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Top Attractions in Birmingham

Red Mountain

Red Mountain is a long ridge running southwest-northeast and dividing Jones Valley from Shades Valley south of Birmingham, Alabama. It is part of the Ridge-and-Valley region of the Appalachian mountains. The Red Mountain Formation of hard Silurian rock strata lies exposed in several long crests, and was named "Red Mountain" because of the rust-stained rock faces and prominent seams of red hematite iron ore. The mountain was the site of the Sloss Mines, which supplied ore to Birminghams iron furnaces. The best displays of the mountains geological strata occur at the Twentieth Street cut near the Vulcan statue and at the U.S. Route 31 highway cut leading into the suburb of Homewood. Most of Birminghams television and radio stations have their transmission towers located on Red Mountain. Red Mountain is also home to the newly created Red Mountain Park, one of the nations largest urban parks at 1,108 acres, making it larger than even New York Citys Central Park.

Aldridge Botanical Gardens

Aldridge Gardens is a 30 acre garden, prominently featuring hydrangeas, located on the former Aldridge Estate in Hoover, Alabama, U.S.A.. Local nurseryman Eddie Aldridge purchased the property from the Coxe family in 1977 as a residence. Aldridge, who along with his father, Loren L. Aldridge, found and patented Hydrangea quercifolia Snowflake, a double-flowering form of Oakleaf Hydrangea. In 1997 the gardens were conveyed to the City of Hoover and formally dedicated to the public. The site is now managed by a non-profit organization. A new master plan was approved in 1997 to guide the future development of the gardens. The gardens contain extensive hydrangea plantings, as well as a five acre lake with walking trails. Public lectures and educational activities are scheduled throughout the year.

Sloss Furnaces

Sloss Furnaces is a National Historic Landmark in Birmingham, Alabama in the United States. It operated as a pig iron-producing blast furnace from 1882 to 1971. After closing it became one of the first industrial sites in the U.S. to be preserved and restored for public use. In 1981 the furnaces were designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of the Interior. The site currently serves as an interpretive museum of industry and hosts a nationally recognized metal arts program. It also serves as a concert and festival venue. Construction is also underway on a new $10 million visitors center. The furnace site, along a wide strip of land reserved in Birminghams original city plan for railroads and industry, is also part of a proposed linear park through downtown Birmingham. An annual Halloween haunted attraction called "Sloss Fright Furnace" is held at the site.

McWane Science Center

The McWane Science Center is a science museum and research archive located in downtown Birmingham, Alabama . The state-of-the-art science center, aquarium and 280-seat IMAX Dome Theater is housed in the historic and refurbished Lovemans department store building. It opened to the public on July 11, 1998. Inside are more than 9,000 square feet of interactive exhibits, including the Challenger Learning Center of Alabama, created in memory of the Space Shuttle Challenger Flight 51-L crew. The World of Water exhibit showcases more than 50 species of marine and freshwater aquatic life. The Alabama Collections Center is the home for more than 500,000 artifacts from the former Red Mountain Museum. The center houses precious minerals, fossils and Native American artifacts. Highlights in the collection include the worlds fourth-largest collection of mosasaurs; the Appalachiosaurus; and the state fossil of Alabama, the Basilosaurus cetoides fossil whale). The McWane Science Center is named after the McWane family and McWane, Inc. both of which helped fund the center.

Kelly Ingram Park

Kelly Ingram Park, formerly West Park, is a four acre park located in Birmingham, Alabama. It is bounded by 16th and 17th Streets and 5th and 6th Avenues North in the Birmingham Civil Rights District. The park, just outside the doors of the 16th Street Baptist Church, served as a central staging ground for large-scale demonstrations during the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Reverend James Bevel of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference directed the organized protest by students in 1963 which centered on Kelly Ingram Park. It was here, during the first week of May 1963, that Birmingham police and firemen, under orders from Public Safety Commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor, confronted the student demonstrators, almost all of them children and high school students, first with mass arrests and then with police dogs and firehoses. Images from those confrontations, broadcast internationally, spurred a public outcry which turned the nations attention to the struggle for racial equality. The demonstrations in Birmingham brought city leaders to agree to an end of public segregation and helped to ensure the writing and then the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The park was named in 1932 for local firefighter Osmond Kelly Ingram, who was the first sailor in the United States Navy to be killed in World War I. In 1992 it was completely renovated and rededicated as "A Place of Revolution and Reconciliation" to coincide with the opening of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, an interpretive museum and research center, which adjoins the park to the west. The park is the setting for several pieces of sculpture related to the civil rights movement. There is a central fountain and commemorative statues of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, and other heroes of the civil rights movement, as well as three installations by artist James Drake which flank a circular "Freedom Walk". They bring the visitor inside the portrayals of terror and sorrow of the 1963 confrontations. A limestone sculpture by Raymond Kasky depicts three ministers, John Thomas Porter, Nelson H. Smith, and A. D. King, kneeling in prayer. The "Four Spirits" sculpture was unveiled at Kelly Ingram Park on September, 2013 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. Crafted in Berkeley, California by Birmingham-born sculptor Elizabeth MacQueen and designed as a memorial to the four girls killed in the bombing, it depicts the four girls in preparation for the church sermon at the 16th Street Baptist Church in the moments immediately before the explosion. The youngest girl killed in the explosion is depicted releasing six doves into the air as she stands tiptoed and barefooted upon a bench as another barefooted girl is depicted kneeling upon the bench, affixing a dress sash to McNair; a third girl is depicted sitting upon the bench alongside McNair and Collins with a Bible in her lap. The fourth girl is depicted standing and smiling as she motions the other three girls to attend their church sermon. At the base of the sculpture is an inscription of the name of the sermon the four girls were to attend prior to the bombing—"A Love that Forgives." Oval photographs and brief biographies of the four girls killed in the explosion, the most seriously injured survivor, and the two teenage boys shot to death later that day also adorn the base of the sculpture. Additional monuments honor Pauline Fletcher, Carrie Tuggle, Ruth Jackson, Arthur Shores, Julius Ellsberry, and the "foot soldiers" and other "unsung heroes" of the Civil Rights Movement. The park hosts several local family festivals and cultural and entertainment events throughout the year. The Civil Rights Institute provides audio-tour guides for the park which feature remembrances by many of the figures directly involved in the confrontations. Urban Impact, Inc. also provides guided tours by appointment.

Alabama Theatre

The Alabama Theatre is a movie palace in Birmingham, Alabama. It was built in 1927 by Paramounts Publix Theatre chain as its flagship theater for the southeastern region of the United States. Seating 2,500 people at the time, it was the largest in the Birmingham Theatre district. The district was once home to a myriad of large theaters that featured vaudeville, performing arts, nickelodeons, and large first-run movie palaces. The Alabama is the only district theater still operating today. Built to show silent films, the Alabama still features its original Wurlitzer theater organ. Other than the Alabama, the Lyric Theatre is the only theater still standing in the district. The Alabama and its historic organ were added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on February 15, 1977 and to the National Register of Historic Places on November 13, 1979. The theater has been surveyed by the Historic American Buildings Survey on several occasions, the last time being in 1996.

Morris Avenue First Avenue North Historic District

The Morris Avenue Historic District is an industrial district in Birmingham, Alabama. The district covers Morris Avenue from 20th Street to 25th Street and First Avenue from 21st to 26th Street. The Morris Avenue section comprises a set of late 19th century masonry warehouses that were Birminghams main food distribution center until the 1950s. The First Avenue section of the district comprises a mixed neighborhood of late 19th century offices and warehouses, built shortly after the Morris Avenue development. The combined areas include 63 contributing structures, of the 69 buildings in the district. Notable buildings include the Liberty Trouser Building and the A.C. Legg Building on Morris Avenue on either side of the Moskowitz Warehouse. On First Avenue the Birmingham Realty Building and the A.A. Adams Realty Building, as well as the Goodall-Brown Building are notable. The Morris Avenue district was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 24, 1973. It was incorporated into the Morris Avenue First Avenue district on January 9, 1986.

Hoover Metropolitan Stadium

Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, formerly known as Regions Park, is a minor league baseball park located in the Birmingham, Alabama, USA, suburb of Hoover. It was home of the Birmingham Barons of the Southern League from 1988 to 2012, replacing historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham. The stadium also serves as the home for the SEC Baseball Tournament, as well as the primary home for Hoover High School football. It is located in the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area near Interstate 459 at Exit 10 just off Alabama State Route 150. The stadium is located three miles from the Riverchase Galleria, one of the souths largest shopping centers. The seating capacity is 10,800 for baseball and can accommodate up to 16,000 when the patio, banquet, and grassy side areas are used. The stadium also houses 12 suites and state-of-the-art dressing and training rooms. The stadium also features a meeting/banquet room named for Michael Jordan, who played for the Barons during his brief foray into professional baseball, during which time the stadium experienced its largest crowds. The park was renamed in March 2007 Regions Park when Regions Financial Corporation purchased the naming rights. Despite the name change, many locals still referred to the stadium as "The Met". The City of Hoover operates the stadium and an adjacent recreational vehicle park. Regions Park hosted the AVP Birmingham Open on July 13-16, 2006, the first beach volleyball tournament to ever be played in Alabama. The feature court was above the baseball diamond as well as eight other courts on the field, made of 222 tons of sand per court. The stadium also played host to the 2011 and 2012 NCAA Division I Mens Soccer Championship. Along with Birmingham city officials, the Barons announced plans in November 2010 to return to Birmingham with a new field to be constructed downtown, near the University of Alabama at Birmingham campus. Pending contract negotiations and construction, play at the new field was originally expected to begin with the 2012 season. Due to site selection, financing issues, and problems obtaining all of the land sought by the developers the move was delayed until the 2013 season. On December 20, 2012, the City of Hoover announced a change in name changing the name of the ballpark back to its original name, "The Hoover Metropolitan Stadium". The name change took effect on January 1, 2013. The Hoover Met hosted the Alabama Crimson Tide during the 2015 season while its on-campus stadium in Tuscaloosa, Sewell–Thomas Stadium, underwent major renovations. As part of the agreement, outfield fences were moved in to more closely match the dimensions of TD Ameritrade Park Omaha, home of the College World Series. The new configuration remained in place for the 2015 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament.

Bethel Baptist Church

Bethel Baptist Church in the Collegeville neighborhood of Birmingham, Alabama served as headquarters from 1956 to 1961 for the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights , which was led by Fred Shuttlesworth and active in the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement. The ACMHR focused on legal and nonviolent direct action against segregated accommodations, transportation, schools and employment discrimination. It played a crucial role in the 1961 Freedom Ride that resulted in federal enforcement of U.S. Supreme Court and Interstate Commerce Commission rulings to desegregate public transportation. Fred Shuttlesworth served as pastor from 1953 to 1961. The church buildings were bombed on three separate occasions, first on December 25, 1956, again on June 29, 1958, and lastly on December 14, 1962. The church complex was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on November 13, 1996. It was then added to the National Register of Historic Places and declared a National Historic Landmark on April 5, 2005.

Oak Hill Cemetery

Oak Hill Cemetery, located just north of downtown, is Birmingham, Alabama's oldest cemetery. Originally 21.5 acres on the estate of James M. Ware, it was already a burial ground by April 1869 when it served as the resting place for the infant daughter of future mayor Robert H. Henley. It was marked as "City Cemetery" on the original plats for Birmingham laid out by the Elyton Land Company and was formally sold to the city on December 29, 1873 for the sum of $1,073.50. Most of the 10,000 or so burials at Oak Hill were interred before 1930, including nine of the ten landholders who founded the city, many early mayors, a Revolutionary soldier, numerous American Civil War veterans, and the first male child born in the city. Although few records exist from the time, most believe the "Potter's Field" section was also used as the final resting place for many victims of the 1873 cholera epidemic. In 1889 Judge A. O. Lane purchased 200 acres on the southern slopes of Red Mountain , now Lane Park, for the burial of paupers, thereby ending the use of Oak Hill's "Potter's Field". In 1928 the caretaker's cottage near the center of the property, was removed to the southwest corner of the cemetery and a new "Pioneer's Memorial Building" was constructed of Indiana limestone, designed by Miller & Martin Architects with William Kessler, landscape architect. In 1977, Oak Hill Cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The Oak Hill Memorial Association keeps an office in the former caretaker's cottage and published a quarterly newsletter, the Oak Hill Pioneer, from Winter 1999 to Fall 2006, with articles about the history of the city in the context of the lives of those buried at Oak Hill.

Bernice L. Wright Lustron House

The Bernice L. Wright Lustron House is a historic enameled steel prefabricated house in Birmingham, Alabama. Designed and constructed by the Lustron Corporation, this example is one of three confirmed to have been built in Birmingham. Another, the John D. and Katherine Gleissner Lustron House, is just one house over from the Wright Lustron House. Lustron houses were only produced during a two-year period, with 2,495 known to have been made. Only roughly 2,000 of these are still in existence. Many of those that do remain have been altered significantly. Twenty Lustron houses are known to have been ordered in Alabama, although it is not clear if twenty were erected. Only eleven remained in 2000. The house forms part of the National Register of Historic Places' Lustron Houses in Alabama MPS. It was placed on the National Register on February 24, 2000, due to its architectural significance. The house is slated for demolition in 2015 to make way for a condominium development.

Donnelly House and Gardens

The historic Donnelly House, an example of Neo-classical architecture, was built in 1905 as the residence of James W. Donnelly. Mr. Donnelly was an industrialist, manufacturer, real-estate developer, philanthropist, and civic leader. After retiring from Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, he moved south to Birmingham where this magnificent Georgian-colonial mansion had been constructed, featuring over 12,000 square feet of living space and spectacular white marble floors. While the Donnelly House has served primarily as a private residence, it was also the home of the Birmingham Civic Ballet during the 1950s. Ultimately, the home was opened as a venue for weddings, business meetings and other activities. The house was purchased by Carl Schoettlin in 2011. The house was fully renovated by Schoettlin Building Company. Currently the house is a entertainment venue specializing in wedding, receptions, parties, etc. The house in managed by Carl Schoettlin. The home was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on May 20, 1975. It is also a contributing property to the Highland Avenue Historic District, a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.
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