The Birmingham Museum

09/01/2026

For this month's "They Changed Birmingham" we are featuring Marshall Fredericks (1908-1998). Fredericks was a prominent twentieth century figurative sculptor who lived in Birmingham for over 50 years. He studied with noted sculptor Carl Milles and taught at Cranbrook schools during the 1930s, at which time he began creating master works for civic and private settings in the Midwest. Probably his most famous nearby sculpture is The Spirit of Detroit (1958), but other notable works can be found in Michigan, Ohio, and Washington, D.C. In addition to his major piece Freedom of the Human Spirit that graces Shain Park, twenty other remarkable sculptures can be found around Birmingham. Learn more about the artist and his Birmingham works by taking a new Marshall Fredericks Birmingham Biking Tour or Downtown Walking Tour. Fredericks is buried in Birmingham's historic Greenwood Cemetery, where visitors can see Leaping Gazelle, the sculpture he chose for his gravesite. Or find out more by checking out our September 2026 "They Changed Birmingham" in the City's Around Town e-newsletter.

08/29/2026

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 1927 Library building, we are offering you the chance to design special edition library cards and bookmarks for use in 2027!

Designs selected by library staff will be turned into library cards and bookmarks that will be available beginning in January.

Read more and find the design submission forms at baldwinlib.org/anniversarycard. Submissions are due by October

08/28/2026

How are your cursive reading abilities? As part of their work at the museum, our staff and volunteers get used to a wide variety of writing styles from folks in the past. This letter was written in August of 1851 by R Parker to his brother, AB Parker. R. Parker lived in Buffalo but owned a store in Birmingham for a time. A.B. Parker was a farmer in Birmingham. We have many letters from the Parker family and this set of brothers. They shared news of their own lives, their families and updates on their businesses.

08/26/2026

Today, Birmingham is a very dog friendly town but was that always the case? As far back as 1889, Birminghammers were required to purchase a license for their dogs. The fees of $1 for male dogs and $3 for female dogs were collected and put into a fund to pay farmers who had livestock killed by a dog and any leftovers went to fund the schools.
One of the earliest photos in our collection featuring a dog or dogs (we have a lot of them, but could always use more!) is this one showing the intersection of Woodward and Maple looking east. It shows a man and a small dog crossing the street in front of a horse drawn carriage.

08/24/2026

It's National Waffle Day! How do you top this tasty breakfast treat? These 1931 Good Housekeeping recipes don't say what they recommend to serve on top of the waffles, but other recipes in the book include various whipped creams and jams/sauces.

08/23/2026

On this date in 1856, Birmingham got its first purpose-built schoolhouse. The one room schoolhouse, built in the then-popular gothic style of local brick on an acre of land that Elijah Willits had sold for the purpose, offered free public education for the lower grades. The school operated for 12 years and one of its later teachers was Martha Baldwin.
After the building ceased to operate as a school, it served as a residence. In the latter 1920s, Marion and Harry Allen tried to reuse it as part of their new home they were building, but could only save one of the walls.
That wall can still be seen today. If you look carefully at the brick front of the Allen House at the east end of the large porch (at the corner of the gray arched addition), you can make out the outlines of the school’s window openings that were bricked in for the new house, with the stone window sill still there.
Below is a photo of the schoolhouse in the 1890s, when it was serving as a residence and an image of the east side of the porch of the Allen House, now home of the Birmingham Museum.
To find out more about the museum's site, check out our website: https://ow.ly/EiVb50ZzpPM

08/22/2026

Happy birthday to Martha Baldwin, who was born on this date in 1840. A woman with a strong sense of what Birmingham could become, she was instrumental in creating B'ham's parks, sidewalks, library, schools and so many other things.
In addition to making Birmingham a better place, she was also a big proponent of women's suffrage but sadly passed away several years before the 19th Amendment was ratified. Linda Buchanan of the Friends of the Birmingham Museum, talks about Martha's legacy and her struggle for equality in the video below:
youtube.com/watch?v=zik_8_MqPd0&fbclid=IwY2xjawTZkEZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFHTTZRdGZQTzRLV0FhelN5c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHi5KlhIie5ubd1yMd6PWrSAEDIfSieaEVqOgF_LmxHLKSD8S_q64O_cRdxAp_aem_tzOqi_wYXmcdf21YWoV5FA

This year we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the passage o...

08/20/2026

1985 was a heady time for Groves High School students. There were new policies that year, new technologies to learn and the always daunting preparation for college. The junior class needed a little rest and relaxation and found it in Bugs Bunny cartoons, Eddie Murphy's comedy, Florida vacations and swimming.
See more of the 1985 school year and more in the digitized yearbooks on our website! We are currently in the process of uploading yearbooks from Groves from the 1980s and 1990s! The indexes of the yearbooks are searchable so you can easily find yourself, classmates or family members.
https://ow.ly/o8wG50ZBU2h

08/19/2026

If you thought 1883 was a boring year in Birmingham, think again! Donna brings us the story of an 1883 Shoot Out on Saginaw Street (now known as Woodward Avenue). Come for the true crime and stay for the overly florid write-up in the Eccentric and the opportunity to buy a picture of a dead guy.

Donna brings us the story of an 1883 Shoot Out on Saginaw Street (n...

08/18/2026

On this day in 1920 the 19th amendment was ratified giving women the right to vote. A huge supporter of this issue in Birmingham was Martha Baldwin. She represented Michigan at the National Equal Rights Convention in Oregon in 1905, founded the Oakland County Equal Suffrage Association, and was a member of the Michigan State Equal Suffrage Association.

Below is an excerpt from an article from the March 4th, 1904 edition of the Birmingham Eccentric. Baldwin wrote into the Eccentric to chronicle her experience at the Equal Rights Convention. If you want to read the whole article follow this link to the Bloomfield Township Public Library: https://ow.ly/bOfg50ZnR0x