The John Herbert Phillips High School Birmingham, Alabama

Office of Archaeological Research
Concluding Statement
The John Herbert Phillips High School in Birmingham, Alabama, is one of the most
remarkable educational buildings in the state, and certainly ranks among the finest in the nation.
This Jacobethan style building served as the premier school in the Birmingham area, educating
thousands of white high school students from the time of its completion in 1923 until the school
was finally desegregated in 1964, thereafter Phillips educated high school students of all races
until its closure in 2001. On the verge of a multi-million dollar renovation and conversion into
the proposed Park Place School, the Birmingham Board of Education has ensured its preservation
by taking this first step towards listing it on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). It
has been determined that Phillips High School retains a high degree of integrity of both exterior
and interior elements. In addition to its architectural merits, the school stands as one of the most
significant designs of prominent Birmingham architect D.O. Whilldin, who designed hundreds of
buildings in the South between 1904 and 1962. In other areas of historical significance, as the
flagship school for white Birmingham students, Phillips became the target of local civil rights
desegregation efforts in 1957 and serves as a contributing resource in the Birmingham Civil
Rights Movement Multiple Property Submission (NPS). For these reasons, the John Herbert
Phillips High School appears to be eligible for listing on the NRHP.
John Herbert Phillips High School Birmingham, Alabama
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