Sights and landmarks in Birmingham

Sights and landmarks in Birmingham

1. See

   16th Street Baptist Church

   On September 15, 1963, in the aftermath of the Birmingham campaign (and at the beginning of the first school year in which the city's public schools were integrated), four members of the Ku Klux Klan bombed this oldest African-American church in Birmingham with dynamite, killing four young girls at choir practice and further outraging the nation and solidifying support in Congress for civil rights legislation. The church was rebuilt and remains in operation today, welcoming visitors both to Sunday services (10:45AM) and to the basement exhibition space featuring historical photographs and displays related to the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham.

   Tours: Tue-Sat 10AM-4PM (last tour starts at 3PM); Worship Service: Sun 10:45AM·Adults: $10, Students aged 18 and under: $%

2. See

   Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame

   Founded in 1978, the museum part opened in 1993 with exhibits from instruments to dresses on display. Of course you also get to experience the music itself in jazz performances, workshops and courses.

   Tue-Sat 10AM-5PM (guided tours Mon-Wed Fri 10AM-1:30PM)·$3/2 (guided/self-guided)

3. See

   Alabama Sports Hall of Fame

   The museum presents the athletic history of the state of Alabama, and is one of the biggest in the U.S with over 6,000 pieces of sports memorabilia.

   Mon-Sat 9AM-5PM·Adults $5, seniors 60+ $4, students $3

4. See

   Arlington Antebellum Home and Gardens

   The home is a perfectly-preserved emblem of Southern heritage. Staff are well-versed in how the home, which is older than the city, has been involved in many pivotal points of Birmingham's development. It's an interesting and inexpensive way to learn about the city's heritage and the civil rights struggle. The home, on Birmingham's West End, is in a somewhat blighted neighborhood. However, visiting during daylight hours carries very little risk. And the home is accessible through main artery roads off of Interstate 65 at the Green Springs Avenue exit. Homeowners on the street adjacent to Arlington have well-manicured properties, symbolic of efforts by West End leaders to strengthen this historic part of town.

5. See

   Ballard House

   The home and office of Dr. Edward H. Ballard, an African-American physician who hosted meetings of local Civil Rights activists here beginning in 1959, and who offered medical treatment to victims of police violence during the Birmingham campaign of 1963. The not-for-profit Ballard House Project is hard at work restoring the building and hosting events and exhibitions related to local Civil Rights history and other cultural themes.

   Wed-Sat 10AM-2PM or by appointment

6. See

   Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum and Motorsports Park

   The park is meticulously well-kept. IndyCar and Superbike racing will thrill any visitor. This is truly world-class racing in a park that one would expect to see only in Europe or in a much larger city.

   Mon-Sat 10AM-6PM, Sun noon-6PM; museum closes one hour earlier Oct-Mar·$10, children 4-12 $6

7. See

   Birmingham Botanical Gardens

   The gardens are worth visiting for anyone with a horticultural flair. Displays are not limited to Southern offerings but also pay tribute to other parts of the world.

   Daily sunrise to sunset

8. See

   Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

   Interpretive museum and research center, where you can learn about the struggle for civil rights through such engaging exhibits as a mocked-up 1950s-era segregated city, a replica of a Freedom Riders bus from Mississippi, and even the actual door from the cell in Birmingham Jail where Dr. Martin Luther King was held (see below). Researchers have at their disposal an expansive archive of documents and recordings.

   Tue-Sat 10AM-5PM·Adults $15, seniors 65+ $13, college students, children grades 4-12 $13, children grades 3 and under free.

9. See

   Birmingham Jail

   Dr. Martin Luther King spent eight days in April 1963 incarcerated here, from his arrest on the 12th for violating an injunction against the demonstrations he and the SCLC were leading in the streets of Birmingham through his release on the 20th under pressure from the Kennedy administration. While there, he wrote his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail, addressing various criticisms that had been leveled against him and his movement — both an essay written by a group of local white clergymen and published in the local newspaper the day before his arrest, and more broadly from white moderates nationwide as well as certain "opposing forces in the Negro community". The prison is still in operation as such, so no tours are offered, but there is a historic plaque and other interpretive material outside.

10. See

    Birmingham Museum of Art

    Visual art from all over the world, from ancient Egyptian to contemporary American. In particular, its Asian section is considered the best in the southeastern U.S.

    Tue-Sat 10AM-5PM, Sun noon-5PM·Free

11. See

    Birmingham Zoo

    More than 750 animals, including cheetahs, cobras, lions and anteaters.

    Labor Day-Memorial Day: daily 9AM-5PM; Memorial Day-Labor Day: Mon Wed-Thu 9AM-5PM, Tue Fri-Sun 9AM-7PM·General $11, children 2-12 & seniors 65+ free

12. See

    Historic Bethel Baptist Church

    Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth was agitating for racial justice in Birmingham for years before Dr. King came to town, and the church where he preached was a focal point of action in the period immediately previous to the Birmingham campaign: it was the designated point of contact in Alabama for the Freedom Riders, who in 1961 successfully forced the desegregation of interstate buses in the South, and was firebombed by white supremacists no fewer than three times, including on Christmas Day 1956.

    Tours Mon Wed Fri 10AM-3PM, Tue Thu by appointment

13. See

    Kelly Ingram Park

    This four-acre park was named for a local World War I hero, but is best known as the place where the climactic confrontation between the attack dog- and firehose-wielding Birmingham police and fire departments, led by Public Works Commissioner "Bull" Connor, and the student demonstrators from the SCLC, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, took place. The park was rededicated in 1992 as a "place of revolution and reconciliation" in commemoration of these pivotal events, and now contains a number of sculptural exhibits. Notable among those is Four Spirits, unveiled in 2013 as a memorial to the young victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing (read on).

14. See

    McWane Science Center

    This is a place where kids can explore science. Some of the highlights are the World of Water with fish and other aquatic life and the Alabama Collections Center with fossils and pre-Columbian artifacts.

    Sept-May: Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM, Sat 11AM-6PM, Sun noon-6PM; June-Aug: Mon-Sat 10AM-6PM, Sun Noon-6PM·Exhibit halls: adults $9, children 2-12 & seniors 65+ $8, children under 2 free; exhibits and IMAX:$14/12/free

15. See

    Old Sardis Baptist Church

    With a Civil Rights pedigree that goes even further back than Bethel Baptist, Old Sardis Baptist Church started down the road of civic, social, and economic activism in 1947, when Rev. Robert Alford ascended to the pulpit — and it was here in 1956 that Rev. Alford along with Rev. Shuttlesworth and various other local ministers founded the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, the local organization that worked side by side with Dr. King and the SCLC during the events of 1963.

    Services Sun 11AM; not open for tours

16. See

    Red Mountain Park

    It's under development as of August 2019, but still lots of fun and exploring awaits. Zip-lining over the tree canopies of the beautiful and historic Red Mountain and miles of bike, hiking and walking trails. When the park is complete it will span nearly 1,200 acres (485 ha), making Birmingham the city with the most green space per capita in the country.

    Daily 7AM-5PM

17. See

    Sloss Furnaces

    The Sloss Iron and Steel Company was one of the first industrial concerns to set up shop in the then-brand new city of Birmingham. It eventually grew into one of the largest manufacturers of pig iron in the world (it should be said, largely on the backs of African-American convict labor — a form of legal slavery common in the Jim Crow era whereby local blacks would be rounded up and arrested on trumped-up charges and then leased out to private companies like Sloss for use as unpaid workers). Abandoned in 1972, their Furnace No. 1 was deemed an eyesore and slated for demolition, but saved at the last minute by historic preservationists and opened to the public as... well, it's hard to say exactly what this place is nowadays. Strolling around the old ovens, smokestacks, conveyor belts, and other abandoned equipment, you almost get the feeling of being in a giant art exhibit (the modern-day metal sculptures peppered around the site certainly don't do anything to discourage that sentiment). There is also a visitors' center with museum-style exhibits relating Birmingham's industrial history, and a full calendar of concerts and events at this one-of-a-kind venue.

    Tue-Sat 10AM-4PM·Free

18. See

    Southern Museum of Flight

    If you're interested in aviation history, this is the place to go. The museum has more than 100 aircraft on display, both civilian and military (among them a Wright flyer replica), as well as plane parts, photographs and other artifacts.

    Tue-Sat 9:30AM-4:30PM·Adults $5, seniors & students $4, children under 4 and active military members free

19. See

    Vulcan Park

    What better way to pay homage to the mighty steel industry of early-20th century Birmingham than with an enormous statue of the Roman god of fire and metalsmithing? The world's largest cast iron statue at a height of, Vulcan was forged in 1903 as Birmingham's contribution to the St. Louis World's Fair, then spent a few decades welcoming visitors at the state fairgrounds in West Birmingham before being re-erected and rededicated in 1936 at the summit of Red Mountain by the Works Progress Administration. Vulcan now stands atop a sandstone pedestal with an observation deck near the top that provides a panoramic view of Birmingham and vicinity. Nearby is a small museum with exhibits on local industrial history.

    Park: daily 7AM-10PM; Museum: Mon-Sat 10AM-6PM, Sun 1-6PM; Observation Balcony: Mon-Sat 10AM-10PM, Sun 1-10PM

20. See

    Ruffner Mountain Nature Center

    Nature preserve. More than 1,000 acres (400 ha).

    Tue-Sat 9AM-5PM, Sun 1-5PM·Free

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Birmingham (CC BY-SA 4.0).