The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute - Alabama.
N 33° 30.971 W 086° 48.871
16S E 517225 N 3708528
Located in downtown Birmingham, Alabama - when it opened in 1992, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute represented the fulfillment of a vision first put forth by its founders in the 1970s.
Waymark Code: WM9T0
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 04/02/2006
Views: 130
The History:-
1977 Birmingham Mayor David Vann mentions in a weekly news conference that a civil rights museum would be an appropriate project for the city.
1978 Birmingham City Council endorses Mayor Vann's recommendation of creation of a civil rights museum.
1979 Mayor Vann is defeated in his bid for re-election by Dr. Richard Arrington, Jr., Birmingham's first African American mayor. Birmingham City Council adopts a resolution authorizing the mayor to form a museum committee to conduct a feasibility study.
1981 Mayor Arrington appoints former mayor, David Vann, and UAB historian Horace Huntley to co-chair a Civil Rights Museum Study Committee. The Civil Rights Museum Study Committee recommends that the city incorporate a Board of Directors and acquire property for a museum.
1982 The City of Birmingham begins acquiring property for a civil rights museum.
1983 - 1986 Mayor Richard Arrington, Jr. appoints a Civil Rights Institute Task Force to create a mission statement and plan for the new facility. Odessa Woolfolk, Director of the UAB Center for Urban Affairs, and Frank Young, Chairman of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, serve as co-chairs of the Task Force. The Civil Rights Institute Task Force crafts a mission statement and thematic program and guides the work of city - appointed architects and designers.
Birmingham citizens vote down a $65 million bond issue that includes $24 million for a science center and a civil rights museum, as well as renovations to the existing art museum.
1987 Civil Rights Institute Task Force approves schematic drawings and a program statement developed by the architectural firm Bond Ryder James and museum consultants, the American History Workshop.
1988 Mayor Richard Arrington, Jr. authorizes plans for a Civil Rights Cultural District, including a renovated Kelly Ingram Park, a Jazz Hall of Fame in the historic Carver Theatre, a Civil Rights Institute, and landscaping of public space around the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. Grover Harrison Harrison, landscape architects, in association with Grover Mouton, selected to redesign Kelly Ingram Park to include sculptures depicting the Civil Rights Movement.
Voters again turn down a multi-purpose bond issue ($110 million) including $25 million for various museums.
1990 Birmingham City Council incorporates a 15-member Board of Directors for the Civil Rights Institute, naming Odessa Woolfolk president. The Board of Directors adopts the mission statement and interpretive program recommended by the Task Force, hires the design firm of Joseph Wetzel, Inc., and initiates a capital campaign.
1991 The Historical Preservation Authority of Birmingham issues revenue bonds for financing a portion of the cost of redesigning Kelly Ingram Park and constructing the Civil Rights Institute.
1992 The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the City of Birmingham enter into a funding and management agreement for both the Institute and the Carver properties, which include the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame.
November 14, 1992 The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute unveils a statue of Reverend Fred L. Shuttlesworth sculpted by John Rhoden of New York, formerly of Birmingham.
November 15, 1992 The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is officially dedicated. Former UN Ambassador Andrew Young is the main speaker at dedication ceremonies.
November 16, 1992 The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute opens to the public.
Hours:-
Tues to Sat 10 am - 5 pm
Sunday 1 pm - 5 pm
Monday and Major Holidays Closed*
Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Open (Free Admission)
Admission Prices:
Adults $9.00*
Group Rates $7.00 )25 people or more).
Senior Citizens (65 and over) $5.00
College Students (with ID) $4.00
Children (17 and under)FREE
*FREE on SUNDAYS
Civil Right Type: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
You must have visited the site in person, not online.