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Big Spring Jam

1993 establishments in Alabama2011 disestablishments in AlabamaCulture of Huntsville, AlabamaMusic festivals established in 1993Music festivals in Alabama
Recurring events disestablished in 2011Tourist attractions in Huntsville, Alabama

Big Spring Jam was an annual music festival taking place in Huntsville, Alabama. The Jam, which began in 1993, typically took place the fourth weekend in September. From 1993 to 2009, it was a three-day event beginning Friday and ending Sunday. The 2011 revival was a two-day event on Friday and Saturday only. It featured acts from all genres of music including local bands, emerging talent, oldies acts, and the top artists of the day. Along with the music, the Big Spring Jam also held an annual 5k race. The title of the festival was a matter of confusion for many, especially those outside northern Alabama, as the Big Spring Jam was held early each autumn. The title, however, referred to the location, Big Spring International Park in downtown Huntsville. Big Spring Jam usually featured four or more temporary stages set up throughout the park. Each stage typically featured the same genres of music throughout the weekend. One stage featured country music exclusively, another featured Christian contemporary, and the remainder of the stages were largely rock-based. To alleviate the impact of potential inclement weather, in 2011 the country music stage was moved indoors to the Propst Arena in the Von Braun Center. Unlike most other large-scale music festivals, Big Spring Jam was a not-for-profit event, organized each year by the Huntsville Heritage Foundation in conjunction with the Von Braun Center. Proceeds from the event benefited local charities, health and human services agencies, and arts and entertainment organizations throughout North Alabama. In later years, the Big Spring Jam suffered a tarnished reputation due to weather events. In both 2005 and 2006, some of the main acts were canceled due to inclement weather. Despite its status as a non-profit event, Big Spring Jam officials refused to refund ticket purchases after they canceled events. For example, tickets were sold after the event was rained out in 2006 - and officials refused to refund the ticket prices. Tickets were sold up until the point the event was canceled. However, the 2007 and 2008 events, where the weather was favorable, were deemed highly successful. The 2010 event was canceled due to financial and logistical issues but the event returned, as promised, in 2011.The 2011 Big Spring Jam was a smaller, two-day event with some acts moved into the Propst Arena at the Von Braun Center, again, as a hedge against rain and storms. The 2011 event drew only 30,000 attendees, only a fraction of the 240,000 who attended in 2003, with blame placed on the smaller scope of the event, competition from high school and college football (especially the former), the economic downturn, and weather on the Jam's first day. Organizers announced in November 2011 that they would "shelve" the event for the immediate future with plans to "retool" or "recreate" it at some point when the economy improved (the severe recession of the 2008-09 period was still being felt by many area residents) and local interest increased. As of 2021, however, no plans have been announced to revive the event, so it has likely been discontinued permanently.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Big Spring Jam (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Big Spring Jam
Big Spring Park Greenway, Huntsville

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N 34.726666666667 ° E -86.588055555556 °
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Big Spring Park Greenway
35804 Huntsville
Alabama, United States
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Humphreys–Rodgers House
Humphreys–Rodgers House

The Humphreys–Rodgers House (also known as the David C. Humphreys House) is a historic residence in Huntsville, Alabama. Since its construction in 1848, it has been expanded and altered at least three times, saved from demolition twice, and moved once. The house was built by David Campbell Humphreys, a four-term member of the Alabama House of Representatives and anti-secessionist during the Civil War. The house was originally a two-story, hall and parlor design with a gable roof. Prior to 1861, an additional room was added to the west of the entrance, creating a three-room plan with a central hall. Many Greek Revival details were added to the interior around this time. The house was extensively modified around 1886, when Augustus D. Rodgers bought the house from Humphreys, who had been appointed a judge on the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. A one-story, two-room ell was added to the rear of the east side of the house, adding an attached kitchen and dining room. The previous gable roof was replaced with a hipped roof, and a two-story hipped roof portico was added to the façade, giving the house its current Colonial Revival appearance. By 1913, the ell had been replaced with a central, two-story ell that featured a one-story portico with fluted columns.By the 1970s, the house was vacant and in disrepair, and the encroaching development of a Coca-Cola bottling plant and the Von Braun Center threatened its demolition. Efforts by preservationists led the bottling plant to purchase the house and renovate it for use as offices and a Coca-Cola memorabilia museum. Part of the effort led to the house's listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. In 1990 the bottling plant needed to expand, and the house faced demolition once again. The house was purchased by the Alabama Constitution Village and moved to a site one block from the museum. Today, the house is owned by the City of Huntsville and the property is managed by Global Ties Alabama, who use it for their International Headquarters. The historic Humphreys Rodgers house is available for events both business related and purely social.

Huntsville-Madison County Public Library
Huntsville-Madison County Public Library

The Huntsville-Madison County Public Library is a public, Carnegie library in Huntsville, Alabama. Founded in 1818, when Alabama was still a part of the Mississippi Territory, it is the oldest continuing library in the state. It was first located in the office of attorney John Nelson Spotswood Jones, in the Boardman Building, which is now a part of Constitution Hall Park. The Library also occupied space in the Green Academy from 1821 until Union soldiers burned the school during the Civil War, and moved to borrowed spaces several times until the Carnegie Library opened in 1916. It was designed by Huntsville architect and preservationist Edgar Lee Love. A new building was constructed to accommodate city and county growth, and opened in 1966. The area enjoyed rapid growth with the influx of government employees involved in the development of the space program, including the United States Army and NASA, and the library eventually needed more space as early as 1969. Library officials began planning for a new building in 1983. The current facility's main branch, sometimes referred to as "Fort Book" for its fortress-like appearance, opened on Monroe Street in April 1987 and serves as the headquarters for the Huntsville Madison County Public Library System. The building contains 123,000 square feet (11,400 m2), has a seating capacity of 930 and contains over 530,000 volumes, with administrative offices located on the third floor. The library had a circulation of 1,915,548 in 2007, making it the highest-circulating library in Alabama.The Huntsville-Madison County Public Library received a federal grant from the Library Services and Technology Act in 2004 specifically to digitize photographs from the Library's Archives for inclusion in the Alabama Mosaic Project.

W. T. Hutchens Building
W. T. Hutchens Building

The W. T. Hutchens Building is a historic commercial building in Huntsville, Alabama, United States. A three-bay building on the corner of Jefferson Street and Clinton Avenue, the two corner bays were built in 1916 and the third built in a nearly identical style in 1921. It was built in the Early Commercial brick style, which departed from highly ornamented, vertically-oriented Victorian styles, instead emphasizing horizontal orientation by using strong horizontal courses and shorter, wider windows. It contrasts with the later Terry Hutchens Building, across Clinton Avenue, which is representative of later, again vertically-oriented Gothic Revival styles. The two-story structure was built with retail space on the ground floor and offices and (in the case of the south bay), apartments on the second. The ground floor has large display windows which are modern replacements; originally, the corner bays were divided into two storefronts, separated by a sidewalk door leading to the second floor. Above the windows, the corner unit retains its original Luxfer prism windows, while the middle bay's have been replaced with panes of regular glass. A wide band of decorated terra cotta separates the two floors. Upstairs windows are paired one-over-one sashes, with lintels made of brick with terra cotta blocks. A terra cotta cornice projects from the façade. The ground floor of the south unit has been modified with tall windows between heavy wooden pilasters. A wooden molding joins the corner units' terra cotta molding, which together with a row of ashlar on the cornice gives continuity to the new and old portions of the building.The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.