Alabama Sports Hall of Fame
2150 Richard Arrington Jr Blvd N. The ASHOF is a magnifi cent state treasure, dedicated to the celebration and preservation
of Alabama s exceptional sports heritage. Out of ESPN s list of
the top 100 athletes of the century, fi ve out of the top fi fteen
greatest ever are in the ASHOF: Jesse Owens, Hank Aaron,
Joe Louis, Willie Mays, and Carl Lewis. With more than 5,000
sports artifacts elegantly displayed in the 33,000 square foot
building, the ASHOF has become the benchmark for other Sports
Museums across the country.
Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau/Birmingham Shop
2200 Ninth Ave N. The Convention & Visitors Bureau is the place to fi nd all sorts of travelers information when visiting the
greater Birmingham area. Stop in for brochures, maps and helpful
information from the well-versed staff. The CVB also houses The
Birmingham Shop, a small souvenir shop carrying an interesting
variety of t-shirts, caps, snow globes, books and more all
Birmingham-themed.
Oak Hill Cemetery
1120 19th St N: Pedestrian and automobile entrance off 19th St N, pedestrian-only off 11th Ave N . As the city s fi rst cemetery, established 1871, Oak Hill became the resting place
for most Birmingham pioneers and leading citizens, including the
fi rst mayor, entrepreneurs, industrialists, and governors, as well
as a well-known madam. Leading civil rights advocate Rev. Fred
Shuttlesworth is among more recent burials of note there. The
Birmingham Public Library maintains searchable online data from
Oak Hill interment records.
In addition to the tours that follow,
you may want to visit these nearby sites:
Downtown Overview
In 1871 ten men bought some 4,000 acres of undeveloped land
in north central Alabama, staking their futures on the promise of
nearby mineral resources and the coming of two railroad lines. The
minerals were the ingredients for making iron, the basic material
driving the country s industrial economy. The men laid out a town
and called it Birmingham.The early businesses and residences
clustered within blocks of one another, starting near the railroad
tracks, with fl edgling industries nearby. As the city grew, newer
and larger buildings replaced most of those structures. Today what
remains from the city s fi rst three decades are downtown churches
built in the 1880s and 90s, in what used to be neighborhoods of
Victorian houses; a scattering of warehouses and buildings of the
same period that tell of the city s pioneer days; and Sloss Furnaces
National Historic Landmark, reminding us of the booming furnaces
and foundries that once lined the tracks.