BIRMINGHAM, MICHIGAN

'Birmingham' is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit. As of the 2000 census, the total population was 19,291. The city hosts a downtown that attracts shoppers from throughout the Metro Detroit area.

Contents

Demographics

Education

Public library

Downtown

Transportation

Religion

Notable people from Birmingham

External links

References

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 19,291 people, 9,131 households, and 5,076 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,558.2/km² (4,038.4/mi²). There were 9,700 housing units at an average density of 783.5/km² (2,030.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.13% White, 0.91% African American, 0.15% Native American, 1.50% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.19% of the population.
There were 9,131 households out of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.6% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.4% were non-families. 38.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.85.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.2% under the age of 18, 3.9% from 18 to 24, 34.9% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $80,861, and the median income for a family was $110,627. Males had a median income of $78,865 versus $51,834 for females. The per capita income for the city was $59,314. About 1.6% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 3.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The city is served by the Birmingham City School District (Seaholm and Groves are the two Birmingham High Schools). It also contains a location of the Roeper School. Holy Name School is a parochial school affiliated with the Roman Catholic Holy Name Church.
The public schools are held in high regard.

Public library

The Baldwin Public Library serves the city of Birmingham and nearby communities of Beverly Hills and Bingham Farms. The original building was opened to the public on December 19, 1927. In October 1959 the Youth department was added on the east side of the building. In 1983 another addition was added and the entrance changed to Merrill St. There are over 120,000 books in the library, along with compact discs, DVDs, magazines, educational toys, newspapers, books on cd, databases and free wifi.

Downtown

The city's downtown district has many coffee houses, ice cream parlors, upscale apparel and home furnishing shops, restaurants and theatres. The area is also one of Michigan's premiere locations for lodging and is the choice for many celebrities who are in the region for events.

Transportation

Amtrak provides passenger rail service on the Pontiac, Michigan-Detroit-Chicago Wolverine with a stop in Birmingham three times per day in each direction.
Commuter rail service was once provided by Grand Trunk Western Railroad (GTW) and later Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority (SEMTA) from Pontiac, Michigan to downtown Detroit with a stop in Birmingham. This service ended on October 17, 1983 after subsidies were discontinued. Efforts continue to this day to restore such commuter service.
Class one freight rail service is provided by Canadian National Railway (CN).
Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) operates local and regional bus transit.

Religion

First United Methodist Church was the first church building in the city,^[3] built in 1839 by a congregation established in 1821.^[4] Currently, there are several church buildings spanning many different religions.

Notable people from Birmingham

★ Tim Allen, actor (born in Colorado but raised in Birmingham)

★ Shane Battier, basketball player with the Houston Rockets

★ Mike Binder, director, screenwriter and actor

★ Bruce Campbell, actor

★ Clarence Dayton Hillman, prominent Seattle businessman and land developer

★ Christine Lahti, actress

★ Alexi Lalas, Former pro soccer player and GM and President of the Los Angeles Galaxy

★ Elmore Leonard, novelist

★ David Spade, actor and comedian

★ Noel Stookey, better known as "Paul" of Peter, Paul and Mary

★ Sam Raimi, director

★ Sheila Young, skater and first American to win three medals (a gold, silver and bronze) at an Olympics (at the Innsbruck 1976 Winter Olympics)

★ Gerald S. McGowan, US Ambassador to Portugal

★ Laura Innes, actor

★ Rick Wagoner, CEO of General Motors

★ Chris Hansen, Host of NBC's "To Catch a Predator"

External links

★ City of Birmingham official site

★ Brief history of Birmingham

★ Baldwin Public Library official site

References

1. http://www.ci.birmingham.mi.us/home/index.asp?page=444
2. Census Data
3. http://books.google.com/books?id=SiUsbJk-1KMC&pg=RA2-PA61&lpg=RA2-PA61&dq=birmingham+michigan+%22the+first+church%22&source=web&ots=SLewhavHpc&sig=2GH1832dXEJSW_SBvDAvW6pZVpc#PRA2-PA61,M1
4. http://www.fumcbirmingham.org/info/history/index.htm