The Birmingham age-herald. [volume], February 23, 1913, MAGAZINE SECTION, Image 48

About The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950

Image provided by: University of Alabama Libraries, Tuscaloosa, AL

                
Recreation Places in Birmingham When Springtime Calls
BY RALPH R. SILVfc,
Monuments and Landscape View in
Capitol l’ark. Near Center of City
SPRING is coming.
That season of the year whose pe
culiar, thrilling, vibrating, life-giv
ing influences are sobner or later felt by
every human, stances on the threshold of
Birmingham. The severe cold weather of
a few days In February has been the
dying struggles of the mild but stubborn
southern winter.
It is only a matter of a few weeks and
maybe a few days until in every niche and
corner of the o|^ Mother Earth can be
seen a thousand and one forms of animal
and vegetable life literally leaping into
existence under 11le magic touch and in
fluence of the warming sun, the rising
sap and the chming birds.
And like unt<f the rest is man. With
the coming of tb* leaves, with the burst
ing oi tiie buds, with the rippling of the
spring freshet, with odor of the
fresh, damp, fertile soil, with the sight
of the cloak <)f green fast falling upon
the shoulders of nature, with the sound
of feathered wooing, with the sight of the
snake's new skin, the horse’s new glossy
coat, the cock’s new plumes, with the
•oft, warm, seductive atmosphere ting
ling his-nostrils and generating within
him a new energy, bringing new dreams
and new ami/bltions, man like all the rest
of Nature, will wrant to revel in the in
fluence of that most wonderful of all sea
sons of the year—the spring time.
The man or the woman Pr the child who
lives in the f city, however, to a certain
extent Is handicapped. All will want to
co to the Country—but all can not. For
these there are many beautiful places in
Birmingham, places where the glories of
the spring time can be seen and enjoyed
almost as much as in the open country.
Birmingham has many beautiful parks
and many beautiful residence sections
and they can all be visited and enjoyed
for the mere trouble of going.
The parks of Birmingham, where they
are and fvhat thiy are and how to get
there, follow:
Ayon/nle Park—Take any car, transfer
to A\if#l;»ljg or walk east on Avenue E,
south to Fortieth street. Contains mag
nificent spring (lowing out of great rocks
In mountain, wading pond for children,
swings, walk|, driveways, refreshment
stiU:ds, electric lights, benches and a zoo
logical garden containing many animals
of all kinds.
Capitol Park—Take any car, transfer to
North Highland, Norwood or Fountain
Heights and get off at Park avenue; or
wali^to North Twentieth street and Park,
of Eighth avenue, but a few blocks from
the business center of the city. Contains
benches, beautiful monuments, walks,
•lirubbery. flower beds and band stand.
•East Enfa Park—Take any car and
transfer to Terminal, Boyles or North
Birmingham and get off at Twenty-fourth
street, or walk to Sixth or Seventh ave
nue between Twenty-fourth or Twenty
lifth streets. Contains benches, circular
running track, outside basketball
I grounds, benches, shrubbery and flower
teds. ,
■ West End Park-Take any car and
transfer to North Ensley and get off at
Piftli avenue or take Tidewater car and
View nof Children’s Playground i C
North Haven Park, North Highlands
get off at Sixteenth or Seventeenth
streets. Contains large lawns, flower and
shrubbery beds, benches and gravel
walks. Is close to downtown district and
can be reached by walking few blocks
to Seventeenth street and Fifth avenue.
East Lake Park, East Lake—Take any
car and transfer to East Lake line. Cars
run right up to park. Contains all kinds
of apparatus common to modern amuse
ment parks, dance balls, roller skating
halls, eating stands, roller coasters and
so forth. Good sized lake for canoeing
and Ashing. Has benches and walks
scattered about parked territory along
edge ofc lake.
Magnolia Park—Take Highland avenue
car, from downtown district, car going
right by park, which is located between
Magnolia avenue and Tenth avenue and
Twenty-first and Twentv-secofvfl streets.
Contains flower beds, lawn, shrubbery and
gravel walks.
North Birmingham Talk—Take North
Birmingham car from downtown district
and get off at end of the line. Park con
tains large spring, dancing pavillion,
benches ami other appliances. Is located
between Twenty-eighth and Thirtieth
streets on Thirty-fifth avenue.
Richmond park, or more commonly
known as Behrens Park—Take Idle wild,
or Twentieth street or Avenue B loop cars
from downtown; all cars go by park,
which is located at Avenue H and Belle
view avenue and Florida avenue and
Twelfth street. Contains flower beds and
shrubbery and shade trees and gravel
walks.
Rickwood Baseball Park, better knowrn
as Rickw'ood Field—Take North or South
Ensley or North Bessemer cars, except
on days of regular Southern league
games, when regular baseball cars run
directly to the park. The park is not
open exception baseball days. Contain
graded diamond and outfield and strictly
modern reinforced concrete grandstand
and bleachers.
Rhodes Park—Take Highland avenue or
Lake view cars from downtown and get
off at park, which is located at Highland
avenue and Monroe avenue. Contains
Center—Scene in Residence District of Norwood. Bottom—A Scene in East Lake Park. Top View, Across
Page—Panoramic View of Portion of Serpentine Highland Avenue—Photos by Bert G. Covell
benches and beautiful walks. Presents
beautiful landscape effects, two large en
trances being made out of concrete and
rough rock, with a plaza in center con
taining tablet and memorial to Rufus N.
Rhodes, one of the pioneers of Birming
ham.
Besides the parks of Birmingham there
are many of the residence listricts which
present beautiful and artistic effects in
the summer season, when everything is
green and the shade trees are In foliage.
Winding, serpentine Highland avenue
an South Highlands has a reputation over
Lhe entire country as one of the most
artistic and beautiful landscape effects
ever worked into a residence boulevard.
It winds about with many * a graceful
curve along the side of Red mountain and
through one of the best and most wealthy
residence sections of the city. Thererore
it is lined with residences which in many
cases approach almost the magnificence
of the palace of ancient days with the ex
ception that the outside, appearance of
these modern residences is far more beau
tiful and artistic than any palace that
ever was built. This Highland avenue,
with its curving and swerving bofilevard,
lined on both sides with these residences
and homes of splendor, with their spa
cious lawns and terraces In front amount
ing in themselves almost to a park, Is one
of the show' places of the city and espe
cially In the spring time, when the
warmth of the sun and the fertility of
the soil are breathing life Into the shrub
bery and flow'er beds and green lawns.
There Is no nicer walk nor more pleas
ant method of spending a few hours of
the afternoon than a stroll around this
beautiful show boulevard of the Magic
City.
On the opposite side of the city, or
North Highlands and Norwood both tec
Portion of the New Norwood Boule
vard
tions affording residence communities
wjiich are very beautiful, especially at
this time of the year. On the north side
of Norwood there is now under way the
construction of the Norwood boulevard,
to be in the future a high-class residence
district. The larger part of the boule
vard has been constructed and it affords
a beautiful sight as it winds along over
the side of the mountain, in many ways
similar to its counterpart on the oppo
site side of the city. Highland avenue,
with the exception that along the Nor
wood boulevard as yet there are no rows
of spacious homes. This boulevard Is
paved with asphalt and is proving a par
adise for automobile;*.
There are many who in the spring like
to stroll In the cemeteries and xiLi" the
beautiful works of art in the monuments
to be found there, and the landscape
gardening which in these places is of the
best in that they contain artistic wind
ing drives and walks and flower beds
ar^l shrubbery. Among the better known
cemeteries of the city Is Kim wood, on the
South Bessemer and West End car lines;
Oak Hill cemetery, on the North High
lands car line; Woodlawn cemetery on the
East Lake car line, and Oakland ceme
tery on either of the Ensley car lines.
In addition there are many w'nlks Into
the country which can be made from the
end of the various car lin^s which will
prove In the spring time especially Inter
esting and full of pleasure. One of the
best of such trips can be made by taking
the Lukevlew or Highland car and get
ting off at Iroquois street. By walking
up Iroquois street toward the top of the
mountain a well traveled country r^ad Is
met with which when followed for a mile
or so and then by taking a cut at right
angles into the pine forest, one of the
most beautiful wild and woodland places
of scenery in the entire district is en
countered. This place might be difficult
to locate without a guide who knew some
thing of the lay of the country. However,
any walk up onto Red mountain at the
south of the city or on over the moun
tain Into Shades valley will afford much
pleasure. The same scenery to ft large
Entrance to Rid*wood Park Where
Southern League Gaines Are Played
extent can be found on the north side of
the city.
For those who have either automobiles
or horses there are beautiful country
roads leading out of Birmingham In all
directions, both up and down the valley
and across the two mountains at either
side. Probably the most artistic scenery
Is encountered by taking one of the
mountain roads, the larger part of which
will be found to be In remarkably good
condition for automobile and carriage
traffic. The valley roads are numerous,
but two of the most popular is the one
leading easterly to Mt. Pinson and the
one leading westerly toward South Bes*
eemer.
Knowing Bible by Heart
From Tit-Bits.
Of tiie many examples of prodigious
memories which have been recorded
from lime to time, none, perhaps, have
been so remarkable as the case of the
Rev. Thomas Threlkeld, who was a
Presbyterian minister at Rochdale for
28 years, and died there in April, 1806,
at the age of 67. Threlkeld'* memory
first, attracted attention when he at
tended the grammar school at I)aven
try, where he began to make a close
study of the Bible. When a passage
was recited to him he could immediate
ly give it chapter and verse, and, on the
other hand, if a chapter and verse were
given he could at once repeat the pas
sage.
Both at Baventry and Warrington,
where he went to finish his education,
bis fellow students delighted In put
ting his memory to the test, and never
once was it known to be at fault.
“In later years." says Mr. Frank Hird.
in Lancashire Stories, “Threllteld was
looked upon as a living concordance
to the Bible in Rochdale and the neigh
borhood, and was constantly asked the
most puzzling questions by his brother
ministers, sometimes actually for in
formation, but generally for mere
amusement. He was never known te
be wrong “
Threlkeld’s powers of memory, how
knew nine or ten languages; white
theology, lie was also 4 linguist, and
knew’ nnine or ten languages; while
dates were a passion writh him, no mat
ter however unimportant. His knowl
edge of historical dates, of chronology,
heraldry and genealogy was encyclo
paedic, and one of his favorite amuse
ments was to go through the success
ion in the Kpiscopal Sees and trace the /
pedigrees of families.
“In only ono direction," continues
Mr. Hird, “would this wonderful mem
ory sec m to have been of direct service.
Threlkeld was one of the managers of
a fund for the benet of the widows of
Presbyterian ministers, and conse
quently was frequently appealed to on
circumstances connected w'ith the lives
of dead ministers; and such was the
opinion of his memory that if the books
had been consulted, and had reported
differently, the error would been im
puted to the secretary and not to Mr.
T.’s memory. This was deemed InfaU
lible."
Forehanded
From the readies' Home Journal.
“Mr. Grimes,** said the rector to tha
vestryman on the Sunday morning before
Christmas, “this morning we had better
take up the collection before tho ser
mon."
••Indeed!" said the vestryman. "Why?**
“Well," answered the rector, **I am go
ing to preach on the subject of ecog*
omyv"