Tours & Attractions - Birmingham, Alabama



Tours & Attractions - Area Overview

The Birmingham Metropolitan Area, sometimes referred to as the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, is made up of seven counties in the central part of the state. With 1.2 million residents, that’s about one-fourth of Alabama’s population centered around one city. The city of Birmingham itself only holds around 230,000 persons, and it gets a bit confusing after that when considering neighboring cities and suburbs, counties, and neighborhoods.

Since Birmingham wasn’t founded until 1871, unlike most of its Southern neighbors, it is a purely post-industrial city founded at the height of mechanization and modernization that followed the Civil War in the South. In lieu of a graceful river cutting through Birmingham’s urban core like Nashville’s Cumberland, we have the 19th-century equivalent: the railroad. Consequently, the downtown streets are split into a north-south division on either side of the railroad tracks with the north side being the commercial core while the slopes of Red Mountain to the south were initially the early residential area. Not unlike many cities, most of those older homes have been demolished or altered beyond recognition as the city grew and the commercial area expanded. But today, many of those houses still stand at the foot of the mountain in the older residential districts like Highland Avenue, Glen Iris, Redmont, and to a lesser degree, Five Points South.

Still, as many observant visitors to downtown Birmingham notice, the city’s core holds a remarkable number of architectural gems. After historic treasures like the Terminal Station, Tutwiler Hotel, and the old city hall were demolished, a groundswell of anger served to motivate residents concerned about preserving the city’s architectural heritage. Today, a glance at nearby Nashville or Atlanta confirms that Birmingham has survived with a large portion of its historical character intact. But that preservation, ironically, is also one of the perverse benefits of the white flight and urban decay of the 1960s and 1970s.

Linked by I-65 to the west and Highway 280 to the east—as well as the relatively newer I-459 that marks the southern beltway, metro Birmingham’s communities are all convenient to downtown yet self-contained. Highway 31 runs through Hoover, Vestavia, and Homewood and is the commercial and transportation artery that links the three communities. I-59 and I-20 lead northeast and west to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Atlanta, Georgia, respectively. On the west side of Birmingham, I-20 and I-59 merge, leading to New Orleans, Louisiana, while the newer I-22 leads to Memphis, Tennessee, to the northwest.

Overview

Birmingham is a pleasant place to live. The climate is mild. The sun shines bright. It rarely freezes. And though the summers are warm and humid, the region is a place for year-round outdoors recreation. On sultry August weekends, throw a rock in any direction and you’re bound to hit someone heading to his or her lake house or driving to the Gulf for a beach getaway. Affordable housing, excellent schools, comparatively light traffic (other than Highway 280 and to a lesser extent, I-65 during rush hours), friendly neighbors, and an active arts-and-culture community are just more reasons why those who visit too often are likely to make a new home here. The people that live here are generous, too. In fact, the city is the most generous city in the United States according to two independent studies by the Tijeras Foundation and the United Way: Area residents donate 3.6 percent of their income to charity, the highest figure in the nation.

The seven-county region covered in this book includes Bibb, Blount, Chilton, Jefferson, St. Clair, Shelby, and Walker counties. Within that region, you’ll notice the book divides this huge area into smaller regions for simplicity’s sake (as previously noted in How to Use This Book): City Center, Over the Mountain, Highway 280 Corridor, North Shelby County, and Regional.

Thus, when someone says they are from “Birmingham,” chances are they are not from the city of Birmingham proper, but rather from one of the dozens of suburbs surrounding the central city. “I have to explain to people that I live in Cahaba Heights, which is now an annexed part of Vestavia Hills, which is in metro Birmingham,” jokes Riley Barnacastle, an intern helping with this guidebook. It’s an apt description for the intriguing geographic fragmentation that is Birmingham.

Tours & Attractions - Museums & Galleries

Birmingham’s collection of museums and galleries is as diverse as its population. Whether it’s art, sports, or history, Birmingham is home to a variety of museums and galleries to satisfy your intellectual curiosity. While the city features museums such as the world-class Birmingham Museum of Art and the internationally renowned Birmingham Civil Rights Institute together with galleries such as the Andy Warhol Foundation’s Space One Eleven, you’ll also find places that you never expected like the Karl C. Harrison Museum of George Washington or the Samuel Ullman Museum. Science museums like the McWane Science Center offer fun, educational programs that stimulate young students’ minds and provide a lasting connection and interest with the natural world.

Art lovers of all kinds can find more traditional art that reflects the city’s Southern roots as well as challenging and provocative installation pieces that push the boundaries. Considering the number of traveling shows and permanent collections in the city, a visitor to Birmingham can expect to see exhibits as varied as Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings from the Biblioteca Reale in Turin, Africa-American portraits from the Smithsonian, contemporary Korean prints, Yale University’s American art, or collected works of an intriguing multi-generational family of women artists from Selma, Alabama.

Of course the key to a healthy artistic environment is the support organizations that provide local arts education and community outreach. In Birmingham a number of fine, active galleries fill this function, whetting the public’s appetite for the exciting promise of art. Alabama School of Fine Arts, a partially residential public school located downtown, enjoys a strong national reputation for its creative programs in creative writing, dance, mathematics and science, music, theater arts, and visual arts. That energy and enthusiasm translates into an enormous source of ever-new talent that infuses the arts scene in town. Local artists from Birmingham’s artistic community fill the walls and spaces of the city’s art galleries, keeping things happening at this, the most local of levels.

Keep an eye out for new and developing museums and galleries such as the proposed Museum of Urban Art, a planned addition to Birmingham’s Downtown Business District, which will feature contemporary art that reflects life in urban America. Birmingham’s increasingly international population combined with its rich local and regional traditions make for some stunningly brilliant productions by artists who call Birmingham home. From the world’s largest collection of Wedgwood outside of England to the largest motorcycle collection in the United States, there is plenty to take in at Birmingham’s museums and galleries.

Tours & Attractions - Civil Rights

That Birmingham was home to some of the most significant events in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s comes as no surprise to most people. It has been a long time coming, but that black eye the city took—even though it was mostly self-inflicted—has gone through a long, slow, painful healing process.

“The past is never dead,” novelist William Faulkner famously wrote. “It’s not even past.” This much-quoted and perhaps even more puzzled-over statement resonates in Birmingham as much today as it did nearly 60 years ago. Faulkner was writing in 1951, and while he was not addressing the long journey to equality that African Americans have taken in this country, he might as well have been.

In Birmingham the past has often not even been past. Still, Birmingham may have had its Eugene “Bull” Conner, but it also had its Fred Shuttlesworth and a host of others—many of whom were young children—who bravely took up the cause at the most local level. And at great risk to themselves. The struggles of the citizens of Birmingham, along with leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., began a modern human-rights movement that emerged to stake a claim on the nation’s conscience. It transformed the city, the country, and arguably the world in its wake.

Consequently, visitors from all over the country and from around the globe come to the city—and often travel down the road to Selma and Montgomery—precisely to see where history happened in Alabama. The Birmingham Civil Rights District, the area downtown where most events took place, refers to a six-block area designated by the city in 1992 as a special area deserving preservation. Kelly Ingram Park, Carver Theatre, 16th Street Baptist Church, and the historic Black Business District itself all serve as reminders of the past—and starting in 1993 with the opening of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the district now also serves as a guide for the future.

It’s an irony that Birmingham, a city founded after the Civil War, would be a crucial battleground for the Civil Rights Movement. Looking at the journey from Civil War to civil rights, it’s clear that neither of them were that civil, yet they are both part of the American portrait. Birmingham is slowly realizing that telling its own story is a vital step in coming to terms with the past—and moving forward to the future together.

Tours & Attractions - Attractions

It is always mildly surprising to hear visitors talk in astonished tones about the Magic City after an initial visit: “It’s so green!” “It’s so hilly!” “There are so many things to do!” Happily, it is all true.

Set in the Appalachian foothills, Birmingham roughly lies between the Cumberland Plateau to the northwest and the Piedmont to the southeast in a geological region called the Valley and Ridge. Called “America’s monster of biological diversity” by the Nature Conservancy, Alabama’s choice location means we enjoy one of the most diverse ecological systems in the country. In fact, not too long ago, biologists discovered seven plant species previously unknown to science—a similar find might be significant though not totally unexpected in the Brazilian rainforest, but such a discovery in North America today is remarkable. It also means Birmingham is a city of views, of winding roads, of hills, creeks, rivers, and lots of greenery. It is pretty here, there’s no denying that.

In that lovely setting, there are a host of activities for passing the time. This chapter focuses on some of the more established attractions—some of them outdoors, some of them indoors. The list below is certainly no comprehensive accounting of all there is to do in town. Bike rides and outdoor adventure options are covered in the Parks & Greenways chapters. You’ll find even more in the Day Trips & Weekend Getaways chapter, as well as a few extra fun items listed under Festivals & Annual Events. And of course, a lot of fun for the young ones in the Kidstuff chapter.

Tours & Attractions - Kidstuff

Every parent has been there. It’s a rainy day or it’s too hot. You and the kids have been inside too long and the first warning signs of stir-crazy are beginning to manifest themselves. It’s time to act! You need something constructive and fun for the children to do.

Part of the attraction of Birmingham and the reason for its high quality of life is the many great offerings aimed at children that can be found in the area. Some are of an educational bent while some are just plain silly, aimed at making a child laugh—or wear them out with some healthy exercise and active play. Most cultural organizations have outreach programs that provide ways for kids to get involved and most importantly, have a good time. From museums and dance to art and energetic fun, there are certainly plenty of kid-themed options around to fill an entire weekend.

While there’s no way to mention every single destination or activity, don’t overlook area libraries and bookstores that present story hours, book discussions, Lego clubs, and other child-focused programs on a daily basis. They are free and make for a great learning experience to stimulate your child’s developing mind. In terms of seasons, fall and spring seem to bring a host of outdoor activities like fruit picking, harvest events, and festivals to entertain the young ones. For a more complete listing, see the Festivals & Annual Events chapter. When the weather is accommodating, look for farms in almost any direction outside of Birmingham and you’re all set for a family-pleasing outing. When the weather turns downright hot in the summer, cool down with a refreshing H2O-based activity. All kids like to get wet, so a couple of the top public pools are singled out while the rest may be found in the Recreation chapter. Also, consider a float along the Cahaba River or a picnic at a public lake.

Overview

While parents will have no difficulty scheduling after-school activities, weekend programs, and events that kids will love, there are also plenty of simple, even old-fashioned things that kids in and around Birmingham can do that have nothing at all to do with over-scheduling a four-year old. Every neighborhood, especially Over the Mountain, has a wonderful park or two where kids can just be kids and play to their heart’s content. Let them roam free in a safe environment to play with old friends or make some new ones. Accordingly, we’ve mentioned a few parks worth knowing, though there are certainly plenty more out there (see the Recreation chapter). Sometimes the best plan for a kid is no plan at all.

Tours & Attractions - Day Trips & Weekend Getaways

Antebellum mansions, old town squares, expansive canoe trails, civil-rights sites, hiking excursions, educational fun, beach retreats, and nearby city escapes—with Birmingham as your starting point, the opportunities for idling away a day or a weekend are too numerous to count.

Living in Birmingham already places you at the heart of Alabama with regard to culture, entertainment, transportation, attractions, and general activity. It’s the largest city in the state by far, and as such, possesses an unparalleled energy and excitement. However, the city is also not too far from the geographic center of the state (around Montevallo, Alabama, 30 miles to the south) and so is the perfect launching point for day trips and fun weekend excursions to places nearby.

In fact, as all interstates in the state converge in Birmingham—head any direction and it’s all interstate, all the way to the nearest cities. Drive south on I-65 for 4.5 hours, and you’re on the beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Head north on I-65 and in 3 hours you reach Nashville, Tennessee. Chattanooga, Tennessee, is a scant 2-hour drive northeast along I-59, and if you continue another couple hours you’re in Knoxville, only a short jaunt to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The megalopolis Atlanta, Georgia, with all its great attractions (and traffic!), is just a couple hours east along I-20. Memphis is 3.5 hours away on I-22. The great city of New Orleans is 5 hours away on I-59.

Because of the state’s wonderful physiographic diversity, The Nature Conservancy has called Alabama “America’s monster of biological diversity” because of the massive range of flora and fauna that inhabit the area. Living in such a fortunate region, one doesn’t have to travel far to enjoy canoeing the Sipsey or Conecuh rivers, exploring the world-class caving sites of northeast Alabama, rock climbing at Horse Pens 40, whitewater kayaking the Locust Fork, backpacking in Little River Canyon Preserve, hang gliding at Lookout Mountain, or bird watching on one of several popular Alabama birding trails.

Overview

But part of the point of any day trip or getaway is to get off the beaten path, to leave the interstates and the chain food options. Try something different. Visit quiet historic sites out in the countryside. See some of Alabama’s great natural wonders for an active excursion all to yourself. Drive around at lunchtime in some small Alabama town, and look for where all the locals’ cars are parked at some nondescript diner at noon: That’s where you want to eat. There are so many interesting nooks and crannies to explore that the most difficult aspect to day tripping beyond Birmingham is narrowing down your options. Best of luck!

1. Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau

City: Birmingham, AL
Category: Tours & Attractions


2. Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau: Airport

City: Birmingham, AL
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 5900 Messer Airport Hwy.

3. Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau: Vulcan Park

City: Birmingham, AL
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 1701 Valley View Dr.

4. Fourth Avenue Visitor Center

City: Birmingham, AL
Category: Tours & Attractions

5. ALABAMA HISTORICAL RADIO SOCIETY AND DON KRESGE MEMORIAL MUSEUM

City: Birmingham, AL
Category: Tours & Attractions

6. ALABAMA JAZZ HALL OF FAME

City: Birmingham, AL
Category: Tours & Attractions

7. ALABAMA MUSEUM OF HEALTH SCIENCE

City: Birmingham, AL
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 1700 University Blvd.

8. ALABAMA SPORTS HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM

City: Birmingham, AL
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 2150 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. North

9. Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum

City: Birmingham, AL
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (205) 699-7275
Address: 6030 Barber Motorsports Pkwy.
Insider Pick:

Description: Representing the culmination of a dream of local dairy magnate George Barber, the Barber Motorsports Museum is one of the world’s finest collection of motorcycles. The museum also showcases a number of sports autos including a magnificent collection of Lotus race cars. Located within the Barber Motorsports Park, one of North America’s premiere raceways, the Barber Motorsports Museum is the place to be for auto-racing enthusiasts. Although the museum features racing autos of all types, Barber’s preference is no secret: motorcycles. And with over 1,000 different makes and models, one could spend weeks ogling at the beauties. In fact, when the Guggenheim Museums in New York and Bilbao hosted the “Art of the Motorcycle” exhibit, Barber Motorsports Museum was its largest lender.

10. BIRMINGHAM HISTORY CENTER

City: Birmingham, AL
Category: Tours & Attractions

11. BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM OF ART

City: Birmingham, AL
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 2000 Rev. Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd.

12. BIRMINGHAM CIVIL RIGHTS INSTITUTE

City: Birmingham, AL
Category: Tours & Attractions

13. KARL C. HARRISON MUSEUM OF GEORGE WASHINGTON

City: Birmingham, AL
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (205) 669-8767
Address: 50 Lester St.

Description: Located in probably the last place you’d expect, a unique collection of George Washington memorabilia is found at the Karl C. Harrison Museum of George Washington in Columbiana, just south of Birmingham. Through the generosity of Charlotte Smith-Weaver, herself a direct descendant of Martha Washington, the museum began acquiring artifacts. Today, the Karl C. Harrison Museum of George Washington occupies its own wing of the Harrison Regional Library. Among the various items housed in the museum are a number of George Washington’s personal effects including hand-written letters to his wife, Martha, and an original sketch of Mount Vernon by Samuel Vaughn. Open weekdays, the museum is a must-see for history buffs.

14. MCWANE SCIENCE CENTER

City: Birmingham, AL
Category: Tours & Attractions

15. SAMUEL ULLMAN MUSEuM

City: Birmingham, AL
Category: Tours & Attractions
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