Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama. It is the largest city in the state, with a population of 212,237, and was named for the city in the UK. The Alabama city annexed smaller neighbors and developed as an industrial center, based on mining, the new iron and steel industry, and rail transport. Most of the original settlers who founded Birmingham were of English ancestry. The city was developed as a place where cheap, non-unionized immigrant labor (primarily Irish and Italian), along with African-American labor from rural Alabama, could be employed in the city's steel mills and blast furnaces, giving it a competitive advantage over unionized industrial cities in the Midwest and Northeast.

From its founding through the end of the 1960s, Birmingham was a primary industrial center of the southern United States. Its growth from 1881 through 1920 earned it nicknames such as "The Magic City" and "The Pittsburgh of the South". Its major industries were iron and steel production. Major components of the railroad industry, rails and railroad cars, were manufactured in Birmingham. Since the 1860s, the two primary hubs of railroading in the "Deep South" have been Birmingham and Atlanta. The economy diversified in the latter half of the 20th century. Banking, telecommunications, transportation, electrical power transmission, medical care, college education, and insurance have become major economic activities. Birmingham ranks as one of the largest banking centers in the U.S. Also, it is among the most important business centers in the Southeast.

 Nicknames
 County
 Population
 Elevation
 Mayor
 Gym Leader
 City Guildmaster
 ZIP codes

## Demographics

As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the racial composition of the city is:

72.79% Black or African American (154,487)

21.75% White (46,161)

5.46% Other (11,589)

28.2% (59,850) of Birmingham residents live below the poverty line.

## Theft rate statistics

Quite unfortunately, despite being one of the South's most important business centers, there's a very dark side to Birmingham when it comes to crime. Aside from having one of the highest rates of violent crime among U.S. cities, it also has the 5th-highest Pokemon theft rate in the U.S., and the 2nd-highest Pokemon murder rate among major cities. Team Rocket has their Alabama base here, and some parts of the city are so over-run with them, that they might as well be the ones in charge of those areas. Many notable thefts and murders (including the Avenue G cyanide poisonings back in 1916 in the early days of American Tem Rocket) have happened in Birmingham. The city reported 885 Pokemon thefts in 2018, and averages 64.44 Pokemon murders a year. That's nowhere near as close to Chicago's stats, but for a city of Birmingham's size, this is nothing short of ridiculous. The amount of people and Pokemon that get murdered in this city on a yearly basis has earned the city the nickname "Bloodingham". Not only that, but for trainers in Alabama, it's not a city that can be avoided, as it has a gym, plenty of battling areas, contest halls and showcase theaters. It is unknown if things will get better in Birmingham for the foreseeable future.

## Pokemon

See the Jefferson County page for more info.

## Fun facts

* In the 1950s and 1960s, Birmingham gained national and international attention as a center of activity during the Civil Rights Movement. Based on their members working in mining and industry, in the 1950s independent Ku Klux Klan (KKK) chapters had ready access to dynamite and other bomb materials. Whites unhappy with social changes in the 1950s committed racially motivated bombings of the houses of black families who moved into new neighborhoods or who were politically active, earning Birmingham the nickname "Bombingham". The notorious Birmingham campaign occurred here as well.
* In higher education, Birmingham has been the location of the University of Alabama School of Medicine (formerly the Medical College of Alabama) and the University of Alabama School of Dentistry since 1947. In 1969 it gained the University of Alabama at Birmingham, one of three main campuses of the University of Alabama System. It is home to three private institutions: Samford University, Birmingham-Southern College, and Miles College. The Birmingham area has major colleges of medicine, dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, pharmacy, law, engineering, and nursing. The city has three of the state's five law schools: Cumberland School of Law, Birmingham School of Law, and Miles Law School. Birmingham is also the headquarters of the Southwestern Athletic Conference and the Southeastern Conference, one of the major U.S. collegiate athletic conferences.
* In 1979, Birmingham elected its first black mayor - Richard Arrington Jr., who served from 1979 to 1999 before retiring.
* Notable people from Birmingham include Condoleezza Rice, Richard Shelby, Bobby Bowden, Larry McReynolds and a lot of professional athletes. It is also where Isaac Rodman and Sammy Brenton were born and raised.
* Located in Birmingham is the historic Legion Field, which, unfortunately, sits in one of the worst and most infamous neighborhoods of the city. It was the site of the Iron Bowl every year from 1948 to 1988, before Auburn decided to move their home games in the series to Jordan–Hare Stadium, therefore the tickets were no longer split equally. In 2000, Alabama followed suit and decided to no longer play their home games against Auburn at Legion Field. Alabama holds a 32–15 advantage over Auburn in games played at Legion Field. 1998 was the last year the Iron Bowl was played at the Old Gray Lady. It is, however, the location of the Birmingham Bowl, the Magic City Classic, Steel City Classic, and will be the location of the Birmingham Iron's home games beginning next year when AAF kicks off its first season. However, over the years, the stadium has aged poorly with little renovations over the years. Along with that, there's very little parking around the stadium, so many have to park in the yards of the locals where you must pay protection to keep your vehicle safe. More than a few fans have returned to their cars on blocks after failing to pay the racket. The field is also in such bad condition these days that it's caused multiple injuries. What used to be the best field in the state isn't even in the top ten anymore.
* There have been multiple attempts at establishing a professional football team in Birmingham, but none of them really lasted long. The Birmingham Iron is the latest attempt, and it remains to be seen if it will become the first pro football team to last a while in the city.
* Birmingham is part of the Birmingham/Anniston/Tuscaloosa television market. The major television affiliates, most of which have their transmitters and studios located on Red Mountain in Birmingham, are WBRC 6 (Fox), WBIQ 10 (PBS), WVTM 13 (NBC), WTTO 21 (CW), WIAT 42 (CBS), WPXH 44 (ION), WBMA-LD 58/68.2 (ABC) and WABM 68 (MyNetworkTV).
* Unsurprisingly, Birmingham has no shortage of amenities. It has about every hotel, supermarket, fast food, dollar store, chain restaurant that one can think of, along with Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, Ruffner Mountain, Birmingham Race Course, plenty of golfing opportunities along with a country club, plenty of well-known local restaurants, the Birmingham Battle Academy, Vulcan Park & Museum, McWane Science Center, Alabama Battling Museum along with a few other museums, Birmingham CrossPlex, a decent amount of contest halls and showcase theaters, decent amount of sports opportunities, and plenty more.
* Believe it or not, Team Rocket's Alabama division HQ hasn't always been in Birmingham. Before moving in 1989, it was based out of Selma.
* In January 2015, the International World Game Executive Committee selected Birmingham as the host for the 2021 World Games.
* Like most major cities in the South, Birmingham has been lucky when it comes to major tornadoes. Most of the tornadoes that it the city itself are weak, usually in the F0-F2 (EF as of 2007) range. However, there was an exception quite recently, when a long-tracked EF4 tornado devastated large parts of the city's north side and downtown.