Places to Go:
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Birmingham’s
mily Dickinson stated, “A little madness in the spring is wholesome even for the king.” With that thought in mind let’s visit some of Birmingham’s quirky attractions. For quirky, it’s hard to beat Vulcan standing high atop Red Mountain overlooking the city of Birmingham. Standing 56 feet tall and weighing 100,000 pounds, the Roman god of fire is the world’s largest cast iron statue. He is an appropriate guardian for a city that grew from the fact this is the only place in the world that has the three elements necessary to produce iron, coal, limestone and iron ore. Vulcan was created for the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Giuseppie Moretti built the mold in a cathe-
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dral in New Jersey because there was no place large enough in Alabama. He got it cast here in Alabama and then delivered to new Jersey but was still a month late for the fair so visitors got to see him put it together. You can go inside to the top of Vulcan and have a great overview of Birmingham. There is also an informative and fun museum. The museum tells in detail about putting Vulcan together and how it got placed where it is today. The museum also does a great job of telling Birmingham’s history. There is a huge art work on the wall showing all the things made from steel. It explains why Birmingham was named “The Magic City” because the industry caused an almost-instant huge city to develop from a tiny town.