Birmingham, Alabama -- a real 20th Century City packed with history.
Birmingham, Alabama -- a real 20th Century City packed with history.
The South's Steel Capital, a preserved pig iron furnace, the world's largest cast iron statue, a center of desegration and a wonderful Saturday morning farmers market.
Birmingham is a crossroad of America’s old south. It was built at the junction between two major railroads, the Alabama & Chattanooga and South & North Alabama railroads. It sits atop one of the largest iron ore deposits in the world. This Alabama city was at the center of America’s civil rights struggle. And today, it is going through reincarnation as a re-emerging city with a lively, young, energetic, and diverse population.
Named Birmingham after the British industrial city it saw explosive growth after the turn of the century. It was changed from open fields to a street grid and eventually several “skyscrapers.” The steel industry and the local minerals fed the rapid growth. Plus, cheap black and immigrant labor
After the Great Depression and WWII, the city ping-ponged from unemployment to a rapid return to prosperity as the war demand for armaments grew. Civic growth of schools, parks, and museums began during that time. Today, the city is still the center of the Alabama banking institutions.
Birmingham was also central to the civil rights effort to stop segregation. Protesters adopted a motto to underscore its commitment to nonviolence: "Not one hair of one head of one person should be harmed."
Today, Birmingham is undergoing redevelopment after losing about a third of its population. But, though the city proper has shrunk, the region is still the second-largest metropolitan area in Alabama.
The effects of segregation can be seen in the downtown areas. While the city has blocks of squalor still exist, the surrounding suburbs are filled with magnificent homes.
Vulcan Park
The Vulcan statue symbolizes Birmingham standing on a giant 123-foot column presiding over the city. It is the largest cast iron statue in the world. It was commissioned for the St. Louis World’s Fair and won the exhibition Grand Prize in 1904. It symbolizes the birth if the city with its iron and steel industries. The statue is 56 feet tall and weighs more than 120,000 lbs.
This giant statue has held court over the city atop Red Mountain since 1936. It was created as part of the Works Progress Administration. Today, the statue is surrounded by a 10-acre park and is flanked by the Vulcan Museum. The museum provides a history of Birmingham.
Website: visitvulcan.com. The Museum is open daily from 10 am until 6 pm. The Observation balcony is open daily from 10 am to 10 pm. (Winter hours from Monday to Wednesday close for the observatory at 6 pm.) Address: 1701 Valley View Drive, Birmingham, AL 35209. Phone: 205-933-1409
Civil Rights Institute
In 1963 Birmingham was “probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States.” according to Martin Luther King. There were no black police officers, firefighters, sales clerks in department stores, bus drivers, bank tellers, or store cashiers. Black secretaries could not work for white professionals. Jobs available to black workers were limited to manual labor in Birmingham's steel mills, work in household service and yard maintenance, or work in black neighborhoods.
Birmingham became the center of the civil rights struggle in America. The Civil Rights Institute illustrated this segregation and the battle that black citizens fought to begin seeing some equality. Dr. King and Fred Shuttleworth led the Bermingham efforts. Thousands of citizens were arrested during protests. Website: bcri.org. The Institute is open from Tuesday-Saturday 10 am to 5 pm. Address: 520 16th St N, Birmingham, AL 35203 Phone: (205) 328-9696
The Sloss Furnaces
For almost 100 years, this was the site of an operating blast furnace. The furnaces turned out tons of pig iron. Today it is a National Historic Landmark, the only preserved landmark that showcases the industry that built this city after the Civil War. Throughout the Sloss Furnace, you will read that not only iron came from these furnaces. Iron and steel industries, together with the railroads, were critical to the growth of Birmingham.
Open from 10 am to 4 pm, Tuesday to Saturday. Closed on Sun. & Mon. Address: 20 32nd Street North, Birmingham, AL 35222. Phone: (205) 254-2025.
Pepper Place Saturday Market
This has become one of the real tourist attractions of Birmingham. Since its opening in 2000, on Saturday morning it is packed. The farmers market features live music and other events.
On the Dr. Pepper Syrup Plant and Bottling Company site, the Pepper Place Market is the location of the Saturday outdoor fruit, vegetable, and other local items marketplace. It is open every Saturday from 7 am to noon, rain or shine. Around 10,000 people come to the market every Saturday. The district, on weekends, serves as a meeting place for locals purchasing fresh local vegetables, young children, and lots of dogs.
Website: https://pepperplacemarket.com. Address: 2829 2nd Ave S. Phone: 205-802-2100
Charlie Leocha
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has worked in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
Wow interesting history, Charlie. Iron and steel mills drove a lot of industrial growth in America. I knew about the (rust) iron belt around Michigan, but didn't know about Birmingham. And the giant Vulcan statue - perfect! - who knew?!