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.

Address: 520 16th St N
Hours: Tue-Sat 10AM-5PM
Price: Adults $15, seniors 65+ $13, college students, children grades 4-12 $13, children grades 3 and under free.
Website: bcri.org (opens in a new tab)

Directions Suggest a nearby place

Listing from Wikivoyage: Birmingham (Alabama), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Updated 28 Sept 2026. Something wrong? Tell us.

Close by

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 10:45AMAdults: $10, Students aged 18 and under: $%
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).
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
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)