Avondale was a company town built around the Avondale Mills east of Birmingham, Alabama in Jefferson County. The town was incorporated on March 18, 1887. The city was annexed into Birmingham and is now divided into three separate neighborhoods, North Avondale, East Avondale and South Avondale.

The first residents of the area were clustered around "Kings Spring" on the slopes of Red Mountain, now the site of Avondale Park. There was once a small skirmish near the spring when Confederates fired on Union soldiers watering their horses. The wife of Jefferson County sheriff Abner Killough was struck in the chest by a stray shot while sitting on her porch. Her wound is believed to have been the only blood spilled in the county during the war.

The Park was the largest in Birmingham until Ruffner Mountain Park was dedicated. It was known for the spring-fed grotto pool, an extensive rose garden, athletic fields, a secluded pavilion called "The Villa", and a large amphitheater that hosted a spectacular pageant in celebration of Birmingham's 50th anniversary in 1931. The park was also one-time home of the Birmingham Zoo, which at the time consisted mainly of non-exotic species with the exception of "Miss Fancy", an erstwhile circus elephant purchased by the Birmingham Advertising Club as a promotional novelty and then donated to the city.

The spring emerged from a cave, now sealed off and proceeded to flow through the center of Spring Street (now 41st Street), the primary commercial center of Avondale.

41st Street is now a hub of new development and activity with many new eateries and Art galleries. It is important that we celebrate the history of our community and give it the special designation as its original name - Spring Street. Please sign our petition to rename the section of 41st street south of 1st ave to Avondale Park as Spring Street.