Birmingham: The Magic City

Birmingham is a dynamic, progressive urban center of great natural beauty that is home to just over one million people. Because of its rapid growth in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Birmingham has an international flavor and ethnic diversity that are unusual in the South. Health care, education, finance, and communication have replaced steel as Birmingham's economic base. Birmingham has managed its growth well and preserved a substantial amount of green space in most areas except downtown. The city offers a wide variety of shopping and entertainment for visitors, including the Riverchase Galleria (the home of LOG29), one of the best botanical gardens in the country, and numerous museums and parks. We hope you enjoy your visit to the Magic City and LOG29, and offer the following suggestions for activities during your stay. Also be sure to check out our review of Birmingham restaurants.

Vulcan Park

High atop Red Mountain, overlooking downtown from his lofty perch, stands the statue of Vulcan, the unique and enduring symbol of Birmingham. Vulcan, the god of fire and metalworking, was the "working god" in the Roman pantheon who created tools and thunderbolts for the other gods. Some see him as the hero of the working people, and especially the steel workers who were the backbone of this city's economy in the mid-1900's. With his spear thrust defiantly toward the sky, I have always seen him as a symbol of the indomitable spirit of this great city and the South.

Vulcan was conceived by local civic leaders as a means of showcasing the regions rich mineral resources and growing steel industry at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. Crafted by the Italian-born sculptor Giuseppe Moretti, the 56 foot statue was cast by a local foundry from iron mined on Red Mountain, the very mountain that would later be the site of Vulcan Park. Originally designed to be 50 feet tall, Moretti increased the height by 6 feet after learning that a statue of Buddha in Tokyo stood 52 feet tall. Vulcan remains the largest cast metal statue in the world and the largest statue ever constructed in the USA. Vulcan was a big hit at the fair and captured the grand prize in the Mines and Metallurgy Exhibit.

After the world's fair, Vulcan was shipped back to Birmingham and was displayed for many years at the state fairgrounds before finally finding a home atop a 124 foot pedestal constructed on Red Mountain in 1939. The elements took their toll on the statue over the next 60 years. In 1999, the risk of structural failure had become so severe that the statue was removed from its perch and a restoration of the statue and pedestal begun. Fortunately, the project is finished and Vulcan will once again command the Birmingham skyline in time for Vulcan's 100th birthday and LOG29!

Directions: From the Riverchase Galleria, exit the mall on the East side and turn left onto US-31. Travel North 7.9 miles on US-31 and turn left on 29th Avenue South. Travel West 0.3 miles and turn right on 18th Street South. Travel North 0.6 miles and turn left on Valley View Drive (note: this is a 5-point intersection with 2 lefts). Travel 0.1 miles to the entrance of Vulcan Park.
Address: 20th Street South and Valley Avenue
Web Site: http://vulcanpark.org/
Phone: 205.933.1409

Birmingham Botanical Garden

Where can you follow a trail of wildflowers running alongside a stream, wander through a maze of roses, and find yourself at a Japanese teahouse or Zen garden, all within an hour or two? All this and more awaits you at the Birmingham Botanical Garden. Spanning 67 acres in the beautiful Mountain Brook community, the garden features an internationally acclaimed Japanese garden with an authentic tea house, a stream feeding a coy pond, and a large collection of bonsai trees. Other features include a fern glade, an Alabama woodlands area, and traditional rose gardens. Original artwork and sculptures can be found throughout the gardens. The garden center houses a gift shop, horticulture library, meeting areas, and the charming Café de France. A trip to the garden and lunch at the cafe is planned for any interested ladies attending LOG29.

Directions: From the Riverchase Galleria, exit the mall on the East side and turn left onto US-31. Travel North 7,9 miles on US-31 and turn right on Hollywood Boulevard. Travel East 0.8 miles and turn left on Cahaba Road. Travel 0.1 miles and bear right on Lane Park Road.
Address: 2612 Lane Park Road, Birmingham, AL 35223
Web Site: http://www.bbgardens.org/
Phone: 205.414.3900,

Birmingham Zoo

The Birmingham Zoo is home to over 700 animals from many continents, including many endangered species. The zoo features nesting pairs of bald eagles and several rare species of cranes, as well as an alligator habitat.

Directions: Adjacent to the botanical garden.
Address: 2630 Cahaba Road, Birmingham, AL 35223
Web Site: http://www.birminghamzoo.com/
Phone: 205.879.0409

Birmingham Museum of Art

The Birmingham Museum of Art is the largest municipal museum in the Southeast, with more than 21,000 works of art on permanent display spanning the history of art from from 5000 BC to the present. The collection features the work of Gainsborough, Monet, Courbel, and Rodin. The exhibit "A Town of the Creek Nation" opens September 6, just in time for LOG.

Directions: From the Riverchase Galleria, exit the mall on the East side, turn left onto US-31. Immediately move to the right lane and turn right on I-459. Travel East 1.5 miles to exit #15, I-65 North. Travel North 10 miles on I-65 to exit #260B and continue on 11th Street North. Travel 0.4 miles and turn right on 8th Avenue North. Travel 0.8 miles to the museum.
Address: 2000 8th Avenue North, Birmingham, AL 35203
Web Site: http://www.artsbma.org/
Phone: 205.254.2566

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute attempts to portray the city's turbulent past in a healing and non-divisive manner, while portraying the harsh truth about racism. The institute documents the efforts of both celebrated leaders and unsung foot soldiers in the fight against segregation. Their eyewitness accounts and memorabilia document the march toward freedom. The institute is both a time capsule, and a modern day think-tank that seeks solutions to racial and ethnic problems around the world.

Directions: From the Riverchase Galleria, exit the mall on the East side, turn left onto US-31. Immediately move to the right lane and turn right on I-459. Travel East 1.5 miles to I-65 North. Travel North 9 miles to exit #260B and turn right on 3rd Avenue. Travel East 0.5 miles and turn left on 16th Street. Travel North 0.2 miles to the institute.
Address: 520 16th Street North, Birmingham, AL 35203
Web Site: http://bcri.bham.al.us/
Phone: 205.328.9696

Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum

The Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum is dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and operation of historically significant railway equipment. The museum features operating standard gauge and narrow gauge trains, two restored depots, an indoor collection of railroad artifacts and memorabilia, and an outdoor collection of railroad cars, locomotives, and cabooses. The museum operates two passenger railroads. The Shelby & Southern railroad is a narrow-gauge line running through the Alabama woodland's and features the state's only operating steam locomotive. The Shelby & Southern operates every Saturday from 11 AM to 3 PM. Regular trips take approximately 15 minutes and all seats are $3. The Calera & Shelby railroad is a standard-gauge, diesel-powered line running 10 miles round trip on a former branch of the Louisville & Nashville railroad. Trains depart at 11 AM, 1 PM, and 2 PM every Saturday and at 1 PM and 2 PM on Sunday, September 5. Regular trips take approximately 45 minutes and the adult fare is $10. For an additional fare you can ride in the locomotive or caboose!

Directions: From the Riverchase Galleria, exit the mall on the East side, turn left onto US-31. Immediately move to the right lane and turn right on I-459. Go East 1.5 miles to exit #15, I-65 South. Go South 19 miles to exit #231. Bear right onto 1st Street North. Go 2.7 miles and turn left on 17th Avenue. Go 0.2 miles and turn right on 9th Street. Go 0.2 miles to the museum.
Address: 1919 9th Street, Calera, AL 35040
Web Site: http://www.heartofdixierrmuseum.org/
Phone: 205.668.3435