Ensley- Tres' Fine Clothing Part 2 of 3

Tres' Fine Clothing is a Gentleman's clothing store located on the first floor of the former Cotton's Department store.  The proprietor also does alterations for men and women.

 

That's It👔👔👔

Part 3: Around Ensley

Ensley, Alabama Heritage Coffee -Part 1

Took a staycation to an area I moved away from 60+ years ago. Revitalization is in the works but I still have childhood memories of its heyday.

Founded in 1886 by Enoch Ensley the area  started out as Tennessee Coal and Iron (TCI) and prospered greatly. After purchase in 1907 by U.S. Steel the plant continued to thrive in the production of iron and steel. 

 

I started off in Ensley as a child but later our family was forced to move when a housing project was planned for the area. I lived two blocks from the famed Tuxedo Junction made prominent by Birmingham band leader and trumpeter Erskine Hawkins when he composed the song of the same name.

A running joke when visiting other places was that if a person was from Birmingham, Alabama it was assumed that the males in their family worked at  “the Steel Plant.” True enough this was considered a good job for unskilled laborers especially African Americans though they were paid less and put in more dangerous positions. 

Downtown Ensley was a flourishing metropolis during its prime. It had pretty much everything the community needed. In contrast by providing needed services for the inhabitants money spent by Steel Plant employees profited  business owners who rarely lived in the area.

A few weeks ago I went "up in Ensley" to see what recent changes had taken place.

Serving the Ensley community from 1922-2012.  If you couldn’t find it anywhere else you could find it at Cotton’s Department Store.

Heritage Coffee and Tres'  Fine Clothing (a Men's Clothing Store) resides in what was once Cotton's Department Store.

The second floor is housed by an attorney.

Inside  with  exposed brick walls and coffee bar along with food  and other beverages if you're not a coffee drinker. From previous posts you know I'm a coffee drinker.  The barista prepared for me a delicious caramel latte. Need I say more?

I was told future plans include those of most coffee bars and shops. Bands, spoken word poetry, various other events.

I always ask the owners before taking pictures and I was assured it was okay but asked to leave a review on Facebook which I did. In appreciation I received a free coffee # on my next visit.  I took a picture of the barista and though he consented, I could tell by his body language he didn't want to. So, J**h I didn't include your picture. 

Additional floors of the building will be used as office space and meeting rooms for those who work from home and may need to meet clients in a neutral space. 

That's it***

Next time: Part 2 Tres' Fine Clothing

 Lastly: I DO NOT LIKE the new Google Blogger platform. I have very little freedom to alter things.

Red____________________________lining

 taken from Birmingham Times

 I viewed the exhibit Redlining last year, 2019 during the month of October at the Birmingham Museum of Art (BMA). On display was photography done by Celestia Morgan on the Federal Housing Administration's practice of redlining. During the 1930's this department would single out housing areas considered to be undesirable for whites by drawing a red line around them on city maps.  Conversely, banks denied  mortgages and loans if a person of color or certain religion wanted to purchase a home in an all white area.

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Photographing the sky shows that there is no difference and it is limitless. Sky is sky.  Drawing connecting lines  indicates enclosure.

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Visitors were invited to give their views on three questions. Post-it notes were provided and answers could be placed underneath the questions.  Here are some of their thoughts.

• My grandparents had to personally fight to get the roads paved in their community though they pay taxes the same as others
• Hard to bring neighborhood back to its original state
• Redlining has impacted their opportunity to move to better areas ultimately causing them to live in poorer neighborhoods without healthy eating options and limited exercise abilities leading to unhealthy living and outcome.
• Many people I know have been in unsafe places because of this program. It is heartbreaking to know that something could happen to them. It truly hurts.

Click this link for a short (6:29) interview film on Celestia Morgan's redlining exhibit.

That's all __________________***

Next week:  Ensley, Alabama

NOTE:

 Blogger has changed its print size.

This is small

This is normal

This is large 😕 Go figure?

Party with a purpose

 Ensley held  a community festival October 1st. This festival was sponsored by Councilor Steven Hoyt who is the rep for that district. Below is a quote taken from the B'ham News website.


The four-hour event, headed by Birmingham City Councilor Steven Hoyt, is a combination job fair, educational initiative and community festival. (copied from al.com)

The article indicated that over 10,000 people attended, up 4,000 more than previous years. Originally the event was brought about in an effort to have residents more involved in their community after a number of homicides. In addition to wholesome activities, the festival allowed families to spend time together.

There was more than one group of dancers. Also, positive rappers with positive messages.

There were numerous community service tents available for the public to visit. Among them were Project Rebound, to help tornado victims with recovery. Various church and non profit agencies were also there. Hopewell Church will be sponsoring a Women's workshop next weekend which I plan to attend. The subjects that got me interested were edible landscapes and practical business skills. The seminar is free as was EVERYTHING at this festival.

McWane Center's rep in the children's area showed how to make slime or goo. In the container above is about 3 TBS of ordinary white glue that has been colored with food coloring.


To that is added a little water that has borax in it. When the two are stirred together you get the gooey slime you see above. I can see how this would be a fascinating activity for children. As the rep pointed out it was also a great, safe chemical reaction experiment.

There were also airbrushed tattoos. I stood in line to get one also. I wanted mine to be fierce.



Can't get any fiercer than this snake. I'd like to see what I'd look like with a full sleeve and the reactions I'd get?

Not sure what type of owl this is but it was also in the children's section.




 

If You Cook it, they will come. 

 Cooks prepare the tasty meal given to the festival goers.

Everyone is served by adults as well as a Boy Scout troop. I remarked to the den mother how proud I was to see young men performing community service without selfishness.
There were hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken wings, chips or cheese curls, ice cream, soda pop. The Scouts and their mentors had everything moving smoothly.



These kids are gearing up to play Simon Says. The winner gets a bicycle.

Not to be outdone, those over age 40 were challenged in a game of Red Light, Green Light. The prize was a new vacuum cleaner.

The statue of Vulcan in  Birmingham, Alabama was made of iron since iron and steel was the primary industry at one time in this state. The Vulcan statue was also a feature at the 1904 World's Fair. It is thelargest cast iron statue in the world. You can read more about Vulcan and his history as it pertains to Alabama . 

Strength and stamina were tested when partakers did as many chin ups as they could within a given amount of time. Before that it was weight lifting. 

The weather for this event was beautiful . Not too hot and not too cold. A perfect fall day.

THAT'S IT