Roanoke, Virginia - USA

Roanoke is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The city of Roanoke is adjacent to the city of Salem and the town of Vinton and is otherwise surrounded by, but politically separate from, Roanoke County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 94,911. The city is bisected by the Roanoke River. Roanoke is the commercial, cultural, and medical hub of much of the surrounding area of Virginia and southern West Virginia.

The United States Census Bureau includes in Roanoke's metropolitan area the counties of Botetourt, Franklin, Craig and Roanoke, and the cities of Salem and Roanoke. The metropolitan area's population in the past three censuses has been reported to be:

1980 --- 220,393
1990 --- 224,477
2000 --- 235,932
2005 (estimate) --- 292,983
Please note that the figures through 2000 do not include Franklin County (50,345 est. 2005 population) and Craig County (5,154 est. 2005 population) which were recently added to the Roanoke MSA, which is the fourth largest in Virginia (behind the Greater Richmond area, Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads) and the largest outside of the eastern half of the state.

The town of Big Lick was established in 1852 and chartered in 1874. It was named for a large outcropping of salt which drew the wildlife to the site near the Roanoke River. It became the town of Roanoke in 1882 and was chartered as the independent city of Roanoke in 1884. The name Roanoke is said to have originated from an Algonquin word for shell "money", but the town was almost certainly renamed for the river that bisected it and the county that had surrounded it since 1838. It grew frequently through annexation through the middle of the twentieth century. However, the last annexation was in 1976 and Virginia cities are currently prohibited from annexing land from adjacent counties. Its location in the Blue Ridge Mountains, in the middle of the Roanoke Valley between Maryland and Tennessee, made it the transportation hub of western Virginia and contributed to its rapid growth.

During colonial times the site of Roanoke was an important hub of trails and roads. The Great Wagon Road, one of the most heavily travelled roads of eighteenth century America, ran from Philadelphia through the Shenandoah Valley to the future site of the City of Roanoke, where the Roanoke River passed through the Blue Ridge. The Roanoke Gap proved a useful route for immigrants to settle the Carolina Piedmont region. At Roanoke Gap, another branch of the Great Wagon Road, the Wilderness Road, continued southwest to Tennessee and Kentucky.

In the 1850s, Big Lick became a stop on the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad (V&T) which linked Lynchburg with Bristol on the Virginia-Tennessee border.

After the American Civil War (1861-1865), William Mahone, a civil engineer and hero of the Battle of the Crater, was the driving force in the linkage of 3 railroads, including the V&T, across the southern tier of Virginia to form the Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad (AM&O), a new line extending from Norfolk to Bristol, Virginia in 1870. However, the Financial Panic of 1873 wrecked the AM&O's finances. After several years of operating under receiverships, Mahone's role as a railroad builder ended in 1881 when northern financial interests took control. At the foreclosure auction, the AM&O was purchased by E.W. Clark and Co., a private banking firm in Philadelphia which controlled the Shenandoah Valley Railroad then under construction up the valley from Hagerstown, Maryland. The AM&O was renamed Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W).

Frederick J. Kimball, a civil engineer and partner in the Clark firm, headed the new line and the new Shenandoah Valley Railroad. For the junction for the Shenandoah Valley and the Norfolk and Western roads, Kimball and his board of directors selected the small Virginia village called Big Lick, on the Roanoke River. Although the grateful citizens offered to rename their town "Kimball", on his suggestion, they agreed to go with Roanoke after the river. As the N&W brought people and jobs, the Town of Roanoke quickly became an independent city in 1884. In fact, Roanoke became a city so quickly that it earned the nickname "Magic City."

Kimball, whose interest in geology was responsible for the opening of the Pocahontas coalfields in western Virginia and West Virginia, pushed N&W lines through the wilds of West Virginia, north to Columbus, Ohio and Cincinnati, Ohio, and south to Durham, North Carolina and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This gave the railroad the route structure it was to use for more than 60 years.

The Virginian Railway (VGN), an engineering marvel of its day, was conceived and built by William Nelson Page and Henry Huttleston Rogers. Following the Roanoke River, the VGN was built through the City of Roanoke early in the twentieth century. It was merged with the N&W in 1959.

The opening of the coalfields made N&W prosperous and Pocahontas bituminous coal world-famous. Transported by the N&W and neighboring Virginian Railway (VGN), it fueled half the world's navies and today stokes steel mills and power plants all over the globe. The N&W was famous for manufacturing steam locomotives in-house. It was Norfolk & Western's Roanoke Shops, that made the company known industry-wide for its excellence in steam power. The Roanoke Shops, with its workforce of thousands, is where the famed classes A, J, and Y6 locomotives were designed, built, and maintained, and new steam locomotives were built there until 1953, long after diesel-electric had emerged as the motive power of choice for most North American railroads. Around 1960, N&W was the last major railroad in the United States to convert from steam to diesel motive power.

The presence of the railroad also made Roanoke attractive to manufacturers. American Viscose opened a large rayon plant in Southeast Roanoke in October 1917. This plant closed in 1958, leaving 5,000 workers unemployed which was soon followed by the 2,000 workers laid off when N&W converted to diesel.

Today, Roanoke is known for its Chili Cook-Off, Local Colors Festival, Henry Street Festival, Strawberry Festival, and the large red, white, and blue illuminated (temporarily illuminated in white on April 22, 2007 in remembrance of the Virginia Tech Massacre of April 16, 2007) Mill Mountain Star on Mill Mountain, which is visible from many points in the city and surrounding valley.

Roanoke also plays host to Festival in the Park, an annual festival which is used to "To enhance and promote the visual and performing arts and sports activities in the Roanoke Valley and surrounding areas, to generate a positive economic impact on the Valley, and to fund an Arts Scholarship Program."

Roanoke Virginia, called "The Star City of the South" lies in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. Many people claim that Roanoke's close proximity to the Blue Ridge Mountains makes it the ideal spot to view the magnificent fall turning of the leaves in the mountains, a colored quilt like extravaganza that visitors come from all over the world to witness.

Bristol, Virginia - USA

Bristol is an independent city in Virginia, bounded by Washington County, Virginia and Sullivan County, Tennessee.

As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 17,367. It is the twin city of Bristol, Tennessee, just across the state line, which runs down the middle of its main street, State Street. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Bristol, Virginia with Washington County for statistical purposes. Along with Kingsport, Tennessee and Johnson City, Tennessee the Bristols form the Tri-Cities.

Originally named Goodson, it was renamed to Bristol in 1890.

Bristol is considered to be the "Birthplace of Country Music" according to a resolution passed by the US Congress in 1998 for its contributions to early country music recordings and influence.

In 1927 Ralph Peer of Victor Records began recording local musicians in Bristol to attempt to capture the local sound of traditional 'folk' music of the region.

One of these local sounds was created by The Carter family. The Carter Family got their start on July 31, 1927, when A.P. Carter and his family journeyed from Maces Springs, Virginia, to Bristol, Tennessee, to audition for record producer Ralph Peer who was seeking new talent for the relatively embryonic recording industry. They received $50 for each song they recorded.

Since 1994 the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance has promoted the city as a destination to learn about the history of the region and its role in the creation of an entire music genre. Currently, the Alliance is organizing the building of a new Cultural Heritage Center to help educate the public about the history of country music in the region.

Bristol, Tennessee - USA

Bristol is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 24,821. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, just across the state line, which runs down the middle of State Street. Along with Kingsport, Tennessee and Johnson City, Tennessee the Bristols form the Tri-Cities. Bristol is probably best known for being the site of some of the first commercial recordings of country music, showcasing Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family, and later a favorite venue of the legendary mountain musician Uncle Charlie Osborne. Congress recognized Bristol as the Birthplace of Country Music in 1998. Bristol is the birthplace of Tennessee Ernie Ford. Bristol is the site of a NASCAR short track which routinely sells out more than 160,000 seats twice annually. Tickets to Bristol Motor Speedway and DukesFest, a two day festival showcasing the 1980s television show "Dukes of Hazzard" are highly sought-after. The city is also the home of King College.

Bristol is considered to be the "Birthplace of Country Music" according to a resolution passed by the U.S. Congress in 1998 for its contributions to early country music recordings and influence.

In 1927 record producer Ralph Peer of Victor Records began recording local musicians in Bristol to attempt to capture the local sound of traditional 'folk' music of the region. One of these local sounds was created by The Carter family. The Carter Family got their start on July 31, 1927, when A.P. Carter and his family journeyed from Maces Springs, Virginia, to Bristol to audition for Ralph Peer who was seeking new talent for the relatively embryonic recording industry. They received $50 for each song they recorded. That same visit by Peer to Bristol also resulted in the first recordings by Jimmie Rodgers.

Since 1994 the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance has promoted the city as a destination to learn about the history of Elvis and its role in the creation of an entire music genre. Currently, the Alliance is organizing the building of a new Cultural Heritage Center to help educate the public about the history of country music in the region.

Knoxville, Tennessee - USA

Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the state of Tennessee, behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox CountyGR6. It is also the principal city of the Knoxville Metropolitan Statistical Area" which is included in the "Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette Combined Statistical Area". As of the 2000 United States Census, Knoxville had a total population of 173,890 with a metro population of 655,400.

Of Tennessee's four major cities, Knoxville is second oldest to Nashville which was founded in 1779. Knoxville also was the state's first capital when Tennessee was admitted into the Union in 1796, in which capacity it served until 1819, when the capital was moved to Murfreesboro. The city was named in honor of the first Secretary of War, Henry Knox.

One of Knoxville's nicknames is The Marble City. In the early 20th century, a number of quarries were active in the city, supplying Tennessee pink marble (actually Ordovician limestone of the Holston Formation) to much of the country. Notable buildings such as the National Gallery in Washington are constructed of Knoxville marble. The National Gallery's fountains were turned by Candoro Marble Company, which once ran the largest marble lathes in the United States.

Knoxville was once also known as the Underwear Capital of the World. In the 1930s, no fewer than 20 textile and clothing mills operated in Knoxville, and the industry was the city's largest employer. Most of the mills were located in the historic Old City. In the 1950s, the mills began to close, causing an overall population loss of 10% by 1960.

Knoxville is also the home of the University of Tennessee's primary campus (UTK), and the city is often referred to as "Knoxvegas" by the UTK student body. The university's sports teams, called the "Volunteers" or "Vols," are extremely popular in the surrounding area. In recognition of this popularity, the telephone area code for Knox County and eight adjacent counties is 865 (VOL). Knoxville is also the home of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, almost entirely thanks to the popularity of Pat Summitt and the University of Tennessee women's basketball team.

As of 2007, the current mayor is Bill Haslam, who defeated Madeline Rogero in 2003. The previous mayor of sixteen years, Victor Ashe, was named United States Ambassador to Poland in June 2004. Ashe was term-limited and could not serve another term.

The first humans to live in what is now Knoxville were of the Woodland tribe, a group of hunters and trappers driven south from the Great Lakes region by climatic changes, probably about 1000 B.C. Their culture eventually gave way to that of the mound builders, whose influence was felt throughout most of the South; a burial mound from this era can be found on the UT campus. The Shawnee and Creek briefly occupied small areas in the state, but little archaeological evidence has been found. By the 18th century, the only native peoples living permanently around what would later be Knoxville were the Cherokee. The Cherokee people called this area Shacomage, or "Place of Blue Smoke."

Early contacts between the European settlers and the Cherokee were fairly cordial, which encouraged colonial expansion into the land west of the Great Smoky Mountains. White's Fort was settled in 1786 by James White, a militia officer during the American Revolutionary War. When William Blount, the territorial governor of the Southwest Territory, moved the territorial capital to White's Fort in 1791, he renamed it Knoxville in honor of Henry Knox, the American Revolutionary War general and Washington's Secretary of War.

One of William Blount's first tasks was to meet with the Cherokee and establish territorial boundaries; this he accomplished almost immediately in the Treaty of Holston, and he believed that he had "purchased" much of what is now East Tennessee when it was signed in 1791. However, the terms of the treaty came under dispute, culminating in continued violence on both sides. Several large Cherokee attacks on Knoxville: 200 Cherokee lead by John Watts marched on Knoxville in 1792, and a second group of Cherokee attacked Covet's Station in 1793. Both attacks were repelled by Knoxville settlers. Knoxville settlers attacked the Cherokee several times as well. When the government invited the Cherokee's chief Hanging Maw for negotiations in 1793, Knoxville settlers attacked the Cherokee against orders, killing the chief's wife. Peace was renegotiated in 1794.

Despite these tensions, the Treaty of Holston opened the area to more settlers. Knoxville served as the territorial capital until 1796, when a constitutional convention was held in Knoxville to establish Tennessee as a state. When Tennessee entered the United States in 1796, Knoxville was the first capital of the state until 1815, when the capital was moved to Murfreesboro. On May 28, 1830, President Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, requiring all Native Americans to leave their homes and move west of the Mississippi River. Some Cherokees refused to go, and filed a lawsuit against the government to stop this from taking place. However, many of the remaining Cherokee left the Knoxville area at this time in the Trail of Tears.

During the ante-bellum period, the Knoxville and Knox County included plantations, although slavery was not as widespread in East Tennessee as it was in Middle and West Tennessee. This undoubtably contributed to sixty-nine percent of East Tennesseeans voting against secession in 1861. The Greater Warner Tabernacle AME Zion Church, Knoxville was reportedly a station on the underground railroad.

During the American Civil War, the Battle of Campbell's Station was outside Knoxville on November 16, 1863. In that battle Confederate troops led by General James Longstreet unsuccessfully attacked Union forces under General Ambrose Burnside. The next day, the two week long Siege of Knoxville began when Longstreet placed Knoxville under siege. The siege, which culminated in the Battle of Fort Sanders, failed and Longstreet returned with his men to General Robert E. Lee. A separate incident occurred at the Baker Peters House during the Civil War; Dr. Harvey Baker was killed by Union troops.

The Battle of Fort Sanders (precipitated by the Siege of Knoxville, which began on November 17, 1863) was an engagement of the American Civil War fought in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Confederacy had never had effective control of large areas of East Tennessee. There had been little slavery practiced in East Tennessee, partly due to moral opposition to the practice and partly due to the fact that little of the land was suitable to plantation agriculture; pro-Union and Republican sentiment ran high and most East Tennesseans had not been in favor of secession. Therefore, Union forces had little trouble occupying Knoxville early in the conflict.

In 1901, train robber Kid Curry (whose real name was Harvey Logan), a member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch was captured after shooting two deputies on Knoxville's Central Avenue. He escaped from the Knoxville Jail and rode away on the sheriff's stolen horse.

In 1933 during the Great Depression, the Tennessee Valley Authority was founded and headquartered in Knoxville by the U.S. government to help create jobs and attract manufacturing dependent on cheap electricity.

In 1948, the soft drink Mountain Dew was first marketed in Knoxville, originally designed as a mixer for whiskey.

The Headquarters of the Tennessee Valley Authority, located in Downtown Knoxville, also known as the TVA Twin Towers, were built in the 1970s, and were among Knoxville's first modern high-rise buildings.

Knoxville hosted the 1982 World's Fair, one of the most popular world's fairs in U.S. history with 11 million visitors in attendance, from which the Sunsphere theme structure remains.

In 1999, the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame opened in the city.

Guntersville, Alabama - USA

Guntersville is a city in Marshall County, Alabama, and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 7,395. The city is the county seat of Marshall County.

Warrior, Alabama - USA

The community was named for the Warrior Coal Fields, which opened in 1872. Its name was originally Warrior Station.

Rickwood Caverns is loacated just north of Warrior

Houston, Alabama - USA

Houston, AL served as the first county seat for Winston County. The area known today as Winston County was originally established in 1850 as Hancock County, named after John Hancock, signer of the Declaration of Independence. In 1858 the county was renamed Winston after the first native-born governor of Alabama, John Anthony Winston.

Old Houston, located a few miles away from present day Houston, was the first county seat. Citizens voted to move the county seat to present day Houston in the late 1850's and a log jail was constructed at that time. The jail burned during the Civil War and was rebuilt in 1868. The Houston jail was built of hand-hewn logs filled with nails to prevent prisoners from "sawing their way to freedom". The jail held prisoners and provided a site for court. In 1884 the county seat was moved from Houston to present day Double Springs.

Natural Bridge, Alabama - USA

Natural Bridge is a town at the southwest edge of Winston County, Alabama, United States, located around the intersection of Highway 278 and County Road 13. The population was 28 at the 2000 census. The town is notable for the nearby rock arch, also named Natural Bridge, the longest natural bridge east of the Rockies, spanning over 127 ft (40 m), which has public access.

There is a Natural Bridge there for which the city is named. This town also has a Confederate Monument at its town hall.

Hanceville, Alabama - USA

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,951 people, 1,167 households, and 710 families residing in the city. The population density was 277.2/km² (718.6/mi²). There were 1,323 housing units at an average density of 124.3/km² (322.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.09% White, 4.61% Black or African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.75% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. 2.30% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,167 households out of which 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.84.

In the city the population was spread out with 17.8% under the age of 18, 17.7% from 18 to 24, 22.0% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 21.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,351, and the median income for a family was $35,370. Males had a median income of $31,439 versus $18,112 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,371. About 12.5% of families and 21.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.9% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over.

Hanceville is home to Our Lady of the Angels Monastery. The construction began in 1996 and was completed in 1999, under the direction of Mother Angelica of the EWTN Network.

Hanceville High School serves 342 students in grades 9-12. The school colors are purple and gold, and its mascot are the Bulldogs. It is a member of the Cullman County Board of Education. In 2001 the Lady Bulldogs basketball team won the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 3A State Championship.

Cullman, Alabama - USA

Cullman is a city in Cullman County, Alabama, United States and is considered a part of Greater Birmingham. At the 2005 estimation census the population was 16,675, gaining about 2,000 people from the census of 2000. The city is the county seat of Cullman County. Cullman is considered to be the financial, commercial, and civic center of not only Cullman County but of other surrounding counties as well. Cullman is one of the three primary cities that make up the Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman Combined Statistical Area, which is home to over a million people.

Cullman was founded in 1873 by Colonel John G. Cullmann, a German refugee who came to America in 1866. In 1873, Colonel Cullmann purchased 349 acres of land from the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company and established a colony for German immigrants.

Five German families moved to the area in March 1873; in 1878, the town was incorporated and named after Colonel Cullmann. Over the next twenty years, Colonel Cullmann encouraged 100,000 Germans to emigate to the area. The site he selected for his headquarters is now his grave site.

For many years Cullman was a college town, with Saint Bernard College serving as the home of several hundred students. In the mid-1970's, it briefly merged with Sacred Heart College (a two-year Benedictine women's college), to become Southern Benedictine College. This college closed in 1979, and now operates as Saint Bernard Preparatory School.

The former site of Sacred Heart College is Sacred Heart Monastery, which serves as a retreat center operated by the Benedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery.

Birmingham, Alabama - USA

Birmingham is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alabama and is the county seat of Jefferson County. The population of the city is 242,820 as of the 2000 census, but has declined to 229,424 according to the 2006 estimate. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, as of the 2006 census estimates, has a population of 1,100,019. It also the largest city in the Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman Combined Statistical Area, colloquially known as Greater Birmingham,which contains roughly one quarter of the population in Alabama.

Birmingham was founded in 1871, just after the U.S. Civil War, as an industrial enterprise. It was named after Birmingham, the major industrial city of England. Through the middle of the 20th century, Birmingham was the primary industrial center of the Southern United States. The astonishing pace of Birmingham's growth through the turn of the century, earned it the nicknames "The Magic City" and "The Pittsburgh of the South". Much like Pittsburgh in the north, Birmingham's major industries centered around iron and steel production.

Over the course of the 20th century, the city's economy diversified. Though the manufacturing industry maintains a strong presence in Birmingham, other industries such as banking, insurance, medicine, publishing, and biotechnology have risen in stature. Birmingham has been recognized as the top city for income growth in the United States with nearly a one-hundred percent increase in per capita income since 1990.

Today, Birmingham ranks as one of the most important business centers in the Southeastern United States and is also one of the largest banking centers in the U.S. In addition, the Birmingham area serves as headquarters to one Fortune 500 company: Regions Financial. Five Fortune 1000 companies are headquartered in Birmingham. In recent years Birmingham has been named by various groups as one of the best U.S. cities in which to live and raise a family.

Birmingham was founded on June 1, 1871 by real estate promoters who sold lots near the planned crossing of the Alabama & Chattanooga and South & North railroads. The first business at that crossroads was the trading post and country store Yeilding's, run by the still prominent Yeilding family. The site of the railroad crossing was notable for the nearby deposits of iron ore, coal, and limestone - the three principal raw materials used in making steel. Birmingham is the only place worldwide where significant amounts of all three minerals can be found in such close proximity. From the start the new city was planned as a great center of industry. The founders borrowed the name of Birmingham, England's principal industrial city, to advertise that point. Birmingham got off to a slow start: the city was impeded by an outbreak of cholera and a Wall Street crash in 1873. But soon afterward began to grow.

The turn of the century brought the substantial growth that gave Birmingham the nickname "The Magic City" as the downtown area developed from a low-rise commercial and residential district into a busy grid of neoclassical mid-rise and high-rise buildings and busy streetcar lines. Between 1902 and 1912 four large office buildings were constructed at the intersection of 20th Street, the central north-south spine of the city, and 1st Avenue North, which connected the warehouses and industrial facilities stretching along the east-west railroad corridor. This impressive group of early skyscrapers was nicknamed "The Heaviest Corner on Earth".
The Great Depression hit Birmingham especially hard as sources of capital that were fueling the city's growth rapidly dried up at the same time that farm laborers, driven off the land, made their way to the city in search of work. New Deal programs made important contributions to the city's infrastructure and artistic legacy, including such key improvements as Vulcan's tower and Oak Mountain State Park.

The wartime demand for steel and the post-war building boom gave Birmingham a rapid return to prosperity. Manufacturing diversified beyond the production of raw materials and several major cultural institutions, such as the Birmingham Museum of Art, were able to expand their scope.

In the 1950s and '60s Birmingham received national and international attention as a center of the civil rights struggle for African-Americans. The city was given the derisive nickname Bombingham because of a string of racially motivated bombings that took place during this time. A watershed in the civil rights movement occurred in 1963 when Martin Luther King, Jr., imprisoned for having taken part in a nonviolent protest, wrote the now famous Letter from Birmingham Jail, a defining treatise in his cause against segregation. Birmingham is also known for a bombing which occurred later that year, in which four black girls were killed by a bomb planted at the 16th Street Baptist Church. The event would inspire the African-American poet Dudley Randall's opus, The Ballad of Birmingham, as well as jazz musician John Coltrane's song, "Alabama."

In the 1970s urban renewal efforts focused around the development of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, which developed into a major medical and research center. In 1971 Birmingham celebrated its centennial with a round of public works improvements, including the upgrading of Vulcan Park. Birmingham's banking institutions enjoyed considerable growth as well and new skyscrapers started to appear in the city center for the first time since the 1920s. These projects helped the city's economy to diversify, but did not prevent the exodus of many of the city's residents to independent suburbs. In 1979 Birmingham elected Dr. Richard Arrington Jr. as its first African-American mayor.

The population inside Birmingham's city limits has fallen over the past few decades. From 340,887 in 1960, the population was down to 242,820 in 2000, a loss of about 29 percent. However, the growth of Birmingham's suburbs over that same period has kept the metropolitan population growing.

Today, Birmingham has begun to experience a bit of a rebirth. Currently there are around a billion dollars being invested in reconstructing the downtown area into a 24-hour mixed-use district. The market for downtown lofts and condominiums has mushroomed while restaurant, retail and cultural options are beginning to sprout up. In 2006 the visitors bureau selected "the diverse city" as a new tag line for the city.

Addison, Alabama - USA

Addison is a town in Winston County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 723. According to the 2005 U.S. Census estimates, the town had a population of 713.

Technorati : 2007, Addison, Alabama, Alessandra, Kaitlyn, Michelle, USA, Xavier

Ibarra, Imbabura - Ecuador

Ibarra is the capital of the province of Imbabura. A colonial town with cobbled streets, located 115 Km north from Quito, at 2210 m. With some 140,000 inhabitants. Many tourists prefer this city for its pleasant weather and peaceful environment. The city has two plazas very well preserved: Parque Pedro Moncayo and the Parque Victor Manuel Peñaherrera (Flores and Olmedo), better known as Parque de la Merced.
Most houses in Ibarra are colonial whitewashed style, that's why Ibarra is also known as the "White city". There is a religious museum and some attractive paintings can be seen at the Santo Domingo church. There are also some other churches such as: San Agustín (On Parque Abdón Calderón), Basílica de La Dolorosa (On Av. A. Pérez Guerrero). Strolling down the Pérez Guerrero avenue you'll find a market on Cifuentes street, close to the railway station.

Market days are on Saturdays, Ibarra's main festivities are: Fiesta de los Lagos on the last weekend of September with colorful parades throughout the city called "EI Pregón" and "Virgen del Carmen" on the 16th of July.

The main activity in town with the locals is "Paddleball" (Ecuadorian style), that is played with a soft ball and a very large paddle.

Montecristi, Manabi - Ecuador

Montecristi is an old colonial town located 30 kilometers west of Portoviejo, founded in 1628 and the birthplace of the ex-President Eloy Alfaro.
The town is very famous for its straw and basketware and especially renowned for its high quality Panama hat production. There are many stores along the main road selling wooden barrels, wickerwork and many others (very cheap). The village of Montecristi has a main Plaza with a Virgin statue (La Virgen de Montecristi) which is worth a visit.

San Clemente, Manabi - USA

San Clemente is located some 59 km north of Portoviejo and 20 km south of Bahía de Caráquez. Another small fishing village that started developing their tourist industry a few years ago.

San Jacinto, Manabi - Ecuador

San Jacinto is about 13 km beyond Crucita, San Jacinto is a small fishing villages that started developing its tourist industry a few years ago and actually, it is frequently visited on weekends by Ecuadorians. The village has good sandy beaches to enjoy and many options for accommodation.

Otavalo, Imbabura - Ecuador

Otavalo is a largely indigenous town in Imbabura Province, Ecuador, well known for its Saturday market. The town, which is in a valley, is surrounded by the peaks of Imbabura, Cotacachi, and Mojanda volcanoes.

The Indians of Otavalo are famous for the weaving of textiles, which has a 4000 year history. The town has an expansive market, and, although main market day is Saturday, in the Plaza del Poncho there are wares available for tourists throughout the week. There are several hotels in colonial buildings and a number of restaurants.

As Otavalo is famous for its textiles, many of the nearby villages and towns are famous for their own particular crafts. Cotacachi, the center of Ecuador's leather industry, is known for its polished calf skins. In San Antonio, where the local specialty is wood carving, the main street prominently displays carved statues, picture frames, and furniture.

Also of note, Otavalo is also known for its Inca-influenced traditional music and musicians. There are many musical groups

currently traveling around the world promoting Inca music (sometimes known as Andean New Age). This style of music has had notable commercial success worldwide

Santo Domingo de los Colorados, Pichincha - Ecuador

Santo Domingo de Los Colorados is 129 km from Quito. Is the central route from the highlands to the coastline. Sto. Domingo has become a central banana and palm oil industry, though sugar plantations are also to be found in this valley province. The city itself is prone to flooding after torrential rains and not very attractive for travelers though you may find several reserves in the surrounding areas away from the city.

The "Monumento al Colorado" statue west of the center of town personifies well the look and dress code of the Tsáchila people nicknamed "Indios Colorados" but these indigenous Indians never venture to town in their traditional attire unless during special celebrations. The name "Indios Colorados" was attributed to them mainly because they would paint their hair red with a vegetable dye. They are spread around 8 different areas, from Santo Domingo to Chone, Quinindé and Quevedo inhabiting a reserve of around 8000 ha although today they total less than 2000 in numbers.