Today’s post is 1500 words, 32 photos, a 7 minute read. Enjoy!

Hi everyone,

This week I’ll take you to Birmingham’s Lyric Theater, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark, and the farewell party at “The Club.”

If you missed the first two posts in this series click here and here.

Birmingham

Before I continue the tour around Birmingham, here’s a little about the city and the surrounding area. Named after Birmingham, England, the Alabama version was founded in 1871. Prior to incorporation, the area was home to the Creek and Cherokee Native Americans who lived along the rivers and fertile valleys. In the early 1800s, after the Native Americans were removed, settlers began moving in to establish farms and the area became known as Jones Valley after one of the first farmers. Jones Valley, later Birmingham, remained largely rural until the discovery of rich deposits of iron ore, coal, and limestone. This would lead to extensive industrial development and years of prosperity.

Today the City of Birmingham is home to about 200,000 people, the second largest city in Alabama. The Greater Birmingham area has a total population of 1.2 million in six surrounding counties and 26 municipalities. Between 65 and 70% of the residents of the City of Birmingham are African American, about 25% White, and smaller percentages are Hispanic, Asian, or multiracial. The median income of the city residents is roughly around $50,000. Meanwhile the makeup of surrounding suburbs are mainly White, about 80%, with 10-15% African American, and smaller percentages of other ethnic groups. Median income in the suburbs runs around $100,000.

After the decline of the steel industry, Birmingham has reinvented itself into a diverse, service oriented city with a growing knowledge economy. Healthcare and biomedical research, led by UAB (University of Alabama-Birmingham) and its medical complex, are now the city’s largest economic drivers and employers. In addition, finance, banking, and insurance sectors have contributed  significantly to the revitalization of Birmingham’s downtown. In the greater metro area, advanced manufacturing remains important with auto production (Autocar, Mercedes, and Honda), retail, and business services. Birmingham has gained national attention for its culinary scene, tourism, outdoor recreation, and culture.

Now back to the tour.

The Lyric Theater

Do you remember Gary who appeared in last week’s article from our tour of the Alabama Theater? Well, he’s back with a tour of the Lyric Theater that is owned by the same non-profit. Gary talked about the history of the Lyric. It was built in 1914 for vaudeville and was open until the late 1970s when it was abandoned. Performers such as Jack Benny and Milton Berle filled the theater seats. It should be noted that the Lyric was one of the first theaters in the South where Blacks and Whites could view the same show, although seating was segregated.

In the early 1990s, the theater was purchased for $10 by the non-profit Birmingham Landmarks. They raised funds and conducted an extensive renovation reopening the theater in 2016. With 750 seats, the Lyric hosts primarily performing arts shows such as operas, symphonies, ballet, and theater productions. 

I didn’t take a lot of photos during our tour. The theater is grand with interesting architectural features. Gary provided another excellent tour filled with details and humor.

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

From the Lyric, we walked the few blocks to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Founded in 1992, this institute is a living memorial to showcase the past civil and human rights struggles to help build a better future. It is both a museum and education center.

We were met and briefed by Shawana, a staff member of the BCRI. She provided an overview of some of the things we would see while walking through the exhibits. She mentioned that since it opened its doors over 2 million people have visited, about 150,000 every year. 

From the beginning, we were reminded about the profound differences experienced by African Americans. It was supposed to be separate but equal but that was a slogan, not a reality for our Black brothers and sisters. The next few photos demonstrate those differences.

As I mentioned in last week’s blog post, Birmingham became known as “Bombingham” due to the many bombs set off by White supremacists to terrorize the Black community.

The exhibit on Rosa Parks was very profound. Her arrest for failing to give up her bus seat to a White man set off a bus boycott in Montgomery that lasted nearly 400 days. Civil rights leaders organized a car ride sharing system that provided private transportation for Black workers much to the chagrin of White leaders.

One of my favorite parts of the museum was listening to the “I Have A Dream” speech delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the 1963 March on Washington. It’s one I never get tired of hearing. His well regarded “Letter from Birmingham Jail” spoke to “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Another powerful message that will resonate through the ages.

At the end of walk through of the museum, we came to the last exhibit of artwork that illustrated the Civil Rights Movement. Another favorite part of the museum.

As we left the BCRI, I picked up a couple of brochures. One was a project to plant Black Cherry trees throughout Jefferson County where Birmingham is located. The trees honor the county’s 33 documented lynching victims. The other brochure was produced by the Voter Eduction Project of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on the rights, duties, and responsibilities of good citizenship. The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is highlighted. A good reminder of our duties as citizens of this country.

Upon leaving the BCRI, I snapped another photo of the 16th Street Baptist Church across the street. It was a sunny clear pleasant day in Birmingham.

Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark

After enjoying lunch outdoors at a brewery, we toured the Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark on the edge of central Birmingham. The Historic Landmark designation is recognized by the National Park Service but not managed directly by NPS. The City of Birmingham operates Sloss as a museum preserving its industrial past, arts center, and event venue. In fact, staff were setting up for an event that evening.

Admission to the Sloss Furnaces is free. Our guide for the afternoon was Ty. He told us Sloss began operating in 1882 and shut down production in 1971. During its heyday, Sloss produced 900 tons of iron from 3.5 million pounds of iron ore per day and used about five million gallons of water to cool furnaces and create steam power. The furnaces ran 24/7 requiring up to 100 workers a shift to keep everything functioning. While it provided jobs for former slaves and immigrants, there was a history of racial disparities and dangerous working conditions. The many steel mills around Birmingham contributed to significant air and water pollution in the city. 

We passed the Casting Shed that now houses the world renowned Metal Arts Program. There were a couple of students working on projects.

I was amazed at all the patterns, lines, and textures presented by the boilers, furnaces, blast stoves, and blowers. It was fantastic photography.

All this equipment was used to turn iron ore into pig iron and eventually all kinds of cast iron and steel products.

Near the end of the tour Ty pointed out the artwork that is being created by metal artists. Here’s one example. Our tour was a few days before Halloween.

This was another interesting tour that brought out the history of Birmingham as an industrial giant. I highly recommend if you visit Birmingham in the future.

A Fond Farewell

That evening we attended the farewell party organized by the Friendship Force of  Birmingham that was held at The Club at the top of Red Mountain overlooking the City of Birmingham. The Club is a historic private club known for its elegant atmosphere, city views, and fine dining. Since it was close to Halloween, we were asked to dress in ethnic wear. My Traveling Partner and I wore matching traditional Ukrainian embroidered shirts. Our host, Arlene wore traditional Italian folk dress.

We enjoyed the meal and program. As we were leaving I snapped this photo of the night view of Birmingham as seen from Red Mountain.

The next morning we would depart for Selma and Montgomery with some of the members of our Friendship Force delegation.

Before I leave you, later this week will begin the new year. So I wish you and your family a very happy and prosperous 2026. I salute you with a selfie I took at Oktoberfest in Munich.

Prost!

The Five Senses Plus One

Saw – Renovated theater, Civil Rights Institute, artwork

Heard – MLK I Have A Dream speech, traffic noises, leaf blowers, clatter at The Club, middle school kids chattering

Touch – buttons at BCRI, theater seats, old machines at Sloss

Smell – clean air, gas fumes, food cooking

Taste – lentils for breakfast, hot dog, orange roll

Learned – a lot about the civil rights movement, industry in Birmingham

Until next week, happy travels!

Tom

PS: Click here for a link to the post about my book “Farm Boy.” Contact me if you are interested in purchasing a copy. Thanks to all have plunked down your hard earned dollars and read the book. TM