Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Other city
Birmingham (population 212,038)
Sales tax
4%, but up to 11% with local taxes
Birthplace of
Author Helen Keller (1880-1968), civil rights activist Rosa Parks
(1913-2005), musician Hank Williams (1923-53)
Home of
US Space & Rocket Center
Politics
Republican stronghold - Alabama hasn't voted Democratic since 1976
Famous for
Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights movement
Bitter rivalry
South vs North (yes, still!), University of Alabama vs Auburn
University
Driving distances
Montgomery to Birmingham 91 miles, Mobile to Dauphin Island
38 miles, Mobile to Tuscaloosa 196 miles
TOP OF CHAPTER
Birmingham
No one can ignore Birmingham's checkered past - civil rights violence earned it the
nickname 'Bombingham.' Yet this midsize, blue-collar city will show you a good time,
has a surprising amount of culture, and has integrated its civil rights struggle into the
tourist experience. Such perspective, and a bustling economy - Mercedes Benz manufac-
tures here - has allowed the city to look forward, and become modern, open and new.
Sights & Activities
Art-deco buildings in trendy
Five Points South
house shops, restaurants and nightspots.
Equally noteworthy is the newer and more upscale
Homewood
community's quaint
commercial drag on 18th St S, close to the Vulcan who looms illuminated above the city
and is visible from nearly all angles, day and night.
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
MUSEUM
(
www.bcri.org
;
520 16th St N; adult/senior/child $12/5/3, Sun free; 10am-5pm Tue-Sat, 1-5pm
Sun)
A maze of moving audio, video and photography exhibits tell the story of racial se-
gregation in America, and the Civil Rights movement - with a focus on activities in and
around Birmingham. There's an extensive exhibit on the 16th Street Baptist Church
bombing in 1963, and it's the beginning of the city's new Civil Rights Memorial Trail.