Birmingham Churches and Their Cornerstones 76

St. Barnabas is one of four similar churches Gothic-revival churches designed by Charles McCauley and erected in the 1940s or 1950s. It is also the only one of these whose cornerstone is at the rear of the buidling, not on the front. The church faces First Avenue South at the corner of 80th Street, very near East Lake Park. It is adjoined by a rectory and an elementary school (now used by I3 Academy). Interstate I-59 passes right in front of the church above First Avenue South, so passengers on the interstate can easily survey its campus.

The church was previously located one block further south at 8045 2nd Avenue South, a location that is now cleared as part of the frequently flooded area just below the East Lake dam. There is lots more that could be said about the church, but I’ll just note that a memorial window to a former pastor includes an image of Pope John XXIII. The other similar churches by McCauley are All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Homewood, First Lutheran Church in Birmingham, and Valley Christian Church in Mountain Book.

Read this first post for more on this series on Birmingham churches and their cornerstones.

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