Microtel 35209
251 Summit Parkway Birmingham, Alabama 35209
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| | This medium-sized city, Alabama's largest, is set | important as Pittsburgh, and a tribute to that role |
| | in the rolling foothills of the Appalachian | was the 55-ft/17-m cast-iron statue of Vulcan atop |
| | Mountains. It has several universities, the | Red Mountain. Said to be the largest cast-iron |
| | prestigious University of Alabama Medical Center | statue in the world, it's been taken down for |
| | and an impressive range of cultural offerings. | restoration, but keep your eye out for Vulcan's |
| | | return. |
| | The city projects a composed atmosphere today, | |
| | but things were not always so tranquil: Birmingham | You'll want to see Sloss Furnaces, as well. Now a |
| | came to the world's attention in 1963, when | National Historic Landmark, these blast furnaces |
| | images of sit-ins, civil-rights protests and the brutal | have been turned into a museum devoted to |
| | response of its police chief, Bull Connor, were | industrial history specifically, the forging of iron in |
| | broadcast on the evening news. Thanks in part to | the early 20th century. The great smokestacks |
| | the sympathy provoked by those images, civic | and stoves make an impressive and eerie sight. |
| | leaders were forced to negotiate with the | (Rock concerts are frequently held there.) |
| | protestors, and Birmingham became the site of | |
| | one of the first big victories of the civil-rights | Birmingham's McWane Center focuses on |
| | movement. | science, technology and the environment. Visitors |
| | | can play in the many interactive exhibits as well as |
| | At the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the city | see a movie in the IMAX theater. If the kids get |
| | remembers that turbulent period. We recommend | tired of educational attractions, take them to |
| | a visit we think its exhibits, which depict race | VisionLand, Birmingham's theme park. The |
| | relations in the South from the 1920s until the | 70-acre/30-hectare park has thrill rides, a |
| | present, are more compelling and informative | waterpark, a children's area and an amphitheater. |
| | than those of the National Civil Rights Museum, in | |
| | Memphis, Tennessee. The institute is more than a | The Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame honors jazz |
| | museum: It serves as a resource for educators | greats who have ties to the state and tells the story |
| | and scholars. You may also want to stroll through | of jazz from its beginning to the present. Shoppers |
| | lovely Kelly Ingram Park (across from the institute), | may want to visit Riverchase Galleria, which has |
| | which was the gathering place for civil-rights | close to 200 stores. |
| | demonstrators in the 1960s. The site where police | |
| | turned the high-pressure water hoses and dogs | Because of its central location, many visitors use |
| | on demonstrators is memorialized with several | Birmingham as a base from which to tour other |
| | statues (which are controversial among residents, | attractions. Some of the more popular day trips |
| | some of whom feel the statues promote fear and | are to Tuscaloosa, Huntsville and Cullman. |
| | hatred). Also within walking distance of the institute | Cullman is a farming and light-manufacturing town |
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