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Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex

architectural structure

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 24, 2026
Entity authorityQ865715 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex (formerly known as Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center) is an entertainment, sports, and convention complex located in the heart of Birmingham, Alabama's Uptown Entertainment District. The Sheraton Birmingham and Westin Birmingham are located on the campus adjoining the convention center. Alongside over 220,000 square feet of exhibit halls, meeting space, and ballrooms, the complex features four entertainment venues: a stadium, an arena, concert hall, and theatre.

Design and architecture

The Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center was designed by Geddes Brecher Qualls Cunningham, the winner of what was, at the time, the largest open architectural competition ever organized by the American Institute of Architects. The original facility was built between 1974 and 1976 for approximately US$104 million. A.G. Gaston Construction Company, Inc. served as contractors.

A critical component of the competition program was making a viable connection across the elevated I-59/I-20 highway from the Civic Center facility to the existing administrative and cultural facilities surrounding Linn Park to the south. For several decades after the complex opened, this problem was not addressed. A proposal to create a park underneath the elevated highway was part of the expansion of the complex.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex” as architectural structure. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Birmingham, Jefferson and Convention.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1974, 1976—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Birmingham, Jefferson and Convention providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex”, the useful work is to connect “architectural structure” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q865715. Authority coordinates are 33.524, -86.812. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1974 and 1976.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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  2. Expand the search: follow Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex primary sources, Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex archive and Birmingham research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.