Long scarred as the site of brutal civil rights struggles and decades of industrial collapse, downtown Birmingham, Ala., has struggled to attract new business or visitors, even from its own region.

But some recent efforts give the city a bit of hope.

The centrally located $25 million Railroad Park, 19 acres with lakes, an amphitheater and lots of green space, opened three years ago and has become a symbol for reviving the downtown district. Not only do thousands of tourists visit the park, but former city residents are also venturing downtown again after years of suburban life.

As evidence of continued growth, Regions Field, an 8,500-seat minor-league baseball stadium, opened in April just south of Railroad Park, another downtown attraction for the city’s roster. Other noteworthy projects include a heavily subsidized $70 million Westin Hotel and entertainment district in the city’s convention area, and a $7 million renovation of the Lyric, a former vaudeville theater nearly 100 years old and barely used since 1958.

While the downtown area somehow escaped the failed urban renewal efforts that razed buildings of historical significance in other cities, the district is home to an estimated 1.6 million square feet of largely vacant buildings constructed before World War II.