Birminghamhenge in December 2025, photographed from the Rainbow Viaduct (formerly 21st Street Viaduct). Please visit John Elrod Photography on Facebook. (John Elrod Photography)

England has Stonehenge. Neil deGrasse Tyson coined Manhattanhenge. But did you know downtown Birmingham, Alabama has its very own “Birminghamhenge” which officially happens every winter solstice, December 21st at around 4:30PM?

Now you know why some locals avoid walking or driving west from the railroad tracks to 5th Avenue North in December between 4:00 and 5:00. The sun planted in the center of the street.

Here is a Bhamwiki entry about the uniquely Birmingham phenomenon:

“”Birminghenge” or “Birminghamhenge” is a term referring to the coincidence between the position of the setting sun and the Birmingham city center street grid when the setting sun is framed within the width of Birmingham’s east-west avenues.

Birmingham’s avenues, laid out in 1871 by William Barker, parallel the route of the Northeast & Southwest Railroad, which itself generally follows the orientation of Jones Valley, as defined to the south by Red Mountain. The resulting grid is rotated approximately 29-30° west of true north, i.e. 240-241°.

By chance, this nearly perfectly aligns with the azimuth of the sun just before it begins to set as seen from Birmingham during the period surrounding the winter solstice (241.93° at 4:41:43 PM CST on December 21).”