Memories of Downtown Birmingham: Where All the Lights Were Bright - Softcover

The bright lights of Birmingham's theater and retail district have shone over the Magic City for nearly one hundred years during the good times and the bad. During the early 1900s, small businesses, largely founded by immigrants who arrived in Birmingham with almost nothing, exploded into immensely popular shopping and entertainment destinations. The stories of entrepreneurs and immigrants like Louis Pizitz and his business rival, Adolph Loveman, exemplify the kind of rags-to-riches tales that make up much of the city's character. The theaters in the district, some with themed restrooms, inspired the head of Paramount Pictures to dub Birmingham's Alabama Theatre the Showplace of the South." Author Tim Hollis celebrates and revives the spirit of the beloved department stores and famous theaters from the era of silent movies to the days of integration and change to today."

Tim Hollis is the author of more than two dozen books about popular culture, including histories of Loveman's and Pizitz. He is often a guest of the Birmingham Public Library's speaker series and resides in Dora.