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BIRMINGHAM BOTANICAL GARDENS (P) 205.414.3900 2612 LANE PARK RD BBGARDENS.ORG

Less than five minutes from Downtown, the beautiful Birmingham Botanical Gardens features more than 67 acres of awe-inspiring, natural splendor for visitors of all ages. Over 350,000 visitors grace the grounds every year to enjoy the thematic gardens, abundant plant life, walking paths, artwork and sculpture. Additionally, a climate-controlled conservatory, the largest of its kind in the Southeast, nurtures rare and delicate plants from around the world. For a verdant feast for the senses unlike anything else in Alabama, stop by today for a quick walkabout or extended relaxation.

BIRMINGHAM CIVIL RIGHTS HERITAGE TRAIL BEGINNING AT KELLY INGRAM PARK, CORNER OF 6TH AVE N AND 16TH ST IN DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM. FOLLOW MAPS ON SIGNS.

The Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail winds through downtown, marking significant locations along civil rights march routes. Designed as a self-guided tour, the route includes signs marking actual Civil Rights events that occurred on the very streets that are a part of this trail.

BIRMINGHAM CIVIL RIGHTS INSTITUTE (P) 205-328-9696 520 16TH STREET NORTH BCRI.ORG

Richly detailed exhibits in the Civil Rights Institute reveal slices of black and white life in Alabama from the late 1800s to the present. A series of galleries tells the stories of daily life for African-Americans in the state and the nation and how dramatically different it was from the lives white people of that era took for granted. The powerful Movement Gallery presents the Civil Rights Movement from 1955 to 1963. Here, a picture emerges of the bad old days of Bombingham, a reference to the relentless violence that rocked the city in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In the final exhibits, the Processional Gallery uses

life-size figures representing all ages and races to portray the walk to freedom. Open Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 5pm; Sunday, 1pm - 5pm. Admission.

BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM OF ART (P) 205.254.2565 2000 REV ABRAHAM WOODS JR BLVD ARTSBMA.ORG

The Birmingham Museum of Art has one of the finest collections in the Southeast. More than 24,000 objects represent a rich panorama of cultures, including Asian, European, American, African, Pre-Columbian and Native American. Highlights include the museum s collection of Asian art, considered the finest and most comprehensive in the Southeast, and its collection of Vietnamese ceramics, one of the finest in the world; a remarkable Kress collection of Renaissance and Baroque paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts from the late 13th century to the 1750s; the collection of 18th century European decorative arts, which includes superior examples of English ceramics and French furniture; and the museum s world-renowned collection of Wedgwood, the largest outside of England. Excellent café. Open Tuesday Saturday, 10am 5pm; Sunday, noon 5pm. Donations welcome.

BIRMINGHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY (P) 205.226.3600 2100 PARK PLACE BPLONLINE.ORG

The main library is made up of two stunning buildings, the East Building with its dramatic atrium and the 1927 Linn-Henley Research Library with its beautiful wall murals. Hundreds of visitors come to the main library each year to access their extensive genealogical resources. Open Monday Tuesday, 9am 8pm; Wednesday Saturday, 9am 6pm; Sunday, 2pm 6pm.

BIRMINGHAM RACE COURSE (P) 205.838.7500 1000 JOHN ROGERS DR BIRMINGHAMRACECOURSE.COM

A spacious pari-mutuel racing facility, the Birmingham Race Course is open year-round. Patrons enjoy live greyhound racing and simulcast events from the country s