Birmingham was founded in 1871, during the post-Civil War Reconstruction period, through the merger of three pre-existing farm towns, notably, former Elyton.
It grew from there, annexing many more of its smaller neighbors, into an industrial and railroad transportation center with a focus on mining, the iron and steel industry, and railroading.
The Magic City
Birmingham was named for Birmingham, England, UK; one of that nation’s major industrial cities. Most of the original settlers who founded Birmingham were of English ancestry.
In one writer’s view, the city was planned as a place where cheap, non-unionized, and African-American labor from rural Alabama could be employed in the city’s steel mills and blast furnaces, giving it a competitive advantage over industrial cities in the Midwest and Northeast.
From its founding through the end of the 1960s, Birmingham was a primary industrial center of the South.
The pace of Birmingham’s growth during the period from 1881 through 1920 earned its nicknames The Magic City and The Pittsburgh of the South.
Much like Pittsburgh, Birmingham’s major industries were iron and steel production, plus a major component of the railroading industry, where rails and railroad cars were both manufactured in Birmingham.
In the field of railroading, the two primary hubs of railroading in the Deep South were nearby Atlanta and Birmingham, beginning in the 1860s and continuing through to the present day.
The City of Birmingham, seeking to improve the area where many events of the American Civil Rights Movement took place, purchased the Carver in 1990 and remodeled it for live performance use, with an eye toward remembering the Carver’s place in the African-American Community.
Jazz Hall of Fame
One of the planned uses was a home for the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.
Since its reopening, the Carver has hosted many events such as the Taste of 4th Avenue Jazz Festival, and the annual AJHoF Student Jazz Festival, as well as performances by Duke Ellington Orchestra, Lionel Hampton, Diana Krall, Lou Marini, the Magic City Jazz Orchestra, Ray Reach and the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame All-Stars, Gregg Karukas, the Tom Joyner syndicated radio show, and many other notable performers.
The Carver also hosts touring theatrical productions and numerous concerts and educational events sponsored by the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.
The theatre is now a part of the Birmingham Civil Rights District.
Tickets for the Steel City Jazz Festival will be available at the gate. General weekend passes are $150 and single day passes are $75. There are NO VIP tickets are available.
No coolers over 18/18 inches and no alcohol allowed in coolers. Kids below the age of 12 admitted free! Lawn chairs can be brought into the festival and please no umbrellas opened during the show blocking the view of other patrons.
Parking for the Steel City Jazz Festival can be found in the parking decks at 19th Street Abraham Woods Blvd and 5th Avenue North.
Steel City Jazz Festival is located at 710 20th St N, Birmingham, Alabama 35203.
