Auburn University’s Urban Studio

While Auburn University’s Rural Studio gets plenty of attention, its counterpart, Birmingham-based Urban Studio, has also made a lasting and beneficial impact on Alabama communities. The Urban Studio was founded in 1991 as an outreach initiative to seek out projects to engage students and make Birmingham and Alabama towns a better place to live. Its Small Town Design Initiative, developed by former Urban Studio Director Cheryl Morgan, expanded the Urban Studio philosophy of promoting good design and planning statewide, serving more than 70 Alabama neighborhoods and communities. Alex Krumdieck is director.

Photo Credit: Auburn University’s Urban Studio

The INBirmingham campaign

Simplicity is often best in graphic design. That certainly proved true with an ad campaign for the Birmingham Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. In 2007, Big Communications decided to capitalize on the name of the city itself, the “IN” in the word Birmingham. Those two letters boxed in red became the campaign’s logo. A public relations campaign was then launched to discover all the “IN” places in Birmingham. This got the community involved and generated a lot of pride. Big Communication’s ad campaign was a win-win for Birmingham and an example of how the simplest ideas are often the most effective.

Photo Credit: Big Communications & Birmingham Convention and Visitor’s Bureau

ConnectLivity Maps and Books

Discovering the best Alabama has to offer takes time, effort and a bit of luck. Word-of-mouth or coming across a magazine article will provide information, but chances are you’ll never be aware of everything to see and do that’s great in the state. With DesignAlabama’s ConnectLivity, all the work is done. A 12-pack of destination itineraries with maps is available or one can select a coffee table book with all 12 itineraries plus information about each destination. Each itinerary has a different theme such as arts, architecture, crafts, Civil Rights and family fun, and each contains helpful tips. All you need to hit the road and experience Alabama to the fullest.

Photo Credit: Copperwing Design

Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.

“We demand the very best from our clients!” This quote, a manifesto for art over commerce, is from letterpress printer and bookmaker Amos Paul Kennedy Jr., the subject of the documentary film “Proceed and Be Bold.” Kennedy calls himself “a humble Negro printer” whose work conveys a fierce sense of social justice. Cliff Meador, head of the master’s program in book arts at Columbia College in Chicago, calls Kennedy’s posters “beautiful, provocative and powerful… ” His graphic design uses bold blocks of text over layers of pale transparent imagery. His messages reflecting African-American history include “Rosa Louise Parks 1913-2005” and “We who believe in freedom cannot rest.” Formerly based in Gordo in Pickens County, Kennedy has relocated to Detroit.

Photo Credit: mnbookarts.org

Birmingham: Bib & Tucker

Bib & Tucker Sew-Op in Birmingham is keeping the longtime tradition of the sewing circle alive. Its mission is to provide a place for people to come together who want to sew in the role of either teacher or student. Founded by Annie Bryant and Lillis Taylor, Bib & Tucker Sew-Op has developed a sewing-based cottage industry to provide income and flexible working conditions for women who head their households. Several programs and workshops are offered, including youth programs. A nonprofit organization, Bib & Tucker is funded through grants and charitable contributions.

Photo Credit: Bib & Tucker Sew-Op

Birmingham: Biscuit Leather Company

In her studio adapted from a 100-year-old shotgun house in Birmingham, Becky Stayner handcrafts leather goods that are “soft and buttery like a fresh hot biscuit.” Hence the name Biscuit Leather Company, where leather is cut, punched, stitched and finished by hand to create bags, totes, clutches, belts and other artisan leather goods. These are simple, one-of-a-kind creations that improve with age. Country Living magazine placed the Biscuit Leather Company at No. 9 in its 2018 “The Country’s Most Creative” list.

Photo Credit: Biscuit Leather Company

Florence: Billy Reid

An issue of GQ magazine features a photo of actor Benedict Cumberbatch in a moss green corduroy shirt. The actor never looked better. The shirt was created by Florence-based fashion designer Billy Reid, one of only four designers to have won three or more CFDA Awards. Reid brings a regional sensibility to his brand that W magazine calls “Southern Gentleman sartorialism.” Headquarters is an old building in downtown Florence. Along with designing clothes, Reid hosts an annual event called Shindig, “a multicultural weekend of fashion, art, food, music & friends” held at locations throughout Alabama including Muscle Shoals. For Reid, music, place and fashion are inseparable.

Photo Credit: Billy Reid

Florence: Idyllwilde

Indigo dye is an organic compound that creates some of the most beautiful shades of blue – colors that make chemical dyes pale in comparison. At Idyllwilde – a design company and workshop studio based in Florence – indigo and other plant-based dyes and natural fiber textiles are used to create clothing, accessories and home provisions. Clothing is cut and sewn in small batches and many are made to order. Founder Nadene Mairesse also offers workshops on using plant-based dyes, plant-based printing and denim repair.

Photo Credit: cosmopolitan-corn-bread.com

Montgomery: Brooks Barrow

Stone carving might be the world’s oldest three-dimensional art form and one that self-taught stone sculptor Brooks Barrow has mastered with his elegant stone vessels and sculptural objects made of Alabama limestone and marble. Though Barrow primarily works with native limestone and marble, he also carves granite and slate to make his one-of-a-kind pieces that are freeform and not turned on a lathe. Old world techniques and traditional tools are used to create functional objects and works of art that have a modern, minimalist aesthetic.

Photo Credit: Brooks Barrow

Moulton: Red Land Cotton

For three generations the Yeager family has been doing their part to keep Alabama’s cotton industry alive, growing cotton in the rich, red soil at the foot of the Bankhead National Forest. They harvest their fine homegrown cotton and turn it into bed sheets, pillow covers, bath towels and other high-quality home linens. Farm-to-home produced products also include other items for the bed, bath and kitchen. Their heirloom-inspired bed lines are recreations of those made and enjoyed nearly a century ago.

Photo Credit: Red Land Cotton

Howard Garrett

For years considered the “face of industrial design in Alabama,” Bessemer native Howard Garrett graduated with a degree in industrial design from Auburn University in 1950 and then worked in the store planning and fixture industry. In 1960, the World War II Army veteran founded Howard Garrett & Associates Inc., which provided store, product and fixture design services to the national retail market. The firm evolved in 1981 into HGA Products, which provided total store interior design services to global clients such as Estée Lauder Companies Inc. and all of the custom store case work for Tiffany worldwide.

Photo Credit: Howard Garrett

Brad Lugar

Part of Birmingham’s flourishing beer scene is Steel City Taps, a design and production company started by Auburn University 2013 industrial design graduate and Alabama native Brad Lugar. The company’s main focus is the design and production of custom, hand-painted tap handles, along with branding and promotional materials with all products made in-house. Steel City has created taps for a number of breweries nationwide. The company is also working with several microbrewers to help with their marketing and branding needs through the use of keg collars, stickers, web pages and other means.

Photo Credit : Brad Lugar

Birmingham: UAB Campus Recreation Center

Designed by Williams Blackstock Architects in association with CannonDesign, the UAB Campus Recreation Center is a 152,000-square-foot facility that serves as a hub promoting health and fitness. A main feature is the interior jogging track, which runs throughout the building giving joggers views of the campus, as well as the city to the south and the mountains beyond. All of the activities taking place inside are on display, thanks to the large expanse of exterior glass. The $22 million project received several awards including the 2007 Honor Award, Institutional from Birmingham Chapter, AIA.

Photo Credit: Williams Blackstock Architects

Huntsville: Leroy Pope Mansion

Alabama was not yet a state when the Leroy Pope Mansion in Huntsville was built in 1814. The oldest documented mansion in Alabama, it was built for Pope, who was part of Huntsville’s early development. Architect George Steele is credited with the design, which includes a Classical-Revival portico with Federal-style ornamentation. Construction materials were brought from Tennessee on flatboats and transported to the site by wagons. Pope hosted a public dinner on the lawn for General Andrew Jackson, who was passing through on return from the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. The house is owned by descendants and leased to the University of Alabama in Huntsville as its president’s house.

Photo Credit: Lewis Kennedy

Brewton: Bank of Brewton

Recognized as Alabama’s oldest bank, the Bank of Brewton opened in January 1889 and continues to operate, though it has since moved into an adjacent newer building. The original two-story brick building remains a local landmark with its façade of imported white tile decorated with a green border. Inside, the counters are made of native curled pine. Brewton citizens were given the best banks had to offer in their day. As noted in a local newspaper article: “large safes, a large fire and burglar proof vault and the very best combination locks made.”

Photo Credit: Lewis Kennedy

Homewood: Homewood Middle School

It’s been proven: well designed schools improve learning and that’s the case with Homewood Middle School. Giattina Aycock Architecture Studio designed the school to connect to its surrounding community and as a standard for environmental sustainability. One entrance is for automobiles and another is a pedestrian bridge that connects the school to the downtown. In 2005, the building became the nation’s first middle school to receive LEED® Silver certification, accomplished under budget and completed six months earlier than scheduled. The project received the LEED® Silver Certification/USGBC Merit Award/AIA.

Photo Credit: GA Studio

Montgomery: Selma-Montgomery March Interpretive Center

A turning point in Alabama’s history is the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March, commemorated at the Montgomery Interpretive Center set to open early 2019. The center is the third of three interpretive centers that connect Selma to Montgomery. Construction was completed in 2017 and the interior exhibit space is being completed by the National Park Service. The center’s primary facade captures the spirit of the march with an 18-foot-tall limestone front wall featuring a sandblasted relief pattern that replicates the march. Designed by Chambless King Architects in Montgomery, the project won the 2018 Excellence in Design Honor Award from AIA Alabama.

Photo Credit: Chambless King Architects

Opelika: South Railroad Avenue/CBD

After decades of decline, many historic downtown districts across Alabama began thriving. It happened with gusto in Opelika. Renovated buildings along South Railroad Avenue and elsewhere downtown now sport colorful awnings and new coats of paint. Once vacant and unmaintained historic properties now flourish as restaurants, art galleries, shops and offices. The Railroad Avenue Historic District was the center of downtown Opelika when the city was incorporated in 1854. South Railroad Avenue remains a vibrant part of Opelika’s commercial core and is the site of several annual city events.

Photo Credit: Opelika Chamber of Commerce

Mt Laurel: Mt Laurel

Architects Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk are synonymous with New Urbanism, having made their mark planning new communities and revitalizing existing ones across America, including Mt Laurel southeast of downtown Birmingham. Mt Laurel is built on a 460-acre wooded parcel with varied typography. The community is divided into three neighborhoods, each a five-minute walk from the edge to the town center. Residents enjoy green spaces, wide sidewalks, hiking trails and free-standing craftsman-style houses. Other traditional building types include small apartment buildings and row-houses with shops below.

Photo Credit: Rip Weaver

Huntsville: First Baptist Church

Whether traditional or modern, the best designed sacred spaces evoke emotion, as does First Baptist Church in Huntsville. Built in the 1960s, the architectural design of the sanctuary presents several theological affirmations. This is reflected in the unusual shape of the building, expanding outward from the pulpit to the outer doors, and the seven arches of the roof. A focal point is the majestic mosaic of Christ created by a Fort Worth stained glass studio that took seven years to complete. The steeple is a Huntsville landmark and part of the skyline. A 48-bell carillon is housed in a free-standing tower.

Photo Credit: Daniel Cathen

Tuskegee: Tuskegee University “The Ave”

As any Tuskegee University alum knows, “Strollin’ down the Ave” means to march along University Avenue which runs through the center of campus and dates back to the days of founder Booker T. Washington. “The Ave” also runs through the middle of the Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site. Walking east to west along the route, one experiences the westward growth of the early campus and key historic landmarks. These include the 1889 Band Cottage, the oldest building on campus; the 1910 Tompkins Hall and White Hall with its original clock tower; and the 1915 George Washington Carver Museum. “The Ave” terminates at the 1922 Booker T. Washington Monument facing the 1901 Kellogg Conference Center and the 1969 Tuskegee Chapel.

Photo Credit: KPS Group, Inc

Decatur: Princess Theater

Talk about adaptive reuse. Decatur’s Princess Theatre was originally built in 1887 as a livery stable. In 1919, the theater became a silent film and vaudeville playhouse. Art Deco flourishes were added later when it became a movie house. A local architect painted the interior in burgundy and gray with glow-in-the-dark murals. Outside the doors, the terrazzo floor is paved in a map of Alabama. The building was renovated after it was purchased by the city of Decatur and became the Princess Theatre Center for the Performing Arts, a popular performing arts venue.

Photo Credit: Princess Theater

Homewood: 18th Street and Central Business District Revitalization Plan

Eighteenth Street South is a traditional main street shopping district in Homewood, a bustling Birmingham suburb incorporated in 1926. A key characteristic is “The Curve,” part of downtown Homewood’s identity but also a traffic problem. The 1992 revitalization plan by KPS Group, Inc preserved The Curve while creating a more pedestrian-friendly outdoor space and improving traffic flow. Other improvements include streetscaping, landscaping and a sign ordinance. The plan was recognized with an Alabama Council AIA Award. The district has been described as being “big on personality.”

Photo Credit: Homewood Chamber of Commerce

Gainesville: Historic District

Before the wide use of railroads, Gainesville thrived as a vital cotton shipping port. It grew so rapidly that by 1840 it had become Alabama’s third largest town. Its bygone role as a bustling inland port is reflected in its two historic districts – the Gainesville Historic District and the Main-Yankee Street Historic District, which contains five contributing properties that predate the Civil War. Among the architectural styles that dominate the two districts are Federal, Greek-Revival and Queen Anne. Gainesville’s oldest building is the Gainesville Presbyterian Church, built in 1837.

Photo Credit: Alabama Historical Commission

Florence: CBD and Court Street

Though best known for its musical legacy, Florence is becoming renowned for its other cultural resources. Southern Living magazine says Florence “oozes creativity, from hometown heroes W.C. Handy (the father of blues) and legendary record producer Sam Phillips to contemporary designers Billy Reid and Natalie Chanin.” Founded in 1818, the college town is revitalizing its downtown area centered on Court Street. The National Register of Historic Places district has many structures built from 1880 to 1920, mainly Revival and Victorian style buildings with bracketed cornices and decorative brickwork.

Photo Credit: Main Street Alabama

Birmingham: Alabama Theatre Interior

Inside the historic Lyric and Alabama theaters in downtown Birmingham’s Theater District are ornate lobbies, stages and Wurlitzer organs. Both theaters were purchased by Birmingham Landmarks and restored to their former grandeur. Built in 1927, the Spanish-Moorish Alabama Theatre was designed to impress with elaborate marble, plaster and gold-leaf detailing, its décor suggesting exotic lands and cultures. The theater was one of Alabama’s first air conditioned buildings, so just imagine stepping inside on a hot day to watch a movie in a space that inspires awe and fantasy. The Alabama Theatre is now a 2,200-seat performing arts venue.

Photo Credit: Lewis Kennedy

Tuskegee: Tuskegee University Chapel Interior

Concerning architecture, Tuskegee University is best known for its Booker T. Washington-era buildings built by students. But the National Historic Site is also home to an internationally renowned work of modern architecture: the Tuskegee University Chapel. Built in 1969 to replace the original 1898 chapel, the monumental brick edifice was designed by famed architect Paul Rudolph and the African-American firm of John A. Welch and Louis Fry, who taught at the Tuskegee Institute. Listed by Southern Living as one of “The South’s Most Beautiful Chapels,” the structure is known for its expansive, light-filled sanctuary – a balance between the “opposite movements of space and light,” as Rudolph described it.

Photo Credit: Lewis Kennedy

Birmingham: Intermodal Facility

The wide overhanging roof of the new two-story Birmingham-Jefferson County transit hub soars over the street, providing shelter from the elements. The $30 million glass-enclosed intermodal station has a long waiting room and seats oriented outward so riders can watch the bus stop for their ride while sheltered by the overhanging roof. Designed by Giattina Aycock Architecture Studio and Hoskins Architecture, the contemporary modern complex has no ornamentation. Instead, everything speaks to the utilitarian aspect of the building. Materials are kept simple and in a neutral palate.

Photo Credit: GA Studio

Birmingham: Guaranty Federal Savings and Loan

The former Guaranty Federal Savings and Loan was housed not in one but two important examples of mid-20th century architecture in downtown Birmingham. The 1948 building designed by Warren, Knight and Davis architects featured an exterior clad in dark-green marble with mirrors, glass and photo-murals dominating the interior walls, along with black and red terrazzo floors. In 1960, the savings and loan’s four-story modern building was designed by Charles McCauley & Associates, a firm that designed many of Birmingham’s significant buildings. New City Church occupied this building from 1995-2010.

Photo Credit: Williams Blackstock Architects

Eufaula: CBD/East Broad Street

Eufaula has one of the state’s largest historic districts with more than 700 structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Remarkably, its central business district along East Broad Street has most of its late 19th and early 20th century buildings intact. Several early structures are open to the public. In 1832, Barbour County was incorporated and two years later Captain Seth Lore began developing the commercial core with three- and four-story buildings along Broad Street.

Photo Credit: Encyclopedia of Alabama

Birmingham: Alabama Power Building

Standing tall at the main entrance of Alabama Power’s early headquarters in Birmingham are three, 8-foot-high, carved-in-place limestone figures representing power, light and heat. Built in 1925, the 16-story Art Deco building was designed by Warren, Knight and Davis of Birmingham. Its limestone entrance portal facing 18th Street is heavily ornamented with stylized Corinthian capitals on the supporting piers. The building also features brick and tile ornamentation at the top and a peaked red tile roof. A 1951 west addition was designed by Birmingham architect Jack Bass Smith. In 1990, a massive complex was added to the north side with a glass atrium.

Photo Credit: Lewis Kennedy

Birmingham: Hugh Kaul Children’s Zoo Phase 1

A delight for every kid at heart (and who isn’t?) is the Junior League of Birmingham-Hugh Kaul Children’s Zoo, a focal point of the Birmingham Zoo. The $15 million exhibit opened in 2005 to coincide with the zoo’s 50th birthday celebration. The children’s zoo features a stream with native fish, a petting zoo, a play area with “leaping fountains” and a hand-crafted carousel designed with 36 hand-carved mounts, each representing an endangered species. It is one of only 30 new carousels created in the world since 1933. The project was designed by Giattina Aycock Architecture Studio and Macknally Land Design.

Photo Credit: GA Studio

Demopolis: Gaineswood

It took 18 years for owner and amateur designer Nathan Whitfield to build Gaineswood, his vast plantation home in Demopolis completed in 1861 on the eve of the Civil War. The exterior features 18 fluted Doric columns and 14 plain square pillars that support three porches, the main portico and the coach gate. Inside the Greek Revival-style home are a series of suites with domed ceilings. Three of the original outbuildings survive. Typical of most antebellum mansions, Gaineswood was built primarily with slave labor. Gaineswood today is a museum operated by the Alabama Historical Commission.

Photo Credit: Lewis Kennedy

Selma: Live Oak Cemetery

One of the most hauntingly beautiful cemeteries found anywhere is Live Oak Cemetery in Selma, with its abundance of weathered statuary and Spanish moss-draped live oaks. The oldest portion was purchased by the township of Selma in 1829 and called West Selma Graveyard. The newer section of the cemetery grounds was purchased in 1877 and combined with the older section to form Live Oak Cemetery. Many prominent local residents are buried here, including U. S. Vice President William Rufus King, one of the founders of Selma, and Benjamin Sterling Turner, Alabama’s first African-American Congressman.

Photo Credit: Alabama Tourism Department

Birmingham: Red Mountain Park

Birmingham lays claim to the largest urban park in the United States. It’s Red Mountain Park, developed on land long exploited by mining. The 1,200-acre park consists of more than 40 miles of trails with a 10-mile rail trail and a four-mile highline trail, a 45-acre commons, a 20-acre lake, reopened interpretive mines and recreation areas. The master plan was developed by the Philadelphia-based firm Wallace, Roberts, & Todd, who worked from a concept by Nimrod Long & Associates in Birmingham. When the park received the ASLA 2012 Honor Award, the jury noted that it is “brave to have something this bold that conveys the social and physical history of Birmingham. It transforms without obliterating.”

Photo Credit: Eddie Freyer

Anniston to Atlanta: Chief Ladiga Trail

Reviews for the Chief Ladiga Trail, Alabama’s first rails-to-trails project, are overwhelmingly positive. “What a great way to see the Alabama countryside.” “A runners/walkers and cyclists delight.” The 33-mile trail stretches from the Alabama-Georgia state line to Anniston and passes through scenic landscape and towns. The Chief Ladiga Trail is on the same rail corridor as the Silver Comet Trail in Georgia. Plans are to join the two trails, creating a 90-mile corridor from just west of Atlanta to Anniston. Ideal for all skill levels, the Chief Ladiga Trail is accessible year-round and dogs are permitted on the trail but must be kept on leash.

Photo Credit: Goodwyn Mills and Cawood

Land Trusts/Forever Wild

Since 1992, the Forever Wild Land Trust has secured more than 255,000 acres of land in Alabama for public use. Its mission is to conserve, connect and care for land and water in Alabama. Since 2010, 100 miles of trails have been completed in Jefferson County. The master plan for the Red Rock Trail System proposes 750 miles of multi-use trails, parks, bike lanes and sidewalks. Once completed, the trail system will consist of seven corridors: Jones Valley and Valley Creek, Village Creek, Five Mile Creek, Shades Creek, Cahaba River, Turkey Creek and Northern Beltway. Current trail projects include the Vulcan Trail extension, the High Ore Line and the Five Mile Creek Greenway.

Photo Credit: Copperwing

Montgomery: Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park

The 250-acre Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park offers three venues in one – the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and the Hannah Daye Ridling Bark Park. Outdoor sculpture is displayed throughout the grounds from the museum’s collection. The renowned Alabama Shakespeare Festival brings professional performances to the park. Bark Park is a park-within-the-park with separate areas to walk dogs. Blount Cultural Park features ponds, walking trails, a natural amphitheater and scenery reminiscent of the English countryside. Shakespearian features include a stone bridge and a thatched-roof storybook-style structure.

Photo Credit: Chris Granger

Bankhead Tunnel, Mobile

Bankhead Tunnel is a road tunnel in Mobile that carries Government Street under the Mobile River from Blakeley Island to downtown Mobile. Constructed in 1938-1940, it features Art Deco-style entrances and a large “flood door” that can close to prevent water from Mobile Bay flooding the tunnel during storm surges. Built in sections, each section was sunk next to the previous section and joined underwater. The depth of clearance is 40 feet for the ship channel over the tunnel. Bankhead Tunnel was the location of a scene in the 1977 Steven Spielberg hit “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” with a character played by actor Richard Dreyfuss driving through the tunnel chasing UFOs.

Photo Credit: Alabama Department of Archives

Red Mountain Expressway

Want a close-hand look at rock formation and a lesson in geologic history? If so, simply drive through the Red Mountain Cut, one of seven National Natural Landmarks in Alabama. “The Cut” was created by blasting through part of Red Mountain in the 1960s to extend the Red Mountain Expressway into downtown Birmingham. Due to high cost and time, engineers discarded a proposal to create a tunnel through the red ore and instead built the Red Mountain Expressway Cut, which exposes geological strata that spans millions of years.

Photo Credit: Internet

Alabama Innovation Engine

Alabama Innovation Engine – the name conveys it all – converting the power of new ideas into motion. Funded by the University of Alabama’s Center for Economic Development and Auburn University’s Urban Studio, the organization is a design-based community development initiative that fosters large scale constructive change by the use of design to encourage economic development in Alabama’s rural communities. The aim is to support communities as they realize the potential of their greatest resources. Partnerships are built between mission-driven organizations and design firms to create opportunities for design to have an impact on local innovation projects.

Photo Credit: Alabama Innovation Engine

Seale: Museum of Wonder

In Renaissance Europe, “cabinets of curiosities” were rooms that housed an eclectic mix of objects. Not what you’d expect to find off Highway 431 in Seale. Butch Anthony’s Museum of Wonder was described by the New York Times as: “A barnful of curiosities — the ‘world’s largest gallbladder,’ a replica of a human skeleton, a stuffed chicken — and more of Mr. Anthony’s artwork, which includes 19th-century portraits painted over with crisp white images of skeletons and old photographs affixed to paintings of mythical creatures of his own imagining.” Nearby is his Drive Thru Museum made from shipping containers with cutout windows that display a 1930s preacher’s tableau depicting hell, a stuffed two-headed chicken and other oddities.

Photo Credit: Alabama News Center

Huntsville: Green Pea Press

Founded by Rachel Lackey as the first community print shop in Alabama, Green Pea Press offers memberships, workshops, demonstrations and field trips, custom printing services, on-site event printing, and sells wholesale and retail items. Its studios and retail shop are located in Huntsville and occupy a building considered to be the nation’s largest independent arts center. One studio provides artists with access to equipment in fine art print media. Another studio, The Pea Pod, offers hand-printed items for sale made in-house by Green Pea Press. Custom screen printing production and workshops take place at a nearby second location.

Photo Credit: Alabama News Center

Greensboro: HERObike

HERObike, a nonprofit bike shop in Greensboro, is dedicated to ending poverty in and around Hale County. Former Victoria’s Secret designer Pam Dorr came up with the idea to put indigenous bamboo to use and create local jobs. The premise is to build a better bike out of bamboo – yes, bamboo – which is lightweight but strong, making it ideal for a bike frame. Bikes are made on site and workshops are offered for people who want to build their own. HERO stands for Hale Empowerment and Revitalization Organization, the nonprofit group that got HERObike up and running.

Photo Credit: Alabama News Center

Florence: Alabama Chanin

With her commitment to preserving design and living arts traditions, it’s no surprise that fashion brand founder Natalie Chanin is called a “slow design pioneer.” Clothing is made of 100 percent organic cotton fabric and reclaimed materials. Garments adorned with exquisite needlework inherent to rural communities are sold at Barney’s and other urbane, upscale stores. The Factory in Florence is home to Alabama Chanin’s flagship store and café, design and production studios, and event space. Her School of Making brings initiatives and educational programs to communities.

Photo Credit: alabamachanin.com

Birmingham: MAKEbhm

Ever been curious to try woodworking, welding, ceramics or screen printing, but lack workspace and tools? At MAKEbhm, everything is provided to give a creative pursuit a go. Classes are offered and space is provided in a collaborative environment. MAKEbhm is the pet project of architect Bruce Lanier and his wife Scottie, who renovated the former RAM tool warehouse in Avondale. Several ways to join: co-work and share office space, studio membership for shared equipment and materials, or a residency that provides space to store equipment and materials and a workplace for daily use. Space is also available for light manufacturing and product design.

Photo Credit: Bruce Lainer /Make Bhm

Montgomery: Shakespeare Gardens

At Shakespeare Gardens in Montgomery, the sights and fragrant smells will take you on a sensory journey back to Elizabethan England. Plants that grew during Shakespeare’s day delight the senses. The 56,700-square-foot garden complex is part of the Wynton M. Blount Cultural Park in Montgomery. Plants and flowers referred to in Shakespeare’s works are part of the landscape design. Roses grow that are mentioned in “Romeo and Juliet,” narcissus from “Antony and Cleopatra” and leek from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Gardens are surrounded by woven wattle fences built by Alabama craftsman, along with trellises, arbors and benches.

Photo Credit: Goodwyn Mills and Cawood

Mobile: Bienville Square

With its ancient live oaks, cast iron fountain, bandstand and diverse historic buildings around its perimeter, Bienville Square in the heart of downtown Mobile is the quintessential Southern square and one that rivals any in Charleston and Savannah. The square dates back to 1824 and was named for French Governor of Louisiana Jean Baptiste de Bienville. Improvements to Bienville Square in the Mobile 2020 Comprehensive Plan include additional ground floor retail for the surrounding buildings, integrated pedestrian paths and more landscaping.

Photo Credit: Chris Granger

Birmingham: Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve and Park

One of Birmingham’s most appealing characteristics is how nature coexists with the city. Seen from downtown Birmingham is the Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve, a 1,040-acre natural park on the northern ridge of Red Mountain. The park contains 14 miles of hiking trails with scenic overlooks, an abandoned limestone quarry and the surface ruins from an old iron ore mine. KPS Group developed the master plan for the nature preserve and designed its 5,800-square-foot Nature Center positioned at the tree tops. The building was awarded a gold certification under the U. S. Green Building Council’s LEED® program. Native animal species cared for at the center were injured and unable to exist in the wild.

Photo Credit: Exofficio.com

Birmingham: Linn Park

Birmingham’s first city plan in 1871 shows Linn Park as an open green space, designed when the intent was to make Birmingham the state capital. Though that never happened, Linn Park developed into the city’s primary civic space, flanked by Birmingham City Hall and Jefferson County Courthouse, with numerous monuments and memorials in-between. In 1982, Birmingham-based landscape architects Nimrod Long & Associates preserved and enhanced an earlier axial scheme with a new central fountain, pavements, benches, steps, low walls and a metal gazebo. Linn Park was the site of several protests during the Civil Rights movement.

Photo Credit: Linn Park

Tim Cook

Apple recently became the first company in the United States to reach a $1 trillion market value due in large part to its well-designed products, in particular the iPhone. Apple CEO Tim Cook called this monumental milestone “not the most important measure” of the company’s success, but was instead the result of its laser-sharp focus on its products, customers and company values. Cook’s degree from Auburn University is in industrial engineering, not design. Nevertheless, Cook has taken one of the largest design-driven companies in the world to stratospheric heights.

Photo Credit: Tim Cook

Tippi Clark

With her experience in design and development for major brands, Auburn University industrial design graduate Tippi Clark’s resume reads like a Who’s Who in fashion design – Banana Republic, Kate Spade, Juicy Couture, Coach and Club Monaco, to name a few. The Opelika native is currently senior technical designer at Marc Jacobs for handbags and novelty accessories and creative director for the design firm The Novogratz. At Banana Republic, Clark was production and product development manager for all accessories and she served as director of development for Rebecca Minkoff. Clark is also the founder of denim brand Holt McCall and Little Flea NOLA, a new Orleans-based flea market specializing in vintage finds.

Photo Credit: Tippi Clark

Tom Hardy

Every time you use your laptop or ThinkPad you have early innovators like Alabama native Tom Hardy to thank. Hardy studied industrial design at Auburn University under Eva Pfeil and Walter Schaer and then began a 22-year career at IBM as an industrial designer of award-winning IBM products, including the original IBM Personal Computer introduced in 1981. In 2016, two products directly influenced by Hardy were selected by Time magazine as being among “The 50 Most Influential Gadgets of All Time.” No. 5 on the list is the first IBM Personal Computer 5150 and No. 21 is the iconic IBM ThinkPad 700C. Today, Hardy is Professor of Design Management at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).

Photo Credit: Tom Hardy

Alabama Department of Commerce: Made in Alabama campaign

Made in Alabama is a message that could not be simpler or more to the point. Launched by the Alabama Department of Commerce in 2013, Made in Alabama became a successful branding campaign designed to strengthen the state’s economic development and attract investment. The marketing initiative centers on its website, which provides sharable information that focuses on Alabama’s economic development achievements and what makes the state attractive for investment. The Made in Alabama brand and website was designed and developed by Alabama-based public relations and advertising agency BIG Communications.

Photo Credit: Big Communication & Alabama Department of Commerce

Five A’s logo and supporting graphics

Alabama graphic designers make a lasting imprint (no pun intended), both nationally and internationally. Case in point is Auburn University graduate and graphic designer Brad Copeland, who created Atlanta’s well known “5-A’s” logo for its bid for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. Copeland went on to create many more Olympic images as the International Olympic Committee’s official advisor on the “Look of the Games.” Graphic designs make enduring impressions and the Olympic logos throughout the years appeal to both the young and old. Reaching a wide audience – and leaving a lasting mark as the Olympic logos do – is a hallmark of graphic design at its best.

Photo Credit: Brad Copeland/ Copeland Hirther

Alabama Power Hydro

Alabama Power was founded on renewable hydro energy and manages 14 hydro facilities along the Coosa, Tallapoosa and Black Warrior rivers. Its hydroelectric plants provide about 6 percent of the company’s power generation. These dams impound more than 157,000 acres of water and provide more than 3,500 miles of shoreline for public use and recreation. Lay Dam on the Coosa River near Clanton was built in 1914 and was Alabama Power’s first major project. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Alabama is ranked sixth in the nation for renewable energy capacity, primarily because of its existing hydro generation.

Photo Credit: Alabama News Center

Vance: Mercedes-Benz Visitor Center

Many people can’t afford to purchase a Mercedes, but they can learn all about them at the Mercedes-Benz Visitor Center in Vance. In 2015, Mercedes-Benz invested $3 million to renovate the visitor center at its Alabama auto plant. The redesigned center offers an interactive exhibit of the automaker’s 128-year history. The original building was designed by Gresham, Smith and Partners in 1997 and has a swooping roof that mimics the lines of a classic Mercedes racecar. On display are cars from the horseless carriage days to those hot off the assembly line of plants including this one. The gleaming surfaces of finely crafted streamlined forms are evident throughout the building.

Photo Credit: Lewis Kennedy

Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Bryce Hospital

Built in Tuscaloosa in the 1850s, Bryce Hospital opened in 1861 as the Alabama State Hospital for the Insane. The Italianate-style hospital designed by architect Samuel Sloan was the first building in Tuscaloosa with gas lighting and central heat. The University of Alabama bought the property in 2010, which is part of a project that includes a new performing arts center on the property. The new Performing Arts Academic Center will connect to the restored Bryce Hospital. The main hospital building is being renovated to include a welcome center, reception venue, offices and rehearsal space, along with museums dedicated to university history and the history of mental health in Alabama.

Photo Credit: Lewis Kennedy

Talladega: Ritz Theatre

Alabama has many movie palaces remaining from their golden age during the early 20th century and one is in Talladega. Built in 1936, the Ritz Theatre is a fine example of Depression-era Art Deco theaters. In 1997, the landmark was restored, including its distinctive façade made of opaque structural glass, a common construction material used during the Art Deco period. This was a time when the architectural glass industry became especially creative and introduced a series of new glass products. The restoration successfully matched the pigmented structural glass known as vitrolite that needed to be replaced. Originally called Martin Theatre, The Ritz reopened in 1998 as a performing arts center.

Photo Credit: Lewis Kennedy

Talladega- Isbell Bank

When terracotta is used as a building material, it is typically used only for ornamentation such as an embellishment around windows and doors. The Isbell National Bank in Talladega is a rarity, having been constructed in 1869 entirely out of red-hued terracotta. The bank is believed to be one of only five remaining architectural terracotta buildings east of the Mississippi River. Merchant James Isbell founded the bank in 1848, making it the oldest continually operating bank in Alabama. It is now called the First Bank of Alabama.

Photo Credit: Lewis Kennedy

Prattville: CBD/West Main/Pratt Factory

When Prattville founder Daniel Pratt opened his cotton gin factory in 1848 it became one of Alabama’s leading industries, supplying cotton gins in the United States and worldwide. Plans are under way to convert the Daniel Pratt Cotton Gin Factory into 147 loft-style apartments in the five historic brick buildings that comprise the factory. The old gin factory is part of the Daniel Pratt Historic District, which encompasses the 19th century nucleus of the town and consists of over 200 properties, most dating from 1840 to 1930, with a high concentration between 1880 and 1920. Among these are important early industrial buildings.

Photo Credit: City of Prattville

Prairieville: St. Andrews Episcopal Church

No wonder that St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Prairieville is popular with photographers. The small board-and-batten Carpenter-Gothic church was built in 1853 by slaves and features wooden buttresses, gothic windows and tiny white-painted wooden crosses that embellish each roof ridge. The unaltered interior has hand-carved symbols and figures on the altar rail and in the chancel. A mixture brewed from tobacco plants was possibly used to stain the interior walls. The design may have been influenced by Richard Upjohn, a British-born architect who immigrated to the United States and became famous for his Gothic-Revival churches including Trinity Church in New York City.

Photo Credit: Lewis Kennedy

Newbern: Auburn University Rural Studio

No place fits the proverb “necessity is the mother of invention” better than Hale County in west-central Alabama. It is here in the fertile Black Belt soil that Auburn University’s internationally renowned Rural Studio took root, driven by the belief that both the rich and poor are worthy of good design. Auburn University architecture students design and build context-based, socially conscious houses and community buildings using practically anything they can get their hands on: scavenged and donated materials, discarded building supplies, car parts, bottles, old road signs, license plates and carpet tiles. Many building projects are in Newbern, the Rural Studio’s headquarters, as well as the surrounding area.

Photo Credit: Rural Studio

Mountain Brook: Mountain Brook Village

Planned communities are common these days, but were a novel idea back in 1929 when local real estate businessman Robert Jemison Jr. developed the affluent Birmingham suburb of Mountain Brook. Noted Boston-based landscape architect Warren Manning was commissioned to create a naturalistic plan to integrate building sites and infrastructure into the wooded landscape to create a park-like setting. Built around three villages – English Village, Mountain Brook Village and Crestline Village – most of Mountain Brook’s development preserved the existing trees with 92 percent of the suburb under tree cover, considered to be among the highest ratios in the United States.

Photo Credit: Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce

Montgomery: St. John’s Episcopal Church

St. John’s was organized in 1834 by pioneer settlers and is the oldest Episcopal parish in Montgomery. In 1855 a larger church was built, designed by the nation’s foremost church architects Wills & Dudley of New York, which comprises the narthex and nave of the present church. By 1869, more room was needed and the church was torn down, its bricks used to build the present chancel and sanctuary. Further expansion took place in 1906, at which time Italian mosaic tile was laid on the floor of the enlarged chancel. The church’s windows include stained glass by Charles Connick of Boston and Louis Tiffany of New York.

Photo Credit: Lewis Kennedy

Monroeville: Courthouse Square

Three courthouses have flanked the Monroeville Courthouse Square over the years. First was the antebellum courthouse, which was replaced with a new courthouse in 1904, followed by the present day Monroe County Courthouse. When To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960, the 1904 courthouse gained national fame. In 1963, county offices moved to a new building on the square. The former courthouse became the Old Courthouse Museum, which opened full time in 1991 with the first production of a play adapted from To Kill a Mockingbird performed in the courtroom. The Monroeville Downtown Historic District is centered on the courthouse square and the streets that border it.

Photo Credit: Chris Granger

Malbis: Memorial Church

A few miles east of Mobile is Malbis Memorial Church, a Greek Orthodox church that opened in 1965 in memory of Jason Malbis, founder of Malbis Plantation. Exquisite murals depicting the life of Christ, carved marble and vividly pigmented stained glass decorate the church. The Byzantine Revival structure is also noted for its mosaics made by Italian artist Sirio Tonelli, along with painted religious iconography. The church was designed by Frederick C. Woods of Mobile and is a copy of a church in Athens, Greece. Its marble is said to have come from the same quarries that provided stone for the Parthenon.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia.com

Magnolia Springs: Historic District

Southern Living magazine calls Magnolia Springs a small town with “almost too much charm to handle.” Even the street names are charming, such as Pecan Grove Street and Cotton Stocking Lane. Located in southern Baldwin County, live oak canopies shade the district’s streets that have several structures on the National Register, including Moore’s Grocery and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Among other early buildings are the Magnolia Springs Bed & Breakfast and the 1894 Community Hall. Mail arrives by boat. Magnolia Springs has the only river route for mail delivery in the United States.

Photo Credit: Internet

Indian Springs: Indian Springs School Phase 1

Indian Springs School, a 350-acre, private boarding school founded in 1952 for grades eight through 12, was recently modernized for the 21st century. In 2012, ArchitectureWorks and Lake | Flato Architects partnered on Phase I, which consists of three new classroom buildings and a new administration building. The design maintains the original “open air” campus and new classrooms have exterior doors opening to an exterior covered walkway. New buildings are interconnected by walkways enhanced with rain gardens and runnels designed to collect and filter water toward the lake. The project won several awards, including the 2016 AIA Education Facility Design Awards.

Photo Credit: Architecture Works

Huntsville: Twickenham Historic District

Sounds like something out of Dickens. Twickenham Historic District gets points not only for its charming name, but also its impressive collection of antebellum homes. Huntsville’s first designated historic district was named after the town of Twickenham, England by LeRoy Pope, known as the “father of Huntsville.” The district contains homes in the Federal and Greek-Revival architectural styles and is believed to contain the densest concentration of antebellum homes in Alabama. Built in 1819, the district’s Weeden House Museum is open to the public as are other houses in the district.

Photo Credit: Hunstville Historic Preservation Committee

Demopolis: Public Square

One of the oldest public squares in Alabama is the Demopolis Public Square that was established in 1819. The focal point of the park – which takes up a city block – is a large cast iron fountain installed in 1895. A pavilion built in 1886 provides visitors with shade and protection from inclement weather. Two other historic buildings are in the square: Rooster Hall that was originally built as a Presbyterian church in 1843 and the old City hall building, parts of which date back to 1820.

Photo credit: Internet

Birmingham: Lyric Theatre Interior

Across from the Alabama Theatre is the Lyric Theatre, the Alabama Theatre’s older sibling, constructed in 1914 during vaudeville’s heyday before the arrival of silent movies. During its glory days in the late 1910s and early 1920s, the Lyric Theatre hosted major vaudeville touring shows. In later years the theater showed movies, primarily second-run releases. A primary design element in the opulent theater is a large mural called “The Allegory of the Muses.” The Lyric is the only surviving vaudeville theater in Birmingham. Now a performing arts venue, the renovated Lyric reopened in 2016 with a three-day vaudeville-style variety show.

Photo Credit: Stewart Perry

Birmingham: Temple Emanuel/Addition

The focal point of the addition to Birmingham’s Temple Emanuel is a four-story glass atrium with a grand stair and projecting balconies. The atrium complements the original sanctuary building and highlights its arched stained glass window and terra cotta frieze. Designed by KPS Group, the project involved renovating the original 1912 neoclassical sanctuary, adding a parking deck and replacing an outdated ancillary building. A new chapel and social room were added on the ground floor of the existing building. KPS Group’s aim was to harmonize the new addition with the historic structure while not replicating it.

Photo credit: KPS Group

Birmingham: Ruffner Mountain Nature Center

Ruffner Mountain Nature Center is the centerpiece of the 1,011-acre nature preserve in Birmingham and was designed by KPS Group to promote sustainability. The master plan for the 5,800-square-foot center includes animal exhibits, a store, meeting facilities and offices. KPS Group also created an educational program to explain the building’s LEED® Gold sustainable features, which include a green roof, daylighting of all spaces, highly efficient mechanical systems, recycled and renewable materials, and a cistern to harvest rainwater.

Photo Credit: Gary Knight

Birmingham: Rickwood Field

Alabama boasts many claims to fame and one is Rickwood Field, the nation’s oldest professional baseball park. Built for the Birmingham Barons in 1910 by team owner Rick Woodward, it served as the home park for the Barons and the Birmingham Barons of the Negro League. Today, Rickwood Field provides fans a lesson in baseball history. Scenes from several movies have been filmed at the historic field, including “42” about the racial integration of American professional baseball by player Jackie Robinson. Friends of Rickwood have refurbished the grandstands, press box, locker rooms, roof and main entrance.

Photo Credit: Carol M. Highsmith

Birmingham: Sloss Furnaces

Sloss Furnaces was once the largest manufacturer of pig iron in the world and it represents Birmingham’s rich industrial heritage. The site remains just as it was in the late 19th century with its network of pipes and soaring stoves. Named for Colonel James Withers Sloss, a north Alabama merchant also involved in railroads, Sloss operated from 1882-1970, making it the longest continually running blast furnace in Birmingham’s history. Now a museum that consists of two 400-ton blast furnaces and 40 buildings, Sloss is the only 20th century blast furnace in the United States serving as an historic industrial site.

Photo Credit : Lewis Kennedy

Birmingham: Crestwood Park

Among Birmingham’s many attributes are its city parks and one of the most popular is Crestwood, referred to by a local as “a nice little park in a nice little neighborhood.” The 12.11-acre park includes a football field and pool, and in 2012 was treated to major renovation. A children’s tennis court was added, along with a new playground and walkways. The 2.56 million renovation led by architects Design Initiative, also included refurbishing existing buildings, new landscaping, seating and a new press box and irrigation system. The city purchased the property for Crestwood Park in 1946 for $6,100.

Photo Credit: Design Initiative

Montgomery-Capitol/Dexter Ave/Court Square

U.S. history changed twice on Montgomery’s six-block Dexter Avenue. At one end is Court Square with its circa 1885 fountain and the Alabama State Capitol steps are at the other. It was on Dexter Avenue that Confederate delegates decided to fire on Fort Sumter – a decision that started the Civil War. Ninety years later, the Civil Rights movement was born here. Dexter Avenue’s historic sites include the spot where Rosa Parks boarded the fateful bus, the Rosa Parks Museum and the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was pastor. Also on Dexter Avenue is Chris’ Hot Dogs, a restaurant open since 1917 that has served everyone from Dr. King and F. Scott Fitzgerald to Hank Williams and Elvis.

Photo credit: Lewis Kennedy

Montgomery: Cotton and Pine

When A.H. Cather Publishing Company in Birmingham closed its door after 100 years, Cotton & Pine purchased its antique letterpress printing equipment to keep the ancient art alive.  The Montgomery-based Cotton & Pine offers print design, video and web, and custom letterpress printing. Founded by Daniel Mims and Steven Lambert, who is creative director, Cotton & Pine offers a full-service print shop and design studio that offers all the creative services of a design firm. Its in-house shop, C&P Mercantile, sells their line of ready-made, 100 percent cotton paper goods and hand-crafted items from Alabama and throughout the South.

Photo credit: boxcarpress.com

Leeds: Earthborn Pottery

Chefs and restauranteurs in Alabama and across the country love how their food looks on pottery created by Earthborn Pottery in Leeds. Started by master potter Tena Payne, the business has garnered national recognition and has received a number of honors. Her husband and their two children work in the business and in the Earthborn Studio, a team of potters create plates, bowls and platters, serving dishes, drinking vessels and signature items. Artists pay attention to every detail throughout the process from the clay to the glazes. Pottery workshops are also offered.

Photo credit: Hot and Hot plated

Fort Payne: Zkano & Little River Sock Company

Fort Payne was once the Sock Capital of the World and Gina Locklear is keeping its claim-to-fame alive with Zkano and Little River Sock Company, her two lines of high-end socks. Locklear started the company in 2009 to design and manufacture socks using certified organic cotton and sustainable practices at Emi-G Knitting, her parent’s sock company that is one of the few mills still operating in Fort Payne. All phases of production are in-house from knitting to finishing without the use of harmful heavy metal dyes. Locklear says the company has “no plans to ever leave Fort Payne.”

Photo credit: AL.com

Florence: hand-crafted brooms by George Jones Jr.

Among the most cherished crafts are those that are both beautiful and functional such as the brooms made by George Jones Jr. in Florence. A fourth-generation broom-maker, Jones uses some of the same equipment and techniques as his grandfather nearly a century ago. Jones makes broom handles from dogwood, oak and other native woods found on the family farm. His brooms are available at regional art shows and the gift shops of the Kentuck Art Center in Northport and the American Folk Art Museum in New York City. 

Photo credit: AL News Center

Auburn University: Alabama Workshops Toolkit 

Though the creative process is often a solitary pursuit, design is becoming more integrated thanks to such innovations as the Alabama Workshop[s] Toolkit, a guide to how craft artisans in Alabama conduct workshops. Created by Robert Finkel, associate professor of Auburn University’s Graphic Design in the School of Industrial & Graphic Design, and Sheri Schumacher, associate professor emerita in AU’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture, the toolkit is used to promote a network of Alabama artisans, makers and organizations that offer workshops for craft production.

Photo credit: Sheri Schumacher

Mobile: The Grand Hotel (Point Clear- The Grand Hotel)

Built in 1847, the historic Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club and Spa and its grounds on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay has undergone a $32 million renovation. Part of the renovation project is a new recreational lawn with games and a new courtyard with fire pits and improved landscaping. The hotel’s Azalea and Dogwood golf courses are also part of the renovation. The Grand Hotel has long held a prominent place in Alabama history. In 1864, a portion of the hotel became a Confederate hospital during the Civil War. About 300 Confederate soldiers are buried in a cemetery near the 18th tee of the Azalea course.

Photo credit: Goodwyn Mills & Cawood

Wetumpka: Jasmine Hill Gardens and Outdoor Museum

No wonder that Jasmine Hill Gardens and Outdoor Museum near Wetumpka is called “Alabama’s Little Corner of Greece” with its collection of nearly 40 pieces of Greek statuary, both original and reproductions. The 20-acre botanical garden was established in the early 1930s by Benjamin and Mary Fitzpatrick who made over 20 trips to Greece to purchase art objects. The gardens include a copy of the ruins of the Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece and a separate restored temple facade at the museum entrance as it would have looked during the 7th Century B.C. Paths throughout the garden are made from native stone constructed as a WPA project. The garden is operated by the nonprofit Jasmine Hill Foundation.

Photo credit: Peggy Collins

Birmingham: Rotary Trail

At the entrance of Birmingham’s Rotary Trail is a 46-foot-tall sign that reads: “Rotary Trail in the Magic City,” modeled after the historical “Birmingham the Magic City” sign. Rotary Trail (formerly called Line Park) is a pedestrian greenway constructed in 2014 in the railroad cut at the center of First Avenue between 20th and 24th Street South. The half-mile trail links two popular Birmingham attractions, Rail Road Park and Sloss Furnaces Historic Landmark. The trail is part of the expanding Red Rock Trail System that connects major destinations throughout the region including Red Mountain Park. The name comes from the city’s rotary club, one of the largest rotary clubs in the world.

Photo credit: Bill Segrest Courtesy of Goodwyn Mills and Cawood

Chris Livaudais

An organization that was instrumental to the design career of Chris Livaudais has now appointed him to its top position. The Auburn University industrial design graduate is the new interim executive director of the Industrial Designers Society of America, one of the oldest and largest industrial design associations. Livaudais has been an active member in IDSA since he graduated from Auburn University in 2002, serving in several key regional positions. Livaudais was senior design consultant at Embraer in the San Francisco Bay Area when named to head the IDSA. Prior to this, he was creative director of InReality in Atlanta. 

Photo credit: Chris Livaudais

Lloyd Cooper

“I always wanted to be an inventor when I grew up,” says industrial designer Lloyd Cooper, who studied mechanical engineering and industrial design at Auburn University. As co-founder and principal of PUSH Product Design in Birmingham, Cooper – who currently holds 17 patents – has achieved his childhood dream and more. PUSH has provided full industrial design services for the past 20 years, taking on a range of challenges from advanced jet-skis to new medical technologies. Among PUSH’s diverse clients are Altec, Yamaha, Gibson, John Deer, University of Alabama at Birmingham and Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Photo credit: Lloyd Cooper

Eva Pfeil and Walter Schaer

Two professors of industrial design at Auburn University made important contributions to field in Alabama and beyond. Drs. Eva Pfeil and Walter Schaer, both graduates of the famed Ulm School of Design in Germany, joined Auburn’s faculty in 1960. For three decades they elevated its industrial design program and taught countless students who themselves made significant contributions in the field. Pfeil and Schaer are recognized as educators who “brought to the South a new design approach which considered user-centered research a prerequisite for intelligent and responsible product development.”

Photo credit: Eva Pfeil and Walter Schaer

DesignAlabama journal

When it comes to the DesignAlabama Journal, you certainly can “judge a book by its cover.” Just as important as its content was its design, from the logo still used today to the layout and pleasing balance between positive and negative space. The first article was written by the late Philip Morris, the organization’s first chair of the board of directors. DesignAlabama was founded in 1987 and the journal was available a year later and printed through 2015. Today, it is available as a monthly digital newsletter, DesignAlabama Online. Past print journals are online through the Auburn University Digital Library. Written by then DesignAlabama director Becky Mullen in the second issue: “If response to the first issue of this journal is any indication, DesignAlabama’s future looks promising.” Indeed, it was.     

Photo credit: DesignAlabama

Car manufacturers: Hyundai, Mercedes, Honda

Alabama auto manufacturing keeps on rolling.  Hyundai, Honda and Mercedes-Benz operate plants here and the number of automotive suppliers in Alabama that support those plants also grows. Mercedes Benz U.S. International in Tuscaloosa County produces 300,000 vehicles annually. In Talladega County, Honda Manufacturing of Alabama produces 340,000 vehicles and 340,000 engines every year. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing in Montgomery County produces 400,000 vehicles and 720,000 engines annually. In January 2018, Toyota and Mazda announced a joint venture to build an assembly plant in Limestone County with production of the Toyota Corolla and a new Mazda crossover expected to begin in 2021.

Photo credit: Montgomery Chamber of Commerce

Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Quad

Thomas Jefferson’s plan for the University of Virginia was designed to represent “authority of nature and power of reason.” The design for the original University of Alabama is the old Quad that dates back to 1828 and was patterned after Jefferson’s University of Virginia plan. The Quad was destroyed during the Civil War and a new 22-acre Quad was built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Only five structures are built directly on the Quad, with the remainder taken up by trees and a great lawn. Business Insider magazine included UA’s Quad in its list of “The 16 Most Beautiful and Iconic American College Quads” in 2015.

Photo credit: KPS Group

Thomasville: Central Business District

Founded in 1888, Thomasville was in its infancy when a major fire in 1899 destroyed the town’s first business district. The fire destroyed the entire downtown area, burning 23 businesses and the postmaster’s residence. Because most of the businesses destroyed were hastily constructed wooden buildings, the town council passed an ordinance stipulating that only brick buildings could be built downtown. Many of these buildings remain today in the Thomasville Historic District, which features examples of early commercial, Queen Anne, Colonial-Revival, Bungalow/Craftsman and regional vernacular architecture.

Photo credit: Brittany Faush-Johnson, Alabama News Center

Mooresville: Historic District

Sandwiched by Huntsville to the east and Decatur to the west, Mooresville is a picture-perfect little town and one of Alabama’s smallest, comprising just six streets with a population barely over 50. It’s also one of the oldest, being the first town incorporated by the Alabama Territorial Legislature in 1818. The Stagecoach Inn and Tavern, where town council meetings are still held, was built in 1825 and served as the first post office until the current post office was constructed about 1840, making it the oldest post office in continuous use in Alabama.  The entire town of Mooresville – known as “Alabama’s Williamsburg” – is on the National Register.

Photo credit: Art Meripol

Mobile:  Spring Hill College Quad

A cluster of early buildings on the campus of Mobile’s Spring Hill College comprise the historic Quadrangle. The main building in the Quadrangle was constructed in 1831 in the Greek-Revival style and burned in 1869. Within a year, a Neo-Renaissance style administration building was constructed on the site. Also part of the group of buildings is St. Joseph’s Chapel built in 1910 in the Gothic-Revival style. The perimeter of the Quadrangle, which is on the National Register, is enclosed by an open arched arcade that is topped by crenellation.

Photo credit: kudzu.shc.edu

Little Texas: Little Texas Methodist Tabernacle

One of the last structures of its kind is located in Little Texas, an unincorporated town near Tuskegee. It’s the Little Texas Methodist Tabernacle, which has been the site of camp meetings since the 1850s and was built by local black and white settlers. Worshipers camped in the open air or in temporary wooden tent-like barracks during long revivals. The tabernacle is a “post and beam” building constructed of heavy timbers without the use of nails. Still in use today, the tabernacle has a three-aisled frame with a nave center aisle, used for two rows of pews facing an altar, and a hip roof.

Photo credit: hmdb.org

Jackson County: Russell Cave NM

A great place for a spelunking adventure is Russell Cave National Monument near Bridgeport. At 7.5 miles, Russell Cave is the third longest cave in Alabama and was used as a shelter for prehistoric inhabitants. Along with Russell Cave, there are more than 1,500 caves which have been explored in Jackson County – more caves per square mile than anywhere else in America. Access to Russell Cave is limited to its geologically unusual cave entrance. In this flat protected space, artifacts have been found dating back to some of the earliest human existence in North America.

Photo credit: Alabama Historical Commission

Huntsville: Courthouse Square

Courthouse Square has long been a significant part of Huntsville’s commercial core with a two-story brick courthouse completed in 1818, the year before Alabama’s statehood. Its Greek-Revival proportions were introduced by Virginia architect George Steele who planned the courthouse and drew up the specifications. Today, its modern counterpart is on the same site and courthouse square remains the center of municipal affairs. Steele also designed the second courthouse, demolished before 1914, along with the First Alabama Bank Building, which he completed in 1840 and is still in use.

Photo credit: Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood

Gulf Shores: Gulf State Park

Not been to Gulf State Park in a while or never have? You’re in for a treat. Completed in 2018, the $135 million Gulf State Park Enhancement Project by Architecture Works consists of five components – a new lodge, interpretive center, a learning campus consisting of nine small buildings, dune restoration and 15 miles of new trails that include pedestrian bridges. Initiated in 2014, the enhancement project is “design-centric” encompassing architecture, landscape architecture and graphic design, observes project design director Matt Leavell. The 6,150-acre Gulf State Park is certainly worth such an ambitious enhancement effort. No other park along the Gulf Coast has as many diverse ecosystems or as much preserved acreage.

Photo credit: Architecture Works

Gee’s Bend: Ferry Terminal

Not only is Gee’s Bend home to world-famous quilters, but also the first all-electric ferry in the United States and the Western Hemisphere, making daily 15-minute runs between Camden and Gee’s Bend. The diesel-powered ferry was converted into a battery-powered electric vessel as part of the recent redevelopment of the ferry terminal, operated by HMS Ferries, Inc. under contract with the Alabama Department of Transportation. During the civil rights movement, black Gee’s Bend residents rode the ferry to the county seat at Camden to register to vote, so local authorities shut down the ferry service. Gee’s Bend residents were without ferry service for over 40 years until service resumed in 2006. 

Photo credit: Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood

Florence: Toms Wall-Natchez Trace 

Just east of Natchez Trace Parkway outside Florence is one man’s heartrending tribute to his great-great grandmother, a Yuchi Indian who lived in the area during the 1800s. Tom Hendrix, who died in 2017 at the age of 83, built Tom’s Wall, said to be the largest un-mortared wall in the United States, constructed of stones from over 120 countries. As a young girl, Hendrix’s great-great grandmother was forced to walk to Oklahoma. A year later she escaped and spent five years walking back to her beloved Alabama. Tom’s Wall – land art expressing a tangible symbol of human perseverance – is open daily.

Photo credit: Florence Lauderdale Tourism

Florence: Rosenbaum House 

Architecture critic Peter Blake wrote in 1960 that during the 1930s Frank Lloyd Wright built four structures of “a beauty unexcelled in America before or since.” One is the Rosenbaum House in Florence, the state’s only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building. In 1939, newlyweds Mildred and Stanley Rosenbaum contacted Wright to build their home. The L-shaped house made largely of cypress wood and brick has multilevel low-rising steel-cantilevered roofs. The original floor plan provided 1,540 square feet of living space, and a 1948 extension added another 1,084 square feet. The city operates the house as a museum, which displays original Wright-designed furniture.

Photo credit: Lewis Kennedy

Cullman: St Paul’s Lutheran Church

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Cullman is proof that a modern house of worship can be as spiritually uplifting as a more traditional Gothic or Romanesque design. Constructed during 1969-1970, the church was designed by architect Robert H. Adams of Charles H. McCauley Associates. The powerfully simple, symmetrical design has dramatic curving roof lines flanking the towering stained-glass window and cross. The roof sits on supporting walls of rubble-style stone. Enhancing the symmetry are stone planters on either side of the entry. Inside, the massive beams follow the outer form of the roof and are reminiscent of a ship, evoking Noah’s Ark.

Photo credit: Lewis Kennedy

Birmingham: YMCA

Several neo-Gothic landmarks adjoin the modernist Birmingham Downtown YMCA designed by KPS Group, who approached the design by presenting a modern face to the street in contrast to the historic facades of the nearby architecture. The center was built in 1984 using reflective glass block, concrete and brick. The glass block subtly mirrors the older surrounding buildings. The building represents a turning point in the history of the Birmingham YMCA, as it marked the first time its membership was available to both men and women.

Photo credit: Lewis Kennedy

Birmingham: UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center 

UAB’s Comprehensive Cancer Center was renovated in 2014 by Williams Blackstock Architects in association with Boston-based Payette Architects. An aim of the new design was to strengthen collaboration among researchers. A five-story, sky-lit atrium serves as the heart of the building with offices clustered around this central collaborative area. The typical maze of corridors and labs commonly found in older research buildings was converted into new research spaces organized around the atrium core. The project won the 2014 AIA Birmingham Merit Award and AIA Alabama Honor Award. 

Photo credit: Williams Blackstock

Birmingham: Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge

During the Jim Crow era, the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons (F&AM) of Alabama bustled as a social, cultural and business center for Birmingham’s African-American community.  The seven-story temple is located in the city’s Fourth Avenue Historic District and was constructed in 1922. Designed by architects Leo Persley and Robert R. Taylor, the first accredited African-American architect and the first African-American student enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Taylor designed buildings at Tuskegee University, and its Robert R. Taylor School of Architecture & Construction is named in his honor.

Photo credit: unknown

Auburn: Auburn University: Samford Hall

According to legend, as a prank students once led a cow up the tower stairs of Samford Hall at Auburn University. Though this story may not be true, what is certain is that Samford Hall symbolizes Auburn University nearly as much as football. The university’s original classroom building called “Old Main” was destroyed by fire in 1887. The following year Samford Hall was constructed in part with bricks salvaged from Old Main. In 1929, the building was named for Alabama Governor William J. Samford.  An electronic carillon in the clock tower regularly plays the Westminster Chimes and “War Eagle,” Auburn’s fight song. 

Photo credit: Auburn University

Athens: Courthouse Square Commercial Historic District

In 1818, the White House officially reopened after being burned down four years earlier by the British. That same year Athens was founded, one of Alabama’s oldest towns whose past is centered in its Courthouse Square Commercial Historic District.  Most buildings date from the early 20th century, a result of the Civil War and major fires that destroyed earlier buildings. Notable buildings include the Limestone County Courthouse, now a courthouse annex, built in 1919 in neoclassical style with Palladian influences. The neoclassical Old Post Office building was built in 1933 by the Works Progress Administration and features Doric columns, granite cast iron lamps and marble floors. 

Photo credit: Main Street Alabama

Alexander City Children’s Harbor Lodge

Children’s Harbor Lodge was designed to provide a haven for sick children and their families in an inviting rural environment where their medical needs can be met. Designed by Giattina Aycock Architecture Studio, the retreat includes a town hall with classrooms, meeting rooms and offices and lodging for 24 families. The project was designed for the sloping, seven-acre wooded site and follows the planning principles of the Creek Indians, the area’s original settlers who lived near the water in dwellings that were both communal and private. Similarly, the residential cabins are arranged on each side of the swale in clusters that maximize privacy and also form common exterior space for recreation.

Photo credit: GA Studio

DesignAlabama

Communities across Alabama are thriving thanks to the ongoing efforts of DesignAlabama. Incorporated in 1987, the Montgomery-based nonprofit organization unites design professionals and citizens to create master plans for community development and downtown revitalization, along with supporting other organizations with similar goals. Programs include: Alabama Mayor’s Design Summit that brings together mayors to address their community design issues; DesignPlace in which professionals visit selected communities to offer assistance with design, planning and community identity; and Connectivity that provides itineraries for discovering Alabama’s people and places. Gina Clifford serves as executive director.

Photo credit: DesignAlabama

Huntsville: Feather Wild

Sarah Conklin, founder of Feather Wild in Huntsville, starts the process of making her textiles with free-hand drawings inspired by river rocks and other patterns found in nature or in books. She then transfers these original drawings to small quantities of natural and upcycled (creatively reused) fabrics. Some fabrics are hand-dyed, by hand-printing them with water-based ink at Green Pea Press where she teaches printing and is a founding member. Conklin cuts and sews the fabric into items that are beautiful and made to last, such as pouches, pin cushions and scarves, along with one-of-kind wall hangings.

Photo credit: Feather Wild

Fort Payne: Orbix Hot Glass

On 26 acres along Little River Canyon National Preserve in Fort Payne is Orbix Hot Glass, where owner Cal Breed leads a team of glassblowers who hand-craft each piece with attention to form, balance and richly saturated, jewel-like colors. Founded in 2002 by Cal and his wife Christy, the glass art studio and gallery business has made a name for itself with its refined handmade glassware that includes wall art, pitchers, wine carafes, tree ornaments and other items such as those in Auburn University orange and blue. Visitors are welcome to watch the glassmaking process.

Photo credit: Orbix Hot Glass

Birmingham: Bib & Tucker Sew-Op

Bib & Tucker Sew-Op in Birmingham is keeping the longtime tradition of the sewing circle alive. Its mission is to provide a place for people to come together who want to sew in the role of either teacher or student. Founded by Annie Bryant and Lillis Taylor, Bib & Tucker Sew-Op has developed a sewing-based cottage industry to provide income and flexible working conditions for women who head their households. Several programs and workshops are offered, including youth programs. A nonprofit organization, Bib & Tucker is funded through grants and charitable contributions.

Photo credit: Bib & Tucker Sew

Arley: Wood Studio

On Smith Lake at the southern end of the Bankhead National Forest in Arley is Wood Studio, a family owned custom woodworking design and fabrication business specializing in small and medium scale residential and commercial projects. In their spacious yurt-style studio they craft wood furniture and other objects that are aesthetically pleasing and made to last generations. Randy Cochran operates the sales office in Fort Payne and his sons Keith and Dylan run the shop in Arley. Traditional and modern techniques are used to create functional works of art using hand-selected, sustainably harvested materials.

Photo credit: Brian Francis Photography

Montgomery and Tuscaloosa: Riverfront Parks

Tuscaloosa and Montgomery are two cities that have taken full advantage of having a river and both have found ways to maximize this natural resource. On the Alabama River is the Montgomery Riverfront Park whose attractions include an amphitheatre, riverboat and the historic Union Station Train Shed. The Riverwalk in Tuscaloosa offers a paved well-lighted trail along the southern bank of the Black Warrior River near downtown. Dog-friendly park areas line the trail, as well as benches, gazebos, picnic areas and shade trees. The trail also provides a playground near the public library and a splash pad for children.

http://www.rsvp-montgomery.com/app-programs/riverfront-revitalized

http://visittuscaloosa.com/attraction/the-riverwalk/

Photo credit: Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce

Birmingham: Vulcan Park and Grounds

A fine example of Birmingham’s long and rich legacy of well-designed landscape architecture is Vulcan Park, built in the 1930s under the WPA. Kiwanis Centennial Park opened at Vulcan Park and Museum last year, making the Vulcan, which overlooks Birmingham from atop Red Mountain, more accessible to visitors. The north side of Vulcan Park now features a new plaza, fountain and steps leading up to the Vulcan that connects the iconic statue to downtown Birmingham. The park also includes the Kiwanis Vulcan Trail, a two-mile walking and biking trail. Nimrod Long & Associates also made improvements to the terrace, and added lighting and new landscaping.

Photo credit: Billy Brown Photography

Birmingham: Kelly Ingram Park

The hallmark of Birmingham’s Kelly Ingram Park is its many sculptures related to the 1960s Civil Rights movement. Statues of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and other civil rights heroes, along with three installations that flank a circular “Freedom Walk.” Another sculpture depicts three local civil rights advocates and ministers in prayer. A sculpture called “Four Spirits” was unveiled at the park in 2013 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the nearby 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. In 1992, the four-acre park was renovated and rededicated to coincide with the opening of the nearby Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Large demonstrations took place at Kelly Ingram during the struggle for civil rights.

Photo credit: Chris Granger

Birmingham: Avondale Park

No surprise that Avondale Park is one of Birmingham’s most beloved city parks. It’s also one of the oldest. The 36.5-acre site has been a park since 1887 and was home to the city’s first zoo. Renovated in 2011, the idyllic grounds consist of ball fields, an amphitheater, a duck pond surrounded with walking trails that meet ADA standards, a playground, picnic pavilion and plenty of benches throughout. Avondale Library and the restored Avondale Villa, an event facility, are also on the property. The steep slopes of the hill above the park contain woodlands and ruins from the zoo.

Photo credit: KPS Group

Owen Foster

Owen Foster, a 2005 graduate of Auburn’s Master of Industrial Design Program, has spent much of his career bringing design to students. He is co-founder and co-director of SHIFT Design Camp, where high school and university students worldwide meet every summer near Tuscumbia to engage in design. The Alabama native is also director at Aether Global Learning, a think tank for transformational learning and leadership, and is co-owner and designer of Fulcrum Collaborative, a multi-disciplinary design studio. The Industrial Designers Society of America named Owen Foster its 2015 IDSA Educator of Year while he was department chair of industrial design at Savannah College of Art and Design.

Photo credit: Owen Foster

Mary Catherine (Clem) Folmar

The designs created by Mary Catherine Folmar for her hand-illustrated textiles and wall coverings reflect her Alabama upbringing, along with her travels through Europe, Asia and America’s east and west coasts. Her style is inspired by the “classic and timeless design of southern living while pushing the limits with contemporary patterns, colors and textures.” The Auburn University industrial design graduate founded Birmingham-based Cotton & Quill in 2012 and has been featured in a number of publications including Southern Living.

Photo credit: Mary Catherine (Clem) Folmar

Ken Musgrave

Auburn University industrial design graduate Ken Musgrave is vice president and head of Global Customer Experience and Global Experience Design for Hewlett-Packard, where he leads new product, brand and user experience design and development. Before HP, Musgrave was executive director of experience design at Dell Inc., directing the design of every category of Dell products and leading the global design capability for Dell’s commercial products. Prior to Dell, he served in various product development leadership roles for Becton Dickinson, a medical technology company. He was previously at Ratio Design Labs, an emerging design & technology development firm in Atlanta.

Photo credit: Ken Musgrave

Anjuli Bedekar Clavert

As Senior Innovation Strategist at Humana in Louisville, Kentucky, Anjuli Bedekar Clavert champions human-centered design and innovation discipline to develop solutions that reduce the occurrence of disease and slow its progression. Clavert graduated cum laude from Auburn University in 2008 with a degree in industrial design and has spent the past 10 years designing products and experiences for a wide variety of consumers, brands and technologies. She was named one of Forbes’ “30 Under 30” in Manufacturing & Industry in 2015.

Photo credit: Anjuli Bedekar Clavert

Community Identity through Graphic Design

Known as a historic railroad town, the City of Opelika was recently treated to a new logo and brand identity that continues to honor this tradition. With its bold yet simple graphics, the new logo is now seen on social media, signage, graphics, buildings and the city website. A community’s qualities and distinctiveness told through graphic design is an effective way to boost economic development, tourism, local pride and connectivity. Communities throughout Alabama and across America are discovering that graphic design can communicate memorable visual narratives that make people take notice.

Photo credit: City of Opelika & Copperwing

Year of “Posters” – Luckie and Company

Promoting all that Alabama has to offer was the aim of a poster marketing campaign by Alabama Tourism. Each year showcased something different through the use of posters designed by Luckie and Company in Birmingham. The first year in 2004 was the “Year of Alabama Gardens” and subsequent years included music, art, outdoors, small town and downtowns. Food was so popular it was promoted twice and a documentary was created on the Year of Barbecue. The Year in Food also became an exhibit in New York City and several Alabama chefs were brought along. Brad White of Luckie and Company, the lead designer on the project, says the campaign brought attention to what is less known about Alabama and “put Alabama’s food on the map.” About 12 posters were made.

Photo credit: Alabama Tourism Department

Cohrane-Africatown Bridge

Alabama’s only cable-stayed bridge is the Cochrane–Africatown USA Bridge carrying US 90/US 98 Truck across the Mobile River from the mainland to Blakeley Island in Mobile. Opened in 1991, the bridge was named after the 60-year-old vertical-lift Cochrane Bridge it replaced and nearby historic community of Africatown. The bridge design by Volkert and Associates, Inc. earned the firm two awards in 1992 – the Outstanding Engineering Achievement in the U.S.A. Award from the National Society of Professional Engineers and the Award of Excellence in Highway Design from the Federal Highway Administration.

Photo credit: Lewis Kennedy

Blount County: Horton Mill Covered Bridge

Pennsylvania is the state with the most covered bridges with about 200, yet Alabama boasts the nation’s highest covered bridge over a body of water. It’s the Horton Mill Bridge that stands 70 feet above the Black Warrior River in Oneonta. Built in 1935, Horton Mill is one of three covered bridges in Blount County, making Blount County the Covered Bridge Capital of Alabama. The original bridge was built in 1864 near its present location. The one-lane Horton Mill Bridge is 208 feet long and is open to slow-moving traffic.

Photo credit: Tom Starkey

Tuskegee: Tuskegee University Chapel Interior

Concerning architecture, Tuskegee University is best known for its Booker T. Washington-era buildings built by students. But the National Historic Site is also home to an internationally renowned work of modern architecture: the Tuskegee University Chapel. Built in 1969 to replace the original 1898 chapel, the monumental brick edifice was designed by famed architect Paul Rudolph and the African-American firm of John A. Welch and Louis Fry, who taught at the Tuskegee Institute. Listed by Southern Living as one of “The South’s Most Beautiful Chapels,” the structure is known for its expansive, light-filled sanctuary – a balance between the “opposite movements of space and light,” as Rudolph described it.

Photo credit: Lewis Kennedy

Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Smith Hall Interior

With its Classical-Revival façade, the Alabama Museum of Natural History is aesthetically pleasing but it is the interior that is most breathtaking. Located in Smith Hall on the University of Alabama campus, it is Alabama’s oldest museum, founded in 1831. Designed by Alabama architect Frank Lockwood, who also designed the Montgomery Federal Building, the ground level Atrium Gallery is dominated by a staircase made of Alabama marble and Alabama-manufactured iron. The staircase leads to the second floor Grand Gallery, which is surrounded by a colonnade of Corinthian columns that support a full entablature with a highly enriched cornice. A large glass roof floods the interior with natural light.

Photo credit: Lewis Kennedy

Talladega: Talladega College’s Savery Library

Fifty-three illegally purchased West Africans were transported from Cuba in 1839 aboard the Spanish-built schooner Amistad. The slaves were able to stage a successful mutiny. One-hundred years later in 1939, Savery Library was dedicated at Talladega College, Alabama’s oldest private historically black liberal arts college. Savery Library contains murals depicting the Amistad painted by prominent black artist Hale Woodruff. The Amistad incident is depicted in three panels in the library lobby: The Mutiny, The Court Scene and The Return to Africa. Also in the lobby is a replica of the Amistad ship embedded in the terrazzo floor.

Photo credit: Lewis Kennedy

Selma: Sturdivant Hall

If Hollywood location scouts ever need to find a superb Greek-Revival antebellum mansion for a movie, they need look no further than Sturdivant Hall in Selma. Built between 1852 and 1856, the two-story stuccoed brick structure has a façade with a monumentally scaled portico and 30-foot-tall Corinthian columns. The portico is accessed from the second floor by a cantilevered balcony with an intricate cast-iron railing. The opulent interior features elaborate plasterwork and millwork and a cantilevered staircase. Now a museum, legend has it that Sturdivant Hall is haunted by John Parkman, the mansion’s second owner.

Photo credit: Art Meripol

Montgomery: Capitol Dome Interior/Staircases

Step into the main foyer of the Alabama State Capitol and what dominates the space are elegant twin stairways that reach in a double spiral to the third floor. The seemingly unsupported stairs are thought to be built by Horace King, a former slave and prominent bridge builder who applied his expert carpentry skills to design and construction. The Capitol was finished in 1851 and during the late 1920s the rotunda was redecorated by artist Roderick Mackenzie of Mobile. Gold and plum are the main colors used to complement a series of eight large murals that Mackenzie painted to depict episodes from Alabama’s past.

Photo credit: Lewis Kennedy

Montgomery: National Memorial for Peace and Justice

The National Memorial for Peace and Justice opened April 2018 as the nation’s first memorial dedicated to the legacy of enslaved black people. It was built to remember people terrorized by lynching and African-Americans victimized by racial segregation and Jim Crow, as well as people of color today burdened by presumptions of guilt and police violence. The six-acre memorial in Montgomery was designed by Boston-based MASS Design Group. The structure contains the names of more than 4,000 lynching victims engraved on columns representing each county in the United States where each lynching took place.

Photo credit: Equal Justice Initiative

Mobile: Government St. Presbyterian Church

Mobile’s Government St. Presbyterian Church is considered among the finest examples of Greek-Revival architecture in the United States and one of the oldest and least altered. Construction began in 1836 and in 1837 one of its architects, Charles Dakin, was married in the sanctuary. Designed by James Gallier and Charles Dakin, the exterior is brick with a stucco finish. The National Historic Landmark is one story over a raised basement with granite foundations and steps. The interior is credited to the Dakin brothers and has had few alterations. The sanctuary has two aisles and retains the original pews.

Photo credit: Lewis Kennedy

Leeds: Barber Motorsports Park

Barber Motorsports Park is the brainchild of George Barber Jr., whose love of motorsports and collection of vintage motorcycles defines the park. KPS Group provided the park’s overall conceptual design and designed the first phase of the 145,000-square-foot museum. The result is a building that allows visitors to see all the various levels and exhibit areas as they enter and circulate between them without the use of stairs or elevators. The large atrium and sweeping helical ramp make the six levels of museum space an ever-unfolding experience. The geometry of the 740-acre site dictates the form of the museum building, with its volume increasing as it follows its sloping site.

Photo credit: Art Meripol

Hoover: Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa

Hard to imagine that the Ross Bridge Renaissance Resort and Spa is just 20 minutes away from downtown Birmingham when it looks like it would be more at home in Switzerland or the Scottish countryside. Tucked into in the woodland and lakes of Hoover, the 240,000 square-foot resort features castle-like turrets, stone archways, a slate roof and a course on the Robert Trent Jones Gulf Trail. The award-winning project was designed by Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood and completed in 2005.

Photo credit: Goodwyn Mills and Cawood

Homewood: Old Southern Progress Building

Nestled into a heavily wooded 27-acre site, the old Southern Progress building constructed in 1990 leans into its natural landscape and bridges a 35-foot-deep ravine, creating a lobby which appears to be hovering over the tree tops. The reflective glass form is anchored to the hillside with Alabama fieldstone. Administrative offices, conference rooms, a 100-seat auditorium, photo studios and labs, a library and 13 test kitchens occupied the 150,000-square-foot building. Designed by KPS Group and Jova/Daniels/Busby of Atlanta, the project received design awards across the southeast.

Photo credit: Lewis Kennedy

Gulf Shores: Fort Morgan

Condos and beachfront hotels aren’t all that face Alabama’s Gulf Coast. There’s Fort Morgan at the mouth of Mobile Bay in Gulf Shores. The fort was constructed from 1819 to 1934 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, mostly through the use of African-American slaves. Brick and mortar were the only local building materials, so other materials including finished granite, sandstone, iron work and cement had to be shipped by water from New York. The state acquired the fort in 1946 and today the Fort Morgan State Historic Site is open to the public and includes a museum focusing on the Civil War.

Photo credit: Lewis Kennedy

Florence: Wilson Lock and Dam

Neoclassical architecture is associated with many buildings such as the U.S. Capitol and antebellum homes – though with dams, rarely if ever. Wilson Dam on the Tennessee River in Florence is the only neoclassical-style dam in the TVA system, incorporating elements of ancient Roman and Greek architecture into its modern design. Constructed during 1918-1924, the hydroelectric dam is 137 feet high and stretches 4,541 feet across the Tennessee River. With its maximum lift of 100 feet, Wilson’s main lock is the highest single lift lock east of the Rockies. TVA acquired Wilson Dam in 1933. On the site are nature trails and a visitor’s center.

Photo credit: Alabama Historical Commission

Florence: UNA Campus Core

What do New York City’s Central Park and the master plan for the University of North Alabama in Florence have in common? Both were designed by the Olmsted Brothers, the renowned landscape design firm who developed the plan in 1929 for UNA. The Olmsted Brothers created a pleasing, pedestrian campus of shaded walkways, manicured gardens, fountains, sculptures and an amphitheatre. The campus core of the state’s oldest public university, founded in 1830, forms a dramatic, northern terminus to historic downtown Florence. The UNA campus is also noted for its many historic buildings.

Photo credit: Jason Fondren/KPS Group

Decatur: Albany Historic District

Wandering the streets of the Albany Historic District in Decatur is to discover just about every architectural style of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Romanesque Revival, Victorian, Queen Ann, Renaissance Revival and Craftsman, along with a few examples of Art Deco and Streamline Moderne, all represented in this leafy, highly walkable neighborhood. Secondary properties within the National Register district include the Princess Theatre and the circa 1980 Cotaco Opera House, the first opera house constructed in Alabama.

Photo credit: Alabama Historical Commission

Cullman: Ave Maria Grotto

Prayer and spiritual devotion come in many forms. For Brother Joseph Zoettl, a Benedictine monk at St. Bernard Abbey in Cullman, it came in the form of devoting a half-century (1932-1961) to creating the Ave Maria Grotto – a collection of more than 125 miniature reproductions of notable churches, shrines and other religious structures. Brother Joseph constructed the miniatures with discarded items such as tiles, pipes, marbles, costume jewelry and even toilet bowl floats and cold cream jars. On the National Register and a state landmark, the grotto is built on an old quarry within a landscaped four-acre park.

Photo credit: Lewis Kennedy

Birmingham: Empire Building

When it was constructed in 1909, the 16-story Empire Building was the tallest building in Alabama. Designed by Carpenter & Blair Architects in New York and Renneker, Tichansky & Associates in Birmingham, the neoclassical high-rise features a molded terra-cotta façade and a terra-cotta cornice that wraps around the entire top of the building. The First Avenue entrance is flanked with monumental granite Doric columns. Iron pendant chandeliers adorn the ground floor lobby and an elaborate wrought iron awning overhangs the entrance. The Empire Building now serves as a luxury hotel.

Photo credit: Lewis Kennedy

Birmingham: UAB Heritage Hall/Quad

On a busy corner of UAB’s campus is Heritage Hall, a five-story, 91,750-square-foot building housing the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Completed in 2008, the hall was designed by KPS Group in association with Goody Clancy Architects in Boston and contains lecture and seminar rooms, laboratory spaces and 118 faculty offices, as well as a computer lab and a digital video editing suite. The monumental glazed corner element and cascading steps provide a clear entry while a two-story glazed atrium floods the interior with natural light.

Photo credit: Thomas Watkins

Birmingham: Stewart Perry Corporation

Reuse and reverence for the land are evident throughout the 16-acre site of Stewart Perry Corporation’s LEED® certified headquarters in Birmingham. Once toxic due to its proximity to coal mines, the lake on the site is now clean. Water silos capture 40,000 gallons of rain annually and a year-round vegetable garden is maintained on the property. Designed by the former HKW Associates in Birmingham, all of the buildings on the site incorporate sustainable materials and practices, such as ceilings and doors fashioned from salvaged red bald cypress trees, and oak flooring repurposed from a tobacco warehouse.

Photo credit: Stewart Perry

Birmingham: 16th Street Baptist Church

In 1963, a Ku Klux Klan bomb exploded in the 16th Street Baptist Church killing four young girls. Though this National Historic Landmark is forever associated with this racially motivated crime, the building is much more than that, having long served the local black community and providing a meeting place for civil rights leaders. The present Romanesque-style building was constructed in 1911 and was designed by Wallace Rayfield, the second formally educated African-American architect in the United States. After the bombing, a stained glass window depicting a black Jesus was donated by the people of Wales and was installed in the front window.

Photo credit: Lewis Kennedy

Birmingham: Jones Valley Teaching Farm

Urban farms are springing up across America and one is thriving in downtown Birmingham on five acres of once vacant property. Jones Valley Urban Farm is a non-profit organization whose mission is to grow organic produce and flowers, educate the community about healthy food, and oversee two community gardens. Produce is sold at local farmers markets, restaurants, farm stands, grocery stores and a Food Box subscription. Among the many programs offered are an accredited high school agri-science program, K-8 nutrition field trips, teacher workshops, preschool gardening, student internships, hunger prevention, sustainable farming and preventing childhood obesity.

Photo credit: Goodwyn Mills & Cawood

Auburn: Jule Collins Smith Museum

Step into the lobby and take in the magnificent multicolored, three-tier chandelier created by glass sculptor Dale Chihuly, just one of thousands of works of art in store for visitors at Auburn University’s acclaimed Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art. The travertine-clad museum contains six exhibition galleries, a 127-seat auditorium, and a café and gift shop. A large lake, walking paths and outdoor sculpture are also part of the 10-acre site. Recent renovations include expanding educational and public spaces, along with additional storage for collections, and improvements to lighting, acoustics and temperature control.

Photo credit: Jule Collins Smith Museum

Anniston: St. Michael’s and All Angels Episcopal Church

St. Michael’s and All Angels Church in Anniston would not look out of place in an English village. Its many features express the Norman influence of Cornwall, home of the church’s founder. Built in 1890, the sandstone church was designed by architect William Halsey Wood, a finalist in the competition to design the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. Stonemasons from England constructed the Anniston church of local materials. Bavarian craftsmen carved the crosses and symbols. Those British stonemasons could comfortably worship here since the Episcopal Church spun off the Church of England.

– Photo credit: Donna C. Hole