Welcome to my web page for the Homewood City Trail. I continued the Passport to Fitness program by hiking this trail on Saturday, April 17th. This trail starts in downtown Homewood at the City Hall and makes a loop through the city and some of the residential areas.

The temperature for the hike was in the mid-70's with overcast skies and gusty winds. You will find pictures and descriptions from my walk below. If you have any comments or questions please feel free to drop me an email through the link below. Enjoy! :)

The trail goes through part of downtown, crosses Highway 31, and goes through part of the Hollywood section in Homewood. Here's a picture of the historic marker in Hollywood and some pictures of Shades Cahaba Elementary School.

The marker reads "Clyde Nelson, born in Columbiana, Alabama, was only 26 when he began development of the Town of Hollywood in 1926. With a sales force of 75 and the slogan "Out of the smoke zone, into the ozone" his beautiful community soon took shape. Homes were usually designed by local archtect George P. Turner in Spansh Mission style as was the rage in Hollywood, California. Many were also of the English Tudor design.

Besides homes, Nelson built the magnificent Hollywood Country Club (burned 1984) on Lakeshore Drive and the Hollywood Town Hall (now American Legion Post No. 1340) on Hollywood Boulevard. He formed the Birmingham area's first bus line and laid the first natural gas pipeline over the mountain into Shades Valley.

Hollywood's first and only mayor, Clarence Lloyd, owned the first house at 109 Bonita Drive. Incorporated January 14, 1927 the town was annexed into the City of Homewood October 14, 1929."

Leaving the park you wander back to downtown. In the middle of downtown is another historical marker. It reads "WE LOVE HOMEWOOD

Located in Jefferson County in Shades Valley, Homewood came into existence with the combination of Edgewood, Rosedale, and Oak Grove. Hollywood, a fourth community, joined Homewood later. The City of Homewood was incorporated in 1926, although the community's roots date to the 19th century. The city is governed by an elected mayor and city council. Citizen volunteers serve on a variety of community boards and commissions. Located within the Homeood city limits are Lakeshore Foundation; an official Olympics and Paralympics training facility; Samford University, a nationally-ranked doctoral research university; Southern Progress, parent company for Southern Living and other publicaitons; Brookwood Medical Center, a regionaaly-acclaimed healthcare facility; regional headquarters and service centers for several corporations; The Exceptional Foundation, a privately-funded facility serving special-needs citizens; a thriving downtown and several neighborhood commercial centers.

Over the years, citywide celebrations, including the Homewood Christmas parade and "We Love Homewood" day, have drawn thousnads of participants to this area. Homewoods storied history includes the old Hollywood Country club, Edgewood Lake, the Rosedale commmunity and other sites that have attracted people from Birmingham and the surrounding areas. For more than five decades, the Homewood Chamber of Commerce has provided business leadership for the community. The Chamber represents all facets fo the community, including commerical, industry, healthcare, education, corporate and service."

• March 26, 2012 - updated page layout
• July 7, 2010 - updated page content
• May 4, 2010 - created web page