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.