Share your photos

Your treasured family photographs can help history bloom in downtown Huntsville. Bring your photos to the Main Library on May 18 from 9 a.m. to noon, and these historic images could become part of a large tiled bench, one of the city’s major public art projects.

The bench was designed by Cleveland, Ohio, ceramic artist Angelica Pozo as part of the Twickenham Square development, currently under construction near Huntsville Hospital.

Pozo designed the bench in the shape of a flower anchored by a tree. She says the tree symbolizes a meeting place for former residents of the site, previously home to the public housing development Councill Courts. Before Councill Courts, the site was occupied by the homes of African Americans.

Pozo’s art piece will represent the vibrant history of the African-American community in downtown Huntsville. Each flower petal will depict different aspects of that history, including the contributions of such notables as Dr. William Hooper Councill, founder of Alabama A&M University, and Dr. Sonnie Hereford III, a local physician and civil rights leader.

Pozo is working with the Main Library’s Archives Department and the State Black Archives at Alabama A&M to find appropriate historical images. She also needs community members’ photos that show the African-American community and history of downtown. These could include photos of black-owned businesses or white-owned businesses which served black customers.

The Main Library’s Archives Department will scan these photos into a digital database that can be used for this art project as well as other historical research. If you can't make the free public scan date, you can make an individual appointment. Contact library Archivist Susanna Leberman, sleberman [at] hmcpl [dot] orgor 256-532-5989 for more information.