UAB Campus Recreation Center

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

https://www.wba-architects.com/news/aia-alabama-2006?rq=uab%20rec

Leroy Pope Mansion

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

https://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2014/12/leroy_pope_home_huntsvilles_fi.html

Bank of Brewton

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

https://bankofbrewton.com/history/

Homewood Middle School

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

http://www.gastudio.com/work/homewood-middle-school/

Montgomery March Interpretive Center

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

http://www.lib.alasu.edu/march50/interpretive-center.html

Opelika: South Railroad Avenue/CB

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

http://www.opelikamainstreet.org/

Mt Laurel

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

https://www.dpz.com/Projects/9612

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

https://www.fbchsv.org

Tuskegee: Tuskegee University "The Ave"

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_University

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

http://www.decaturcvb.org/item/princess-theatre-for-the-performing-arts

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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

http://www.atlantamagazine.com/southbound-articles/street-smart-homewood-alabama/

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gainesville_Historic_District

florence-commercial-business-district

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

https://www.visitflorenceal.com/

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

http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2418

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

https://www.tuskegee.edu/about-us/chapel-history

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

http://www.gastudio.com/work/intermodal/

guarnty-federal-savings-and-loan-lewis-communications-williams-blackstock

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

https://www.bhamwiki.com/w/Guaranty_Savings_and_Loan

eufaula

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

https://www.southernliving.com/travel/alabama/eufaula-al

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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

https://medium.com/@zsearce/the-story-behind-the-alabama-power-building-in-birmingham-eba5bf4fcbf5

hugh-kaul-childrens-museum

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

http://Birminghamzoo.com

gaineswood

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

https://ahc.alabama.gov/properties/gaineswood/gaineswood.aspx

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

https://www.mbusi.com/visitorcenter/vc-museum

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

http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/AL-01-125-0003

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

http://ritztalladega.com/

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

https://www.firstbankal.com/about-us/our-history#event-city-of-talladegaa-ala-is-incorporated

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

http://www.prattvilleal.gov

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Andrew%27s_Episcopal_Church_(Prairieville,_Alabama)

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

http://www.ruralstudio.org/

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

https://www.mtnbrook.org/

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

https://stjohnsmontgomery.org/

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

https://www.alabamacommunitiesofexcellence.org/attraction/old-monroe-county-courthouse-museumhistoric-downtown-square/

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malbis_Memorial_Church

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

http://www.townofmagnoliasprings.org/

Indian Springs- Indian Springs School Phase 1

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

https://www.aia.org/showcases/16691-indian-springs-school

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

https://www.huntsvilleal.gov/development/building-construction/historic-preservation/history/

demopolis-public-sqaure

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

https://demopolisal.org/

Dauphin Island: Isle Dauphine Club

An example of Googie architecture – the whimsical, futuristic design movement that brought the Space Age aesthetic into everyday life – is the 1957 clubhouse at the Isle Dauphine Club on Dauphin Island. The mid-20th century building was designed by T. Howard Ellis, Arch Winter and Carl Burmeister and features a two-story tiered cylindrical form with a smaller stucco cylindrical tower. The walls are a floor-to-ceiling metal, and a glass gridded curtain wall allows for expansive views of the island and golf course while flooding the space with natural light. A terrace roof is also part of the design that provides additional space for viewing.

Photo Credit: Lewis Kennedy

http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/AL-01-097-0035

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

https://lyricbham.com/

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

https://kpsgroup.com/projects/temple-emanu-el/

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

https://kpsgroup.com/projects/ruffner/

Birmingham: Innovation Depot

A long-vacant Sears department store in Birmingham was transformed into the headquarters for Innovation Depot, a non-profit business incubator for start-up companies. Williams Blackstock Architects turned the dilapidated structure into 120,000 square feet of office space, 20,000 square feet of laboratories, a copy center, conference rooms, café and bakery, training facilities, rooftop terrace and landscaped courtyards. The project also helped revitalize a blighted two-block area of downtown Birmingham. This adaptive reuse project won several awards, including the 2009 Preservation Award from the Birmingham Historical Society and the 2007 Honor Award, Renovation/Restoration from the Alabama Council, AIA.

Photo Credit: Wiliams Blackstock

https://innovationdepot.org/

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

https://www.baseballpilgrimages.com/rickwood.html

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

https://www.slossfurnaces.com/

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

https://www.bhamwiki.com/w/Crestwood_Park

Birmingham: BLHI Group Office Building

B.L. Harbert International, a construction company that builds U.S. embassies worldwide, built its new International Group Headquarters on a 12-acre campus in Birmingham. Designed by GA Studio, the headquarters consists of two buildings divided by Little Shades Creek and connected by a footbridge – a 38,000-square-foot, two-story office building and a building for logistics and quality control of equal size. The complex was constructed with many sustainability elements such as LED and sensory lighting, low-flow fixtures and water-conscious irrigation. Flags fly in front of the headquarters that represent the countries where the company is currently working.

Photo Credit : GA Studio

http://www.blharbert.com/projects/international-group-headquarters-logistics-center/

Alexander City: Spring House

Dining at Spring House Restaurant in Russell Crossroads isn’t just about the expertly prepared food. It’s also about the idyllic setting and award-winning building designed by Jeffrey Dungan Architects. The restaurant suggests shutter porches, wood sheds, dog-trots and other farmhouse vernacular characteristics. Tall windows and exterior dining spaces provide views of the surrounding pastures, pine and hardwood forests, and in the distance, Lake Martin. Spring House received the 2011 AIA Birmingham chapter Commercial Merit Award and the 2013 Alabama Council AIA Honor Award.

Photo Credit: Spring House

https://www.jeffreydungan.com/work/spring-house-restaurant/

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

http://www.goathillhistory.com/blog/2016/5/26/court-square

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Alabama_Quad

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

http://clarkecountyal.com/thomasville/

Sterret: Sunshine Farms Chapel

Spirituality and symbolism are foremost in church design, and that was Krumdieck A+1 Design’s approach for a faith-based camp in Sterret. The chapel is open yet protected by an outstretched roof plane that cradles the space below. Water, a symbol of life, culminates at the foot of a wooden cross that dominates the chapel. An entry sequence begins along a path through the woods, and ascends with steps leading to the base of a cistern where rainwater is collected. Water flows through a trough passing under the stone floor, which steps down in three places and is revealed again in seven squares. The project won the 2009 AIA Birmingham chapter Honor Award.

Photo credit: Krumdieck A+1

http://www.krumdieck.com/work#/chapel

Pittsview: pair of historic churches

In the tiny hamlet of Pittsview – an unincorporated community in Russell County – are two exceptional examples Carpenter-Gothic churches that stand side-by-side on a scenic wooded street. One is the United Methodist built in 1893 and the other is the Pittsview Baptist Church built in 1897. Both are thought to be constructed by master carpenter and Pittsview resident William Marshall Burt. Both churches are white painted wood-frame with pointed arches over the windows and graceful steeples above the bell towers. Today, shared services are offered on alternating Sundays to help sustain church attendance.

Photo credit: unknown

http://www.rcala.com/rch.html

Moundville Archeological Park

Alabama is home to the remains of one of the country’s largest prehistoric Native American settlements. Located along the Black Warrior River just south of Tuscaloosa, the site was once a flourishing ceremonial and political hub of Mississippian culture and occupied over three centuries until it was abandoned in the 16th century. Today, the Moundville Archeological Park contains the original site with its large earthen mounds arranged in an open plaza. Also part of the park is the Jones Archaeological Museum that displays over 200 artifacts. The park and museum are operated by the University of Alabama.

Photo credit: Lewis Kennedy

https://moundville.ua.edu/about/

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

https://www.mooresvilleal.com/

Montgomery: Huntingdon College core

Part of the historic Old Cloverdale neighborhood in Montgomery, the central campus of Huntingdon College features buildings of Collegiate-Gothic architecture that surround a pleasing park-like setting known as the Green. The Huntingdon College Campus Historic District contains 13 contributing buildings, built in the Gothic-Revival and Tudor-Revival styles. The landscape design for the campus was created by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. Huntingdon is private liberal arts college founded in 1854 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.

Photo credit: Alabama Historical Commission

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntingdon_College

Mobile: Washington Square

Mobile’s historic urban squares may not be as well known as Savannah’s, but they are equally beautiful with their majestic live oaks, graceful fountains and surrounding antebellum architecture. At the heart of Oakleigh Garden Historic District in Mobile is Washington Square, among the city’s most beloved parks and one that serves as a social and cultural hub. On the National Register of Historic Places, Oakleigh Garden Historic District is centered on Washington Square and contains 288 contributing buildings that range in age from the 1820s to the 1940s.

Photo credit: unknown

https://www.midtownmobile.org/washington-square-1/

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_Hill_College_Quadrangle

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

http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/AL-01-087-0030

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

http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2940

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

https://www.huntsville.org/rocket-city/districts-neighborhoods/downtown/

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

http://mygulfstatepark.com/

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

http://www.geesbendferry.com/

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

https://www.visitflorenceal.com/things_to_do/toms-wall/

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

https://www.visitflorenceal.com/things_to_do/frank-lloyd-wright-rosenbaum-house/

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

http://www.stpaulsl.com/

Birmingham: Five Points South

A convergence of five streets sounds like a traffic nightmare, but in Birmingham’s historic Southside neighborhood it is an entertainment district showplace. Five Points South was settled in 1887 and by 1893 had developed into a streetcar subdivision. A public square marks the intersection of the five converging streets, the focus being the 1909 Highlands United Methodist Church and its fountain. The church is joined by a mix of new and old buildings, including sensitively restored structures such as the 1930 Mill Building and the 1926 Spanish Stores. A strong neighborhood organization, the Five Points Alliance (FPA), keeps the square vital and attractive; bustling with activity day and night.  

Photo credit: Lewis Kennedy

https://fivepointsbham.com/

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

https://aiabham.org/2016/06/14/downtown-birmingham-ymca/

Birmingham: Interior of Linn-Henley Research Library

Public libraries should inspire and inform, and the Linn-Henley Research Library in Birmingham does just that. In the main reading room of the circa 1927 library designed by Miller & Martin Architects are murals depicting mythology from cultures around the world. Murals in the children’s section represent children’s literature from 16 countries, and include images of Lancelot, Pocahontas, Krishna, Don Quixote, Goldilocks and Confucius. Later renovations by KPS Group brought the building to current codes and interior elements were restored.

Photo credit: KPS

https://kpsgroup.com/projects/linn-henley-library/

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

https://www.wba-architects.com/portfolio/uab-wti/

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

https://www.birminghamtimes.com/2017/04/building-history-behind-the-locked-doors-of-birminghams-landmark-masonic-temple/

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

http://www.auburn.edu/communications_marketing/150/history/samford.html

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens_Courthouse_Square_Commercial_Historic_District

Athens: Founders Hall

The adjective “stately” is often used, and even overused, to describe buildings of substance. Yet it’s an apt description of Founders Hall on the Athens State University campus. Built during 1842-1844, the Greek Revival-style building is distinguished by a spacious recessed portico with monumental iconic columns and flanking piers. Additions over the years have tripled the dimensions of the original building, which included adding a third floor. Founders Hall was built by the Tennessee Conference of the Methodist Church on five acres of donated land and houses the university president’s office.

Photo credit: Lewis Kennedy

http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2982

Children's Harbor Lodge

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

https://www.childrensharbor.com/tour-alex-city-harbor-lodge#.W3Gu1s5KjIU

Tuskegee University Chapel Interior

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

https://www.tuskegee.edu/about-us/chapel-history

University of Alabama Smith Hall Interior

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

https://almnh.museums.ua.edu/about-the-museum/

Talladega College’s Savery Library

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

Sylacauga: Pursell Farms

Nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Sylacauga is Pursell Farms, a sprawling 3,200-acre resort that offers sweeping views of several counties. The bucolic, family-run Pursell Farms includes FarmLinks Golf Club, known as a “golfer’s golf course.” Alabama has first-rate golf courses, so when one stands out, that’s saying something. Among the resort’s many other amenities are the Orvis® Shooting Grounds, Hamilton Place wedding venue and The Inn, a recent addition designed by Birmingham-based ArchitectureWorks that includes 40 rooms, a restaurant, bar, meeting space and fitness center.

Photo credit: MackNally Land Design

https://pursellfarms.com/

Sturdivant Hall

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

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturdivant_Hall

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

http://www.moderndaytripper.com/alabama-state-capitol-montgomery-al/

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

https://massdesigngroup.org/work/national-memorial-peace-and-justice

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

https://www.gspcmobile.org/

Barber Motorsports Park

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

https://www.barbermuseum.org/

Renaissance Birmingham Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa

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

http://www.gmcnetwork.com/project-detail/markets/hospitality/ross-bridge-renaissance-golf-resort-spa

Old Southern Progress Building

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

http://thehomewoodstar.com/schools/southern-progress825/

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

http://fort-morgan.org/

colbert-wilson-dam

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

https://www.visitflorenceal.com/things_to_do/wilson-dam/

Florence: Rosenbaum House

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

http://www.historicalbanyalabama.com/

Ave Maria Grotto

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

http://www.avemariagrotto.com/

Columbiana: 4-H Environmental Education Center

The Alabama 4-H Center in Columbiana has a strong identity with its lakeside environmental education center. Davis Architects met the functional requirements needed for the 14,000 school children who visit yearly and achieved LEED® Gold Certification, a distinction only one other building in Alabama and no other 4-H facility in the nation at the time had achieved. The building combines natural stone and wood with steel and recycled materials. Environmental laboratories and display areas on the lower level support the 4-H Environmental Field School, while the upper level includes seminar rooms, multi-function space and a kitchen. Students can study nature from an observation deck at treetop level.

Photo credit: Davis Architects

https://www.facebook.com/Alabama4hcenter

empire-building Empire Building

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

https://www.bhamwiki.com/w/Empire_Building

uab-heritage-hall Birmingham: UAB Heritage Hall/Quad

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

https://kpsgroup.com/projects/heritage-hall/

stewart-perry-office

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

https://stewartperry.com/who-we-are/campus/

16th-street-baptist-church

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

https://www.16thstreetbaptist.org/brief-history%2C-part-1.html

ymca-youth-center ymca

Birmingham: YMCA Youth Center

Bold lines, geometric shapes and primary colors energize YMCA Youth Center in Birmingham. The former Phillips High School gym was renovated for after-school and summer care of children in the city center. Designed by CCR Architecture & Interiors in Birmingham, the project includes classrooms, exercise areas, locker rooms, a climbing totem, an exterior pool, playing fields and a garden. The YMCA Youth Center won the Honor Award from the Birmingham Chapter of the AIA, the Merit Award from the Alabama Council of the AIA, the Citation of Honor from the Gulf States Chapter of the AIA, and the Outstanding Project of the Year from the Construction Specifications Institute in 2007.

Photo credit: CCR Architecture & Interiors

https://ccrarchitecture.com/work/ymca-youth-center

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Birmingham: Regions Field

Ballparks are for watching baseball, but at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham there’s plenty more to do. Participate in family fun games, picnic or enjoy the food and drink venues and take pleasure in the park’s other amenities. Home of the Birmingham Barons, Regions Field replaced the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium when it was decided to build a stadium downtown and bring baseball back to Birmingham. The park opened in 2013 and its sleek, modern stadium was a joint venture of HKS Inc. in Dallas, and Hoskins Architecture and GA Studio, both in Birmingham. The ballpark borrows elements from Birmingham’s Sloss Furnaces and Rickwood Field.

Photo credit: MackNally Land Design

http://www.milb.com/content/page.jsp?content_id=26491494&sid=t247&vkey=team4&ymd=20120127

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

https://jvtf.org/who-we-are/

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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

http://jcsm.auburn.edu/

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

stmichaels anniston

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

http://stmichaelsanniston.org/our-history/