, children’s author and nationally syndicated feature writer and speaker


    Tobias Wolff
    master of the memoir and the short story, has just published his first novel, Old School (November 2003). Wolff is best known for his 1989 memoir of childhood, "This Boy's Life" which provided the basis of a 1993 motion picture starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Barkin and Robert De Niro. Wolff's second memoir, In Pharaoh's Army: Memories of the Lost War (1994), was chosen as a finalist for the National Book Award. A three-time winner of the O. Henry Award, Tobias Wolff is also celebrated for his collections of short stories


    Rick Bragg
    author of All Over But the Shoutin’, Ava’s Man, Somebody Told Me


    Hugh Martin
    famous Broadway composer of such songs as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “Skip to My Lou.”


    Mary Anderson
    the Birmingham native who invented windshield wipers


    Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps
    hosts of The Mark & Brian Show, a nationally syndicated radio show broadcast from Los Angeles. They first appeared together on WAPI-FM ("I-95”) in Birmingham, moved west and took over the morning slot at KLOS in 1987. In recognition of their work, Mark & Brian have been two-time winners of the Billboard Magazine "Air Personalities of the Year" award; they received a 1991 National Association of Broadcasters Marconi Award as "Air Personalities of the Year"; and they have been honored with their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame


    Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Bramlett Roads
    met at Birmingham’s Samford University before hitting the country music big time as “Little Big Town.” Beginning in 2005, the band starting having Top Ten hits, performed on Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien, earned Grammy citations and were nominated as the Country Music Association’s Top New Vocal Group. This year, they are touring nationally with Martina McBride. Samford University Seasons, Summer, 2007.

Notable deceased personalities include:


    Eddie Kendricks
    original lead singer of The Temptations


    Charles O. Finley
    the colorful, innovative owner of the Oakland A’s who introduced multi-colored uniforms, the designated hitter and night games to the World Series


    Paul "Bear" Bryant
    University of Alabama’s legendary football coach, is buried in Birmingham’s Elmwood Cemetery


    Nell Carter
    gospel singer and television star of Different Strokes and Gimme a Break

    Dorothy Coates is far right
    Dorothy Love Coates
    renowned local singer who made the city a highly acclaimed pipeline for exporting gospel music to the world


    Loulie Jean Norman
    the soprano signing voice on the "Star Trek" theme song. She also sang on "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and sang with stars such as Dean Martin, Bing Crosby and Elvis Presley.


    Dr. John W. Kirklin
    cardiac surgery pioneer who revolutionized cardiovascular surgery and performed the world’s first series of open-heart operations using a heart-lung machine. Also the author of more than 700 publications, including the textbook, Cardiac Surgery, which remains the premier reference text in the field. He died April 21, 2004.


    Fred W. Sington
    civic leader, sportsman, and successful businessman, was Phi Beta Kappa and named All-American Football Player two years at the University of Alabama. Following graduation, Sington played professional baseball with the Washington Senators and Brooklyn Dodgers.


    Walker Percy
    Pulitzer Prize winner who was born in St. Vincent’s hospital and lived in Birmingham until a teenager. His writings include The Moviegoer (1961), The Last Gentleman (1966), Love in the Ruins (1971),The Message in the Bottle (1975), Lancelot (1977), The Second Coming (1980), Lost in the Cosmos, The Last Self-Help Book (1983), The Thanatos Syndrome (1987)


    John Beecher
    born in Birmingham in 1902, was blacklisted in the McCarthy era, wrote activist poetry such as "Report to the Stockholders" and "To Live and Die in Dixie."

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Greater Birmingham

*Metro Birmingham population: 921,106 (4-county area); 986,000(6 counties); 1,100,000 (7counties).

*2.7 million people live within 100 miles of Birmingham.

*The city’s temperate climate allows a 239 day growing season, resulting in an extended spring and fall.

*A 32 page section on the "Magic City" was run in Traditional Home, the nation’s best selling upscale design publication with a monthly circulation of 950,000, marking only the second time in its history that they’ve done a feature on a city (Seattle was the other). "Birmingham is a design jewel and an anomaly, the most unexpected and amazing Southern city this magazine has ever visited. The surprises just didn’t stop." Traditional Home, March, 2005

*A monthly business magazine for executives of companies actively looking for a place to expand or relocate their facilities within the next one to three years, has released its 7th annual "America's 50 Hottest Cities" ranking. Metropolitan Birmingham ranks #15 for 2005, ahead of Salt Lake City, Chicago, Miami, Memphis and Raleigh-Durham, among others. "Some cities are well-prepared to attract and retain businesses," said Ken Krizner, managing editor of Expansion Management. "They have logistical advantages, a high quality of life, available work force, and a favorable tax and political climate. These 50 Hottest Cities have a built-in advantage when companies look to site a new manufacturing or distribution facility, or headquarters operation." Expansion Management, January, 2005

*Birmingham is the 7th best U. S. city for blacks to live, work and play. "Birmingham boasts the highest percentage of African American homeowners, 58%, of any of the top ten cities in America for blacks." Black Enterprise magazine, June 29, 2004.

*Birmingham’s water quality received an "A" ranking (only 13 of 101 cities nationwide were as highly ranked and none higher; 7 cities failed including Houston, Las Vegas and Wichita) by a joint study of the Environmental Quality Institute at UNC, Rutgers University and the National Defense Institute, Men’s Health, January, 2004.

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History

*Birmingham is a relatively young city. It was founded in 1871 - AFTER the Civil War.

* Because of the rare abundance of the three ingredients necessary to make iron and steel - coal, iron ore and limestone - Birmingham grew rapidly during its early years, earning it the nickname, "The Magic City."

*Birmingham is the only place in the world where all the ingredients for making iron is present: coal, iron ore, limestone and dolomite – all within a 10 mile radius

*Birmingham’s Annual Veteran’s Day Parade is the oldest (established in 1947, seven years before Veteran’s Day was declared a national holiday) and the largest in the nation.

*Birmingham’s role in the Civil Rights Revolution in the 1960’s placed it "at the center of the most significant domestic drama of the 20th century" Newsweek Magazine, fall, 2001.

*The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute chronicles Birmingham’ s central role in America’s civil rights movement and its emergence as an international prototype for the progress of human rights.

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Lifestyle

*Birmingham is not only Alabama's largest city, it's also the most walker-friendly, with more public transit users and more parks and schools per square mile than anywhere else in the state--plus, it has one of Alabama's lowest cars-to-people ratio. Working professionals say the city makes it easy to walk to work. Walkability experts give Birmingham their highest rating partly because the community is making plans to take down the downtown freeway, which divides the city center from important neighborhoods. Prevention magazine March 2008

*Renaissance Ross Bridge Resort named by www.ForbesTraveler.com, an arm of Forbes business magazine, as one of the Top 10 spots for bachelor weekends in the country. The report said “the 10 resorts are perfect spots for a guy’s night out, bachelor parties and relaxing weekends.” The Birmingham News, December 8, 2006.

*Birmingham’s Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa and Porsche Driving Experience made this luxury lifestyle publication’s list as a destination on a par with Antigua and the Californian coastline. The two Birmingham attractions were included as part of its Frontrunners column on the “best, latest and most inspired destinations.” It noted the hotel’s 12,000 square foot spa and fleet of Cayennes as courtesy vehicles. The Robb Report, March, 2006

*According to Partners for Livable Communities, a Washington, DC based organization founded in 1977, Birmingham ranked as one of the best places to live in America in 2004. Birmingham ranked in the Top 11 best mid sized cities in which to live. "Partners bestows a ‘seal of approval’ on cities that "have set a shining example of what cities should strive for, throughout the United States and the world." The Birmingham News, April 13, 2004.

*Birmingham has been proclaimed "America’s Most Livable City" by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Additionally. Newsweek magazine named Birmingham, "One of America’s Top 10 Cities" in which to live.

*In a comparison study of 354 metro areas in North America, Birmingham ranked in the top 10% for quality of life, according to Places Rated Almanac, 2000. In this same study, Birmingham’s health care ranked #5 in the United States.

*Birmingham is listed among the 150 most affordable cities in the US and is praised as a city "that hasn’t lost its Southern soul." Birmingham, home to six Fortune 500 companies, is given high marks for its diverse residents and housing prices that "are affordable but appreciating quickly." Birmingham was the only Alabama city listed in the book, which does not rank the cities in any specific order. Life 2.0: How People Across America are Transforming Their Lives by Finding the Where of Their Happiness, Rich Karlgaard, July, 2004

*Birmingham rated #1 in the nation in Health by Ladies Home Journal in its issue of "The Best Cities," April, 2002

*Alabama ranks #3 in the nation in most runners per capita, according to Runner’s World magazine, November, 2001.

*Birmingham as a preferred retirement destination? "Move to a state with no death tax. A growing number of retirees are relocating to Alabama, California, Florida and Nevada to pass up to 16 percent more of their estates on to their heirs." Robert Powell, CBSmarketwatch.com (as reported in The Week, April 16, 2004.)

*Birmingham is a city of remarkable diversity; as but one example, it is the only Southern city with representation of all four primary branches of the Catholic Church: Roman Catholic, Maronite, Melkite and Greek Orthodox.

Civic Minded

*Birmingham ranks as the most generous city in America, according to a study that measured 60 metropolitan areas in terms of percentage of household income given to charity.

Birmingham-area residents give 3.6 percent of their household income to charity, just ahead of several other Southern cities, the study said. Memphis was second at 3.4 percent and Columbia, S.C., was third with 3.2 percent.

The study was done by the Tijeras Foundation in Albuquerque, N.M., a city that incidentally ranked fourth from the bottom, ahead of San Antonio, Pittsburgh and Tampa. The foundation supports church organizations, including help with fundraising and financial management skills.

In Birmingham, people who deal with charity already knew about the city's high level of giving.

"It doesn't come as a surprise to us," said Drew Langloh, president of United Way of Central Alabama.

United Way calculates giving to the community charitable organization as a percentage of estimated buying income, and Birmingham also ranks first in the country in that category, Langloh said.

Birmingham has more than 705 individuals who donate more than $10,000 a year to United Way - that's sixth in the country, Langloh said.

Birmingham ranks in the top 20 in amounts raised in annual campaigns, even though it's not even one of the 50 largest cities in terms of media markets, Langloh said.  The Birmingham News, July 3,  2008

*Birmingham is legendary for the commitment and sacrifice of its community volunteers. The United Way of Central Alabama’s Alexis de Tocqueville Society (donors of $10,000+) is the 11th largest in America, out of 279 such societies nationwide. Source: United Way of Central Alabama, October, 2003.

*Birmingham is the birthplace of both the concept and first celebration of “National Veteran’s Day.” When the late Raymond Weeks decided to honor veterans on Armistice Day in 1947 with a parade and other events, he just called it National Veteran’s Day. The idea took hold nationally and seven years later it was declared a national holiday. Birmingham’s celebration is the largest in the nation.

*Civitan International was founded in Birmingham in 1920 and maintains its home office here. Birmingham is headquarters for Civitan International.

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Attractions

Arts

*Birmingham’s Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival was named one of "ten fantastic film festival vacations" along with New Orleans, Austin and San Diego. Film Festival Today, Spring, 2003.

* “Lots of museums have test areas, but only Barber has the use of a 2.3-mile, grand prix-quality racetrack literally next to the displays. And while there are exotic motorcycles on show in many exhibition centres, nothing, but nothing, gets close to the five floors of breathtaking bikes at Barber. Everything about the Barber Museum is on an astonishing scale - not just the size of the operation but the grace and elegance with which it has been carried out.” The London Telegraph, February 25, 2006

*Birmingham’s Festival of Arts is the oldest continuously operating arts festival in the nation.

*Magic City Art Connection was ranked 12th in the nation among all outdoor juried art festivals, Sunshine Artist Magazine, 2001.

*The Birmingham Museum of Art is the largest city-owned museum in the Southeast,, housing the most comprehensive permanent collection of art in the Southeast.

*Birmingham is home to the nationally acclaimed Alabama Symphony and Alabama Ballet.

*The Club’s multi-colored dance floor was Director John Badham’s inspiration for a key icon in the definitive movie of the 70’s, Saturday Night Fever, starring John Travolta.

*The Alabama School of Fine Arts is the nation’s only state-supported school of its kind with grades 7-12. Mikhail Baryshnikov called the school, "...one of the top three schools in the country for teaching ballet"

*Birmingham’s McWane Center is the largest science center in a four-state region and boasts the world’s most advanced theatre audio system. Sonics Associates, an Imax Corporation subsidiary which makes sound systems for Imax worldwide, is based in Birmingham.

*Birmingham’s annual "Miss Apollo Pageant" began in 1975 and is now the 2nd oldest continuously running drag queen festival in the nation. (Black & White, September, 2002.)

*Birmingham is one of only four "music maker markets" in the country, establishing musical trends for the entire nation, Dennis Leonard, Fox 6 Television.

Dining

* In the article “Where Ribs Are An Art Form”, it was reported that “Alabama is rib central, just as Texas emphasizes beef…In a small town outside Birmingham…Miss Myra has truly captured the essence of the Southern palate… Miss Myra’s produces ribs better than any I had eaten anywhere.” Wall Street Journal, July 28, 2007

* In its cover story article, "Farm to Table," Birmingham’s Frank Stitt is recognized as “one of two Southern chefs who are changing the way America thinks about food…Frank serves on the Slow Food USA board and embraces its philosophy of local food mindfully and sustainably produced…Birmingham has the makings of a superb food community. It already has the restaurants.” Town & Country, April, 2007.

*Eat, Drink, Manhattan, the foodie page in the New York Times Sunday Magazine (September 10, 2006) interviewing celebrity restauranteur Danny Meyer “…Birmingham is one of the up-and-coming food cities.”

* “Who wouldn’t want to try a place called the Hot & Hot Fish Club?” asked Shaila Dewan in The New York Times, January, 2007

*From a headline article: Birmingham: An unlikely gourmet destination.” The restaurant scene has flourished, garnering raves from leading food magazines and food lovers from around the country.” The Week, February 2, 2007

*Highlands: A Bar and Grill, was ranked by Gourmet Magazine as the #5 restaurant in America. October, 2001

*Hot and Hot Fish Club was named "Great Neighborhood Restaurant in the South" in the September, 2002 issue of Bon Appetit.

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Nightlife

*WorkPlay Theatre is among America's 40 best music venues, according to the June 2007 issue of Paste magazine.

*Esquire magazine named Lou's Pub and Package Store in the Lakeview District one of the "Best Bars in America." It's cited for its after-work crowd, on-premises package store and owner Lou Zaden. Esquire magazine, June 2007.

*Ten Bars Worth Flying For: "Some watering holes are worth the airfare alone. Herewith is a farflung guide to some of the best drinking spots in the world." This article lists ten top bars in the world, including bars in Cairo, Montreal, Tokyo, Venice, Havana, New Orleans and New York City. Birmingham’s "The Garage" is rated #2 overall for its eclectic, authentic charm. GQ Magazine, April, 2003.

Parks and Recreation

*We’re #1! Following U. S. Steel’s donation of $1 million plus a commitment to sell land at a $9.5 million discount, a 1,108 acre tract has been put together by the Black Warrior-Cahaba Rivers Land Trust that will result in the establishment of Red Mountain Park. This large park will extend for 4.5 miles along ridgetop and adjacent lands in southwestern Birmingham. With the creation of this park, according to the Trust for Public Land, Birmingham will have 17.9 acres of public green space per 1,000 residents, ahead of top ranked Minneapolis with 14.3 acres per 1,000 residents. The Birmingham News, January 28, 2005.

*With Ruffner Mountain Nature Center’s planned addition of 5-700 acres, the Freshwater Land Trust’s plan to buy 1,108 acres on Red Mountain and the city’s plan to build the 20 acre Railroad Reservation Park, these planned additions and expansions would push Birmingham to #1 in national ranking of public green space per 1,000 residents. The Birmingham News, May 16, 2006

*Birmingham’s Ruffner Mountain, with 1,000 acres and 11+ miles of hiking trails, is larger than NYC’s Central Park and is the 2nd largest urban nature preserve in the nation. (Second only to Portland, Oregon’s 4,000 acre city park.)

*A fine chain of lakes surround Birmingham in every direction for recreation and lake homes.

*Vulcan is the largest iron figure ever cast and is second in size only to the Statue of Liberty in the United States of America.

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Sports

*June 2007, ESPN came out with a list of the top 101 things sport fans should experience before they die (worldwide) and Rickwood made the list at #78.
78. Rickwood Classic (summer, Birmingham, Ala.). Birmingham proved that if you save it, they will come as well. When the minor league Barons moved out, the city carefully preserved the historic field where Willie Mays got his start in the Negro Leagues. The Barons play once a year here in the annual Rickwood Classic, and if you squint, you can practically see Mays running down a fly ball.

*Birmingham is home to the nation’s oldest existing baseball park, Rickwood Field which opened in August, 1910. Among those who played there: Jackie Robinson, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Satchel Paige. Lou Gehrig, Stan Musial, Rogers Hornsby, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Josh Gibson, Reggie Jackson, Pie Traynor, Vida Blue, ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson, Dizzy Dean, José Canseco, Rollie Fingers and Bo Jackson.

*Birmingham’s Lakeshore Foundation is a world leader in athletics and recreation for the physically disabled. It’s also a major training site for wheelchair tennis, basketball and weightlifting events for the Paralympics.

*Birmingham set attendance records as host for 11 soccer games during the 1996 summer Olympics.

*Birmingham is headquarters for the Southeastern AND Southwestern Athletic conferences.

*In 1994, when Michael Jordan first retired from the Chicago Bulls to join the Birmingham Barons, Fleer made his baseball card. But they weren’t happy with his photo, so they destroyed the 90,000 cards printed –except for the dozen or so kept by Fleer employees. Only 3 have surfaced in the past decade, making his Birmingham Barons card one of the most valuable baseball cards of recent vintage, with a current pricetag of $1,200. Sports Illustrated, July 11, 2005

*Abracadabra was the name famed Birmingham surgeon Jim Andrews gave his yacht in the 2000 America’s Cup races in Auckland, New Zealand.

* The Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort and Spa on the Robert Trent Jones Golf trail is 8,191 yards long, making it the 3rd longest golf course in the world. Golf Digest calls it “one of the top-50 trips in the world.” It was designed specifically for PGA tournament play and has been named the home for the 2006 Regions Charity Classic, formerly the Bruno’s Classic.

*Birmingham is a leading center for golf enthusiasts. Jack Nicklaus, Pete Dye, Robert Trent Jones, Sr., Donald Ross, Hubert Green, Bob Cupp, Tom Fazio and Jerry Pate have all designed courses located in metro Birmingham.

*Region's Charity Classic, annual PGA Senior Golf Tour Tournament, ranked #1 Senior Tour event, Sports Illustrated, 2001.

* “Lots of museums have test areas, but only Barber has the use of a 2.3-mile, grand prix-quality racetrack literally next to the displays. And while there are exotic motorcycles on show in many exhibition centres, nothing, but nothing, gets close to the five floors of breathtaking bikes at Barber. Everything about the Barber Museum is on an astonishing scale - not just the size of the operation but the grace and elegance with which it has been carried out.” The London Telegraph, February 25, 2006

*The Barber Motorsports Park near Leeds is considered the "Augusta National" of racing and the home of the Porsche Driving Experience, a $1,500 a day driving school for auto enthusiasts. At the heart of the park is a 2.3 mile long, 45 foot wide road course. "Without a doubt, (the Barber Motorsports Park is) the most beautiful and demanding facility in North America" said Hurley Haywood, five time winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona and 3 time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance races. The Birmingham News, October 29, 2002. (The Porsche Driving Experience School moved here from Road Atlanta and Sebring, Florida, Black & White, February 12, 2003.) "When it comes to road courses, this is going to become the spiritual home to the sport" said Roger Edmondson, president of the Grand American Road Racing Series, The Birmingham News, March 13, 2003.

*Barber has built a four-story, 144,000 square-foot facility for his 850-piece collection of vintage motorcycles and automobiles. Over the last three decades, Barber has amassed the largest collection of motorcycles in the world, representing 125 manufacturers from 17 nations with vintage models dating back to 1904. Portions of the Barber collection have recently been on display at the Guggenheim Museum in New York and Bilbao, Spain, as well as at Chicago's Field Museum. The Barber Motorcycle Racing team success on the racing circuit includes seven national championships over the past 10 years. Many racing legends have already made a pilgrimage to this motorcycle Mecca, and it is fair to say that Barber's collection is far more renowned outside the state than within.

*Barber acquired this new site near Leeds in 2000, near the intersection of Interstates 20 and 459. Three years and $50 million later, the Barber Vintage Motorsports Park is the largest philanthropic effort ever undertaken in the state of Alabama. While the centerpiece of the park is the road course, the museum also houses an impressive machine and racing shop, a motorsports library, a 72-seat audio/visual theater, and a fourth-floor banquet site. Television cameras posted at each corner of the track will broadcast races to the museum, which also overlooks the track's eighth turn.

The track's European design provides the challenge of elevation changes with a mix of both right- and left-hand turns. There are no grandstands or bleachers; instead, fans will watch races from grassy hills and wooded areas adjacent to the track. For large races, a tram will operate along the ring road that surrounds the course, allowing patrons easy passage to a variety of spectator sites. Barber promises that 85 percent of the track can be viewed from any of these areas. Coolers, blankets, and umbrellas are welcome, and a low-power transmitter will broadcast race information to anyone with a radio.

*The Barber Motorsports Park has already secured the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series, May 16 – 18, 2003, AMA Superbike Championship in September, 2003, Black & White, February 12, 2003.

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Economy

*Although Birmingham emerged as the South’s industrial center, its economy today is very diversified:
-85% of the area’s jobs are non-manufacturing.
-The largest sector of employment is health care (9%), followed by telecommunications/engineering.
-The largest single employer is the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) with approximately 19,000 employees.
-After Charlotte, NC, Birmingham is the South’s leading financial center with headquarters to three of the nation’s top 40 banks in deposits and assets.

Income

*Birmingham enjoys the nation's best record of long-term income growth according to a new Bizjournals study that looks at 25 years of changes in per capita income in the 100 largest metros in the country. Birmingham climbed in the income standings by diversifying. It boosted its per capita income by 98 percent between 1990 and 2005, the largest increase registered by any major market over that span. The national average for the same period was 77 percent. (Source: BizJournals, June 4, 2007)

*In 2004, American City Business Journals (the parent of BBJ) concluded that income in the Birmingham – Hoover MSA grew faster than any other place in the South during the previous two decades. Birmingham Business Journal, January 12, 2007

*Salary.com ranked the top US Metros for building personal net worth, taking into account local salaries, cost of living and unemployment relative to the national average. Birmingham ranked #2 in the nation. May, 2006

* A national study conducted using the latest Bureau of Economic Analysis income figures ranked the Birmingham – Hoover Metropolitan Area’s income growth rate the fastest in the entire South and seventh in the United States over a 20 year period. The study analyzed per capita personal income growth between 1982 and 2002 and ranked the U.S. metropolitan areas income growth over a 20, 15, 10 and 5 year period. American City Business Journals (ACBJ), July 8, 2004

*Birmingham ranks #5 in the nation for high growth companies in cities of population of 750,000 – 1 million (Source: National Commission on Entrepreneurship, 2001)

* "Alabama received the "2004 State of the Year" award from Southern Business and Development Magazine. According to the magazine, Alabama ranked first among 17 southern states in terms of job growth and economic development.’ Current Developments, November/December 2004

*Birmingham ranked 4th in the nation in investments from European nations in 2003, with $274 million being invested here. A nationwide survey by Expansion Management, a monthly business magazine, June, 2003

Banking

*The merged Regions/AmSouth bank will consolidate departments in Birmingham creating a total employment of 6,000 – or more than both banks had combined before the merger. They also will spend $220 million each year with some 1,200 area suppliers. The Birmingham News, January 11, 2007.

*The US banking industry has been consolidating since interstate banking restrictions were repealed in 1994. Even after the acquisition of SouthTrust by Wachovia in 2004, the merger of Regions/ Amsouth and the acquisition by BBVA of Compass, Birmingham currently ranks seventh in the nation for headquartered banking assets, despite being ranked 48th in population. The city employed 39,900 in financial services as of the end of 2006. The Regions/Amsouth merger created a Top Ten bank headquartered in Birmingham with the potential to become one of the ultimate U. S. national banks. Furthermore, the amount of total assets currently headquartered in Birmingham exceeds that of Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Denver, Dallas, Houston, Tampa and Miami. Lance Nail, Ph.D., chairman of the Department of Finance, Economics and Quantitative Methods at UAB School of Business, The Birmingham News, February 25, 2007

*Birmingham banks Compass Bancshares and AmSouth Bancorp made Forbes magazine's list of the 400 best big companies in the nation based on high rankings for corporate practices, sales and earnings growth, stock performance and other areas. Forbes magazine, January 9, 2006

*AmSouth Bancorp was listed in U.S. Banker magazine among the "Top 20 All-Star" banks. Also ranked AmSouth's CFO Beth Mooney fifth among CFO's in banking. U.S. Banker magazine, January 9, 2006

*Despite the Wachovia buyout of SouthTrust, Birmingham remains a major banking center. It is home to 3 of the Top 50 banks in America with a total of 22 banks employing over 14,000 (even after the Wachovia job eliminations) and combined total assets of $187 billion. Randy Haines, Compass Bank president, at the Business Outlook Conference, January 12, 2005

*Birmingham’s Regions Financial Corporation merged with Memphis-based Union Planters Corporation in a $6 billion deal, vaulting Regions to 12th in the nation in deposits ($55.9 billion) and #1 in the South in deposits, ahead of Bank of America and Sun Trust. Regions now has 5.1 million customers in 1,400 branches across a 15 state territory. The Birmingham News, January 24, 2004.

Headquarters

*Birmingham headquartered Colonial Properties is now the third largest office landlord in Atlanta, The Book of Lists, Atlanta Business Chronicle, 2006

*Confederate Motorcycles, a maker for the rich and famous (including Jay Leno, Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise), moved its headquarters from New Orleans to Birmingham in December 2005. The Magic City is also home to its design and assembly. The Birmingham News, December 16, 2005

*Birmingham is headquarters for the American Fertility Institute.

*Birmingham is headquarters to Southern Progress which produces magazines such as Southern Living, Cooking Light, and Cottage Living-named 2005 Start-up of the Year by Adweek magazine.

*According to “Magazine Industry Newsletter,” Birmingham based Cooking Light beat out Maxim, Martha Stewart Living and even Oprah Winfrey’s “O,” to win the title of most notable magazine launch of the past two decades. It went from a national circulation of 450,000 at its inception to 1.7 million this year. The Birmingham News, October 8, 2005.

*Hoffman Media, a publishing company, is headquartered in Birmingham and produces nine publications including Cooking with Paula Deen and Southern Lady magazines.

*Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. (CNHI), formed in 1997 and headquartered in Birmingham, is the parent company for daily, weekly and semiweekly newspapers published in more than 200 communities throughout the United States. With a paid circulation of over 1 million, it recently acquired 3 television stations. RSA is CNHI’s sole lender, having invested $1 billion in the enterprise. The Birmingham News, August 7, 2005.

*The Alabama Baptist is published in Birmingham, it’s the 2nd oldest Baptist publication in America and is the largest Baptist newspaper in the nation.

*HealthSouth Corp. is world-renowned for its expertise in treating sports-related injuries. Among the patients who have been treated here are Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman, Bo Jackson, Jane Fonda, Jack Nicklaus and members of the Saudi Arabian Royal Family. The Birmingham-based American Sports Medicine Institute is devoted to research and education in sports-related injuries.

*EWTN, the global Catholic television network, is headquartered in Birmingham. The sprawling media empire offers programming for Canada, Europe, the Pacific Rim and, just recently, a satellite service aimed at India and Africa. December 14, 2002, The Birmingham News.

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Businesses

*Three Birmingham-based companies ranked in the top 10 in Fortune magazine's annual America's Most Admired Companies contest: Vulcan Materials earned the area's best ranking with a first-place win in the building materials and glass industry category. Regions Financial scored 10th place in the "super regional" banks category and Saks ranked sixth place in general merchandise. Birmingham Business Journal, March 6, 2007

*Three Birmingham companies made Black Enterprise magazine's annual list of Top-grossing Black Businesses. Bessemer's Trillion Communications Corp. ranked No. 34, with $132.5 million in sales for 2006, and was featured on the magazine's industrial/service list. Jordan Frazier Chrysler Dodge ranked No. 34 on its auto dealers list with $70.7 million in sales, while Anthony Underwood Automotive ranked No. 94 with $18.4 million in sales. The magazine featured a total of 275 black-owned companies across the country on three separate lists, which included industrial/service companies, auto dealerships, financial services firms and advertising agencies. The company must be 51 percent black owned and manufacture or own the products is sells and provides. Black Enterprise magazine, June 2007.

*Vulcan Materials Co. was the sole Alabama company to win a spot on Fortune magazine's recently released 2006 listing of "America's Most Admired Companies."
The Birmingham-based company won top marks for innovation, employee talent, social responsibility, quality of management and quality of products/services. Fortune magazine, February 27, 2006

* From a poll of 80 prominent site location consultants, Birmingham ranked in the top 50 (top 14%) of all 362 U.S. metros as one of the nation’s best cities for expanding and relocating companies. Cities were ranked on their business environment, work force quality, operating costs and other factors. “2007 America’s 50 Hottest Cities,” Expansion Management, January/February 2007

*The Birmingham metro area squeezed into the top 10 "Hottest Cities" in America for plant relocation, moving up five spots from last year. The ranking is conducted annually by Expansion Management magazine. The magazine surveyed more than 80 site-location consultants, asking them to list their top city choices for relocating and expanding manufacturing companies. The consultants were asked to take into consideration such factors as the business climate, work-force quality, operating costs, incentive programs and the ease of working with local political and economic development officials. Expansion Management magazine, January-February 2006

*Birmingham is the ductile iron pipe capital of the world. Three of the nation’s four ductile iron pipe operations are based in Birmingham, representing approximately half the nation’s iron pipe capacity. McWane’s Ruffner Page quoted in Business Alabama, February, 2007

*Birmingham-Hoover MSA was listed in the Top Ten of “America’s Hottest Cities” in Expansion Management’s January-February, 2006 issues.

*Diversity Business ranked Birmingham's Mayer Electric Supply Co. No. 5 in a list of the nation's top 500 women-owned businesses. Ram Tool & Supply was No. 23 and Rainbow Technology was listed at No. 212.

*Birmingham is one of only four “music maker markets” in the country, establishing musical trends for the entire nation, Dennis Leonard, Fox 6 Television. “Birmingham is one of the top four ideal test markets in the nation most representative of the nation’s population as a whole and therefore the best place for retailers and consumer products makers to test new ideas.” Tiffany Weatherly, Acxiom Corporation, December, 2005

*Four Birmingham companies named to Forbes' list of the nation's largest private companies: Ebsco Industries (the highest Alabama company on the list). McWane Inc, O'Neal Steele and Brasfield & Gorrie. Forbes magazine, November, 2005.

*Birmingham ranked the 3rd best mid-size city in the U.S. for entrepreneurs in 2005 by Entrepreneurs.com and NPRC.

*In the recent book, The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America, three were based in Birmingham: BE&K (a construction design engineering firm), Energen (Ala. Gas Corp.) and ACIPCO (American Cast Iron Pipe Co.). Few cities had three such companies, and no city had more than three.

*Birmingham ranked 10th among U. S. cities on the annual list of Fortune 500 companies, Fortune Magazine, April, 2001.

*Birmingham ranked #8 in the nation as the best place for the future success of your business. Cognetics, September, 2002

*Birmingham is the ‘Third Hottest Metro Area for Business Growth," according to a 1997 study by Cambridge, MA,-based Cognetics, Inc.

*Bromberg’s, founded in 1836, is the 5th oldest privately held company in America, announced at the Chamber’s Annual Small Business Week Awards Dinner, May 8, 2003.

*Birmingham’s Masonry Arts was chosen to do all the exterior stonework cladding on the Pentagon in Washington, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

* Birmingham’s Bayer Advanced has entered Pasadena’s Tournament of Roses Parade for the past 5 years; spent $170,000 on their 2002 entry. Previously they have won the coveted Fantasy Trophy (twice), the Queen's Trophy and the Animation Trophy over the past four years. The Birmingham News, December 30, 2004

*Brasfield & Gorrie does more healthcare construction than any other general contractor in the nation, Modern Healthcare magazine’s 2001 Annual Survey.

*Five Birmingham construction firms are listed in its top 12 companies in the nation in health care construction, including Brasfield & Gorrie at #1. [The other four were Robins & Morton Group (#3), Brice Building Company (#7), Hoar Construction (#8) and Doster Construction (#12.)] Modern Healthcare, March, 2002.

*Birmingham’s Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale and Dale’s Seasoning Sauce have been ranked #35 and #55 respectively in the top 100 foodstuffs of the nation, Saveur Magazine, January – February, 2002.

*Birmingham’s Crown Automotive is the only dealer in a four state region to sell the ultra luxury Maybach Mercedes, priced at $400,000+, Brett McBrayer, Birmingham Auto Dealers Association, October, 2003

*UAB’s Kirklin Clinic was designed by world-renowned architect I.M. Pei.

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Automotive Industry

*During the past decade, the top three most significant business investments in a 17-state region from Virginia to Texas were Mercedes-Benz, Honda and Hyundai, all located in Alabama and all favorably impacting the Birmingham region’s economy. Southern Business and Development, October, 2002.

*Mercedes’ Vance location won the top quality award from Daimler Chrysler AG for best Mercedes plant performance in the world in 2004. Birmingham Business Journal, May 12, 2005

*In 1995, Mercedes Benz chose a site 30 minutes from downtown Birmingham for its first assembly plant outside of Germany to build the M-Class vehicle. The plant has been so successful that in 2001, officials announced a $600 million expansion of the plant and a doubling of its workforce to 4,000.

*Honda Corporation chose a site 45 minutes east of Birmingham’s city limits for its new 1.7 million square foot assembly plant. The $440 million plant rolled out its first vehicle (the 2002 Odyssey minivan) on November 14, 2001. 1,500 employees began work there and an announcement was made in December, 2001 that an additional $140 million was being invested, adding another 800 jobs. In July, 2002, due largely to the popularity of the Odyssey, Honda announced a doubling of the existing plant, investing an additional $425 million, creating an additional 2,000 jobs.

Honda announced that, beginning with the 2005 model this fall, it was shifting all its North American production of the Odyssey minivan to Alabama, producing 300,000 vehicles and engines per year. This will take Honda’s total investment here to around $1 billion. Honda currently employs 3,000 and will grow to 4,300 employees on two production lines at the Lincoln plant, The Birmingham News, January 5, 2004

*Honda’s plan to double its plant capacity was the top business project in the country in 2002. (Plants, Sites & Parks magazine, fall, 2002)

*According to the June, 2001 issue of Business Facilities, Alabama ranked 8th among all states for automotive growth.

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Healthcare

*BREMSS, the innovative Birmingham Regional Emergency Medical Services, links 18 hospitals with real time routing so that emergency workers can divert trauma patients from overloaded hospitals to those with immediate services. In the event of a major airplane crash or other tragedy, Birmingham is much better suited to handle trauma cases than cities like Atlanta, where hospitals routinely experience long lines of waiting patients even on slow days. The Birmingham News, November 7, 2005

*Birmingham is the ONLY region in the nation to which OnStar connects digitally for transfer of accident data to a consortium for trauma care (the BREMSS system), Curtis Palmer, July 31, 2006

*There are 22 hospitals in metro Birmingham and more people are employed in the health care sector than in any other.

University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

  1. UAB ranked seventh in the U.S. News & World Report's 2007 top 40 national health care management programs. Birmingham Business Journal, April 3, 2007
  2. UAB will receive more than $12 million to lead a new paradigm for clinical investigation: a network of research centers led by UAB that will share medical records from HIV/AIDS patients via kiosks in waiting rooms at Case Western, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, UCal-San Diego, UCal-San Francisco, and University of Washington. “This is a way to study every patient outcome as compared to studying only selected patients in clinical trials,” said Dr. Michael Saag. The Birmingham News, October 10, 2006
  3. Out of all 6,007 hospitals in the nation, only 176 ranked in even a single specialty. Two UAB Hospital specialty programs made the Top 10 and nine specialty programs are ranked. Rheumatology was ranked sixth for an unprecedented 14th consecutive year; and heart and heart surgery has leaped from 25th to 10th during the last two years. U. S. News & World Report’s annual “America’s Best Hospitals” issue, July 8, 2005
  4. Out of the top 1,200 hospitals in the nation, UAB was ranked in the top 47 as “most wired,” meaning they made the most use of IT in the areas of safety & quality, customer service, business, workforce and public health. U. S. News & World Report, August 1, 2005.
  5. It is the world’s top kidney transplant center (Birmingham News, September 14, 2002)
  6. boasts one of only three Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the Southeast, one of the 11 original CCC’s originally funded by the Federal government in 1973 (now there are 38 nationwide) and one of only 8 centers never to have lost its original funding. UAB’s CCC averages approximately $100 million annually in grants and contracts (The Birmingham News, July 1, 2005)
  7. with the September, 2002 announcement of a $13 million grant from National Cancer Institute, UAB becomes "one of the nation’s top two or three brain cancer research centers," Dr. Stephen Rosenfeld, UAB professor of neurology.
  8. Is one of 11 sites nationally to receive significant federal funding to build high security labs for research on the world’s most deadly microbes. UAB received $15.9 million for a three story Regional Biocontainment Laboratory which will be used to develop vaccines, drugs and tests for emerging infections such as SARS and West Nile and for defense against deadly viruses that could be used in bioterrorist attacks. The Birmingham News, September 30, 2003.
  9. In 2003 its overall economic impact was nearly $2.5 billion and it generated the equivalent of 53,018 full time jobs. The Birmingham News, December 14, 2003
  10. It ranks 16th nationally in NIH funding for research, trailing only Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill in the Southeast, and is aiming to crack the Top Ten by 2010 (The Birmingham News, May 1, 2002 & October 3, 2003 & Jan 15, 2004.)
  11. In 2004, U. S. News & World Report placed a record 14 of University Hospital’s programs in their annual "America’s Best Hospitals" issue. Rheumatology was ranked #6 in the nation. Among the other programs ranked were cardiology and cardiac surgery (13th), kidney disease (13th), cancer (19th), rehabilitation (23rd), respiratory disorders (28th), geriatrics (29th), orthopedics (34th) and hormonal disorders (41st) in the nation. New UAB programs ranked for the first time this year were urology, neurology and neurosurgery and digestive disorders. "This is a landmark year for the hospital and we are so proud. UAB is consistently included in this defining list of the nation’s top hospitals" said Mary Nash, executive director of UAB Hospital. The Birmingham News, July 3, 2004.
  12. Payroll for its 16,000 employees is more than $600 million.
  13. In April, 2002, it broke ground for a $90 million, 340,000 square foot Shelby Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building that will create 1,400 high paying jobs and $100 million in additional research funding each year when it opens in 2005. It increases research space at UAB by 25%. This is part of UAB’s plan to move into the Top 10 of research institutions in the nation by 2010.
  14. UAB’s medical center is ranked #3 in the nation (behind only Mayo Clinic and Mass. General) in overall quality of health care (Source: The Best in Medicine).
  15. UAB’s Comprehensive Cancer Center received the largest grant in its 34 year history, a $30.9 million award from the National Cancer Institute and is seen as a vote of confidence in Dr. Peter D. Emanuel, acting director of the center in the wake of Dr. Albert LoBuglio’s recent departure. UAB’s CCC will focus on cancer genetics, epidememiology and the link between nutrition, obesity and cancer. (The Birmingham News, July 1, 2005)

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Education

*In a ranking of the top 1,000 high schools nationwide, Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School was named the 2nd top public high school in the nation. The ranking was based on the number of students who took Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests in 2005, divided by the number of seniors. Additionally, Mountain Brook High School ranked 263. Newsweek Magazine, May 1, 2006

*In a ranking of the top 1,000 high schools nationwide, Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School (with 325 students) was named the top public high school in the nation. The ranking was based on the number of students who took Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests in 2004, divided by the number of seniors. Additionally, Alabama School of the Fine Arts ranked 61 (down from 4th in the nation a year ago) and Mountain Brook High School ranked 248. Newsweek Magazine, May 7, 2005

*Samford University was ranked the 3rd best university in the South in the U.S. News & World Report 2006 rankings of America’s best colleges. Samford has been ranked in the top 10 for 16 consecutive years.

*The Alabama School of Fine Arts is the nation’s only state-supported school of its kind with grades 7-12. Mikail Bárishnykov called the school, "...one of the top three schools in the country for teaching ballet"

*USA TODAY rated ASFA among the nation’s top 10 (not 10% but one of the top ten) public high schools in America in 2000.

*Birmingham ranked 18th in the nation in the 2004 "Most Literate Cities" study, ahead of such cities as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. The criteria were: education level of residents, number of magazines and journals published, newspaper circulation and number of booksellers. University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 2004 (as reported in The Birmingham News, December 28, 2004.)

Technology and Research

*Birmingham leads the nation in AIDS research funding by the National Institutes of Health.

*”Southern Research Institute discovered six of the FDA’s 10 approved cancer drugs – and there’s more in the pipeline.” Rhonda Jung, Director of Public Relations in an article in Birmingham Business Journal, April 4, 2006

* Birmingham’s "Southern Research Institute is the leading private research institute in the country--probably in the world--in the field of drug discovery and development," Arthur D. Broom, professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Utah, Chemical & Engineering News, October 18, 2004

*Apple’s i-Pod has captured the minds and hearts of music consumers world-wide. Birmingham’s Push Design (Lloyd Cooper) developed the iTalk for Apple, which turns iPods into digital voice recorders. MacWorld, November, 2004

*Birmingham is the 41st most wired city in the U.S., according to Yahoo, Internet Life, April, 2002.

*The nation’s first commercial building provided with fiber optics was in Birmingham: AmSouth Bank. (Source: Mickey Harbin, BellSouth.)

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Media

*The first nationally televised night college football game was at Legion Field in 1969 (University of Alabama 33, University of Mississippi 32)

*Birmingham is headquarters of the world’s first Educational Television Network.

*EWTN, also based in Birmingham, is the world’s largest Catholic satellite broadcast network.

*Birmingham’s media market ranking is 39th - larger than that of Memphis, Buffalo, San Antonio or New Orleans. This "Designated Market Area" (DMA) encompasses 1.7 million people.

*Birmingham’s Paul Finebaum’s syndicated weekday radio show has been named by Sports Illustrated as one of the 12 best in the country. The Birmingham News, April 10, 2005

*Two and a half years ago, Birmingham’s Will Pearson put out the first issue of Mental Floss, an intelligent, eclectic mix of stories, arcane facts and trivia on any topic imaginable, has become a hit magazine nationwide. Its been featured in a Friends episode and is now featured every Wednesday night on CNN Headline News. The Birmingham News, November 6, 2003

* Birmingham is a leading publishing and media center, home to Southern Progress Corporation and Oxmoor House Publishing Company. Among magazines published in the Birmingham area: Southern Living - the nation’s most successful regional magazine - Southern Accents, Cooking Light (the nation’s largest food magazine) and Progressive Farmer.

*Hoffman Media publishes several nationally distributed magazines in Birmingham, including Southern Lady, Just CrossStitch and Tea Time.

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As Yet Unverified Claims:

*HealthSouth’s spinoff, Surgical Care Affiliates, is the largest operator of freestanding surgery centers in the nation with 209 facilities in 37 states, The Birmingham News reported September 1, 2002.

Healthsouth began construction on what they are calling "the world’s first digital hospital," a $225 million technological showplace. The hospital broke ground in December, 2001 at HealthSouth headquarters on Highway 280. It will include such high tech features as computer touch screens, electronic medical records storage, digital imaging instead of Xrays and a wireless communications systems allowing doctors and nurses to review patients’ vital signs and records.

*The first office park in the world was established in Birmingham at Mountain Brook Office Park in 1953 by N. H. Waters and Ervin Jackson. Their concept, considered radical at the time, was that office workers deserved their own parking areas just as workers at industrial plants.

*The first offstreet parking for a shopping center in the world was established by Shepherd- Sloss Realty at the current site of the Western Supermarket on Highland Avenue.

*The Birmingham Children’s Theatre is the largest children’s theatre company in the world.

*Talladega Motor Speedway is the world’s longest closed racetrack.

*When Saunder’s Leasing was established in Birmingham in 1916, it was the nation’s first car rental agency.