Birmingham For Lovers

Birmingham rides the rich wooded foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, a series of ridges running northeast to southwest, giving the area dramatic topography.

Couples like being in Birmingham. This is a generous city, blessed with its geographical good fortune, its stock of year round entertainment, and especially its irresistible Southernness. With a metropolitan population of nearly a million people, this is also a big city. Birmingham, however, embodies that Southern trait of counting family and friends important, not population statistics.

City Features/Architecture

Though Birmingham stands in the heart of the Deep South, it is not an Old South city. Founded in 1871 at the crossing of two railroad lines, the city blossomed through the early 1900s as it rapidly became the South’s foremost industrial center. Iron and steel production were a natural for Birmingham; underground lay abundant key ingredients---coal, iron ore and limestone. As an industry town, Birmingham suffered greatly in the Depression.

After World War II the city grew moderately while retaining its strong Southern character. At the same time a profound movement toward diversification was afoot. The huffing and puffing of Birmingham’s legendary iron and steel mills gradually was replaced by a work force of medical and engineering professionals. Today, Birmingham enjoys a balance of manufacturing and service-oriented jobs in a thriving work force.

The traditional heart of Birmingham’s downtown is an 85-square-block zone encompassing an interesting blend of architectural periods and styles. Early 1900s skyscrapers are within view of their striking contemporary counterparts, and quiet neighborhoods are nestled in the woods just minutes away.

On a plateau between Red Mountain and the city center is one of Birmingham’s most celebrated historic neighborhoods, Five Points South. This charming district, incorporated as the Town of Highland in 1887, has always been something of a place apart. Focused on a landmark circle, Five Points South is an intriguing collection of architectural styles including Spanish Baroque and Art Deco. Streets radiating off the circle are similarly blessed with a lively mix of old and new buildings now animated by more than a dozen restaurants and bars, specialty shops, a hotel and a theater.

Tourist Attractions/Sightseeing

Birmingham has been doubly blessed with the recent openings of two major attractions. VisionLand, Alabama’s first amusement park, opened to rave reviews. Roller coaster enthusiasts around the country are hailing the park’s Rampage as one of the best wooden coaster rides anywhere. VisionLand is one of only a few genuine “theme-parks,” with an industrial-themed water park, a nod to Birmingham’s early steel industry.

At McWane Center, science becomes an adventure. McWane’s new IMAX dome theater treats viewers to the spectacular, realistic film magic that IMAX is famous for. Visitors to McWane also can explore the World of Water, the Challenger Learning Center and ScienceQuest, an assembly of interactive science exhibits including a ten-foot-tall tornado.

For visitors who live to shop, the Riverchase Galleria, one of the country’s largest shopping malls, offers an upscale assortment of shopping adventures. The Galleria has the world’s longest skylight spanning huge anchor stores along with 200 specialty shops and eateries.

At the Birmingham Zoo a collection of nearly a thousand animals, many rare and unusual, entertains all the family. Across the street the Birmingham Botanical Gardens blanket 80 acres with 24 different gardens including the Japanese Garden with ceremonial teahouse.

History buffs will enjoy Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark, where millions of tons of pig iron flowed until the furnaces ceased operation in 1971. The facility is now open for public use and has been carefully preserved and developed as an industrial museum. There is also the interesting speculation that Sloss is haunted by a furnace worker who died a grisly death in molten iron.

Birmingham is filled with stories from the history of African-American citizens here. The city’s prominent part in America’s Civil Rights Movement is the story most often told. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is a comprehensive look at the nation’s journey toward equal rights for all citizens and includes galleries highlighting Birmingham’s momentous role in the movement. The centerpiece of the city’s Civil Rights District, the institute faces historic Kelly Ingram Park and is across the street from the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, site of the infamous race-related bombing in 1963. The nearby Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame resides in the historic Carver Theater and honors jazz greats with ties to Alabama.

Appropriately situated near the Birmingham International Airport, the Southern Museum of Flight preserves equipment and information from the Southeast’s aviation history. Sports fans enjoy exploring the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Museum. This home for heroes includes memorabilia from the late University of Alabama Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, a tribute to Olympic great Jesse Owens, and other displays showcasing the careers of Alabama-connected sports figures.

Fans of racing get the fun out of the starting gate at the Birmingham Race Course, with year round live and simulcast greyhound racing. Some of the best golf in the region can be found on public courses in the area, including the handsome Oxmoor Valley courses, Birmingham’s link in the state’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.

These places of interest are only a sampling of many sights to see in the greater Birmingham area. Others topping the list include the Alabama Theater, a 1920s movie palace showing classics on the big screen.

Sports/Special Events

Birmingham has long been known as the “Football Capital of the South.” The meaning of that nickname was expanded when Birmingham successfully hosted international soccer competition at Legion Field during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. The Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex regularly hosts nationally prestigious basketball events and championships. The Birmingham Barons are the city’s AA professional baseball team and Michael Jordan’s 1994 home in his second sports career. In April each year the city plays host to the Senior PGA Tour with the highly acclaimed Bruno’s Memorial Classic at Greystone Golf Club.

The annual Birmingham International Festival is the world’s oldest and largest continuing arts celebration. Each year the festival salutes a different country through presentations of customs and culture in the form of dance performances, musical tributes, lectures, art exhibits and a street fair.

City Stages is Birmingham’s enormously popular annual music and folklife festival. Each May, dozens of nationally prominent musical acts join Alabama musicians and craftsmen to celebrate the state’s musical and cultural bloodlines.

Birmingham’s extensive musical roots are also celebrated at the annual Birmingham Heritage Festival, the largest ethnic festival in Alabama.

Other annual events include the German community’s Oktoberfest and the Greek Food Festival. The prestigious Bluff Park Art Show is one of dozens of arts and crafts fairs that appear throughout the year. The Arlington Country Fair and Christmas at Arlington are staged at beautiful Arlington Antebellum Home and Gardens. The hands-down winner of the wildest Birmingham event is the annual Do-Dah-Day Parade and Party benefitting the local Humane Society.

Venturing Out From the City

If time allows, visitors to the area can explore historical and natural attractions just minutes from Birmingham. Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park, about 25 minutes from Birmingham, is a reflection of Alabama life in the 1800s. It was at Tannehill Ironworks that Confederate forces rolled iron from the cast sheds to produce cannon and ordnance during the Civil War. Also on the grounds are 19th century pioneer homes, farm buildings, crafts cabins and an operating grist mill.

About 20 minutes from downtown Birmingham, Oak Mountain State Park borders a magnificent lake for swimming, fishing and canoeing. Golf, tennis and mountain bike trails also lure visitors for recreation at Oak Mountain. More excellent recreation takes place on the pristine waters of the Cahaba River, where the Cahaba River Society regularly offers canoe trips along this stretch of water.

Climate/What to Wear

Contrary to the notion that the South is always hot, Birmingham enjoys four distinct seasons. The annual average temperature ranges from a high of 72.7 degrees Fahrenheit to a low of 51.3 degrees. The area’s brief winter brings rain and sometimes a little snow. A lovely extended spring finds daffodils and forsythia blooming in late February or early March, with dogwood and azaleas icing the city in April. Summer has usual daytime temperatures in the upper 80s and low 90s, sometimes warmer, moderated by woodland cover in residential areas. A long comfortable fall presents a splendid show of autumn color. Dress lightly from mid-spring to mid-fall, and be prepared for chilly weather throughout the other months.

Dining/Entertainment

Birmingham is a city of people who love to cook and love to eat, so the city offers a selection of very good restaurants. No need to stereotype dining in the South; French, Italian, regional American, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Oriental cuisine are very much at home in Birmingham dining rooms. Also look for Southern favorites---fried chicken, barbequed ribs, deep dish cobbler---served homestyle for the hungry.

The Arts and Entertainment

Out of Birmingham’s transition from an industrial to a service oriented community arose a big-city sort of appreciation for things cultural, a fertile environment for the arts. Birmingham’s multifaceted arts community stages a year round schedule of entertainment. The State of Alabama Ballet, based in Birmingham, is a full-time professional dance company.

The city has more than a half dozen professional theatrical companies, including the Birmingham Children’s Theater which introduces the world of the stage to more than 100,000 children every year. The Alabama Symphony Orchestra, a professional opera company and contemporary dance ensemble add to the Birmingham arts scene. The Birmingham Museum of Art is one of the city’s finest cultural blessings and the largest municipal art museum in the Southeast. Along with a number of significant visiting exhibitions, the museum permanently holds the world’s largest museum display of Wedgwood pieces, as well as impressive collections of Asian and African art.

Celebrations of all sorts are carried on in Birmingham nightclubs. Expect the expected fern and sparkling water bars but look for more. Good, some even great music is regularly going down in small out-of-the-way clubs on the city’s Southside and downtown. At other places jazz and blues, cover bands and alternative music entertain. A host of nationally-known music acts fill the schedule all year at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, Oak Mountain Amphitheater, the Alabama Theater and in larger music halls around town.

To receive visitor information on the greater Birmingham area before your arrival, call toll free in the U.S. 888-SO-SWEET; outside the U.S. call 205-458-8000. You can also visit www.birminghamal.org.

For information on the state of Alabama, call toll free 800-ALABAMA. For assistance when you arrive, stop by one of three local Visitor Centers operated by the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau: in the Riverchase Galleria; on the lower level of the Birmingham International Airport; and downtown near the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex at 2200 Ninth Avenue North.