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.