Photo of house on Glen Iris Circle Glen Iris My parents bought the Harwell house March 20th,1920. This house was built in 1905. I was married here,came down the steps and stood by the window in the living room,. There were several hundred people here It was very nice but also very hot. Most of the houses in the park have been well kept but these homes were truly magnificant once,especially in the 1930's. Some had beautiful paneling,staircases and exquisite chandeliers. At one time we had two cows here. The Jemisons and Pennys had cows too. Why Mrs Dow raised chickens and sold eggs to her neighbors during the Depression. There weren't laws against this then but you had to do certain things. Like have concrete slabs that were washed down frequently. When we moved back to this house in 1948,I really didn't think Glen Iris had any prospects. I moved here reluctantly to be with my father. The whole neighborhood around here had gone down very badly to apartments. There are a great many students living in the Glen Iris neighborhood now. It is very transient.(my notes students from the University of Al live in the Glen Iris /Southside communities) The park itself-the house next door was falling down and the house on the other side was falling down but in recent years several young people have bought homes in here and they are doing a wonderful job of restoring some of these places This has always been a private park,used to be over 40 acres- someof which wasn't even in the city limits. The orginal covenant called for a committee of three to amnage the park-pay the electric bills,cut the grass,collect the annual dues(which were 25.00 in 1901) etc. We all work together. The young people here are planning great things for Glen Iris and I hope they get them all done. I'm very proud of them Mrs Eugenia Thompson Akin My notes Glen Iris Circle is a closed street (owned by the people that lived on the street)that goes in a circle with houses on the outside of the street and a communal park area in the center June 1st 1871 The first real estate lots in Bham are bought by Major A. Marre June 12th 1873 The first case of cholera in a terrible epidemic is discovered June 15th 1914 The Tutwiler Hotel opens June 16th 1958 The Jewish Community Center opens June 21st 1872 The first Baptist church of Bham is organized June 28th 1882 Temple Emanu -El,the city's first Jewish congregation is formally incorporated June 29th 1930 Under a new law forbidding assemblies of anarchist,city police arrest speakers at a rally of unemployed workers June 30th 1907 The Railroad Terminal Station goes into operation