Birmingham Civil Rights Heritage Trail
In many locations downtown. In front of the courthouse is a pair of tall free-standing signs with life-sized photographs. Here and
elsewhere in the park and downtown, signs like these mark places
of importance in the 1960s civil rights movement in the city. Be on
the watch for the signs in other spots on Tours 1 and 2.
Linn-Henley Library
SE corner of the park. The Linn-Henley Research Library (1927) served as the central library for the Birmingham Public
Library system until a new central library was built across Richard
Arrington Jr Blvd N. Today the original building houses historical
research resources in its rare books and maps collections and
departments of Archives and Manuscripts and of Southern History,
which, among other focuses, is a center for genealogical research.
Go inside the library to enjoy Ezra Winter murals illustrating
children s fairy tales (in the entrance area) and scenes from world
literature (in the main reading room).
Central Library
2100 Park Place. Walk east to the corner of Park Place and Richard Arrington Jr Blvd N, stopping to view other Civil Rights
Heritage Trail markers. On the NE corner of the intersection you
will see the Central Library (1984) of the Birmingham Public
Library system.
UPPER DOWNTOWN
BIRMINGHAM MUSEUM OF ART
Linn Park
Bounded by Rev Abraham Woods Jr Blvd, the park side of Richard Arrington Jr Blvd, Park Place, and 20th St N. Start the tour on the north side of Linn Park near Rev Abraham
Woods Jr Blvd. When it was fi rst laid out as
a public park in 1871, it was surrounded
by residences of early settlers. Today, Linn
Park anchors a civic complex and is the
site of festivals and special events. The park
holds a variety of statues, monuments, and
markers connected to the history of the city,
including a bronze statue of industrialist
and fi nancier Charles Linn (southwest
quadrant) and a sculpture of Mary
Cahalan (facing the library entrance),
by Giuseppe Moretti, who also created
the statue of Vulcan that overlooks
the city from atop Red Mountain.
Birmingham Museum of Art
2000 Rev Abraham Woods Jr Blvd. Facing the north side of Linn Park is the Birmingham Museum of Art, one of the fi nest
regional museums in the United States. It houses a diverse
collection of paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, and decorative
arts, as well as a café and a museum store.
Jeff erson County Courthouse
716 Richard Arrington Jr Blvd N. The Jefferson County Courthouse (1929-32) followed on the heels of the library in
beginning to transform the park from residential to a civic center
of public buildings. Bas-relief panels over the park-side entrance
depict aspects of the state s and county s history, including ties
to Native Americans; the Spanish, French, and English; early
American settlement; and the Confederacy.