Hidden Treasures of Alabama

The Phantom Plays—Third Place

The 2,500 seat Alabama Theater was built in Birmingham, Alabama in 1927 by Paramount Studios to sell tickets to its motion picture films, all silent at the time. During its fifty-five year reign, the projection booth rolled through the movie reels of silent films, black and white talkies and finally wide screen color blockbusters such as Ben Hur. Built during the silent move era, an ornate Mighty Wurliter pipe organ, one of only twenty-five ever built, was used to provide appropriate music for each movie scene.

The organ saved the theater from being turned into a parking lot in 1987 when the Alabama Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society attempted to buy the organ. The theater owners refused to sell only the organ, so the non-profit organization, Birmingham Landmarks, Inc, was created to purchase the building, and the Mighty Wurlitzer.

Events continue to be held at the Alabama Theater, including the showing of old movies—even the silent ones with the Mighty Wurliter providing the mood.

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Still In The Game—First Place

On August 18, 1910 at 3:30 p.m., the gates of Rickwood Field opened to the public for the first time. As more than 10,000 cheering fans watched, the Birmingham Coal Barons triumphed over the Montgomery Climbers 3 to 2.

The park was built by Birmingham industrialist Rick Woodward, who founded the Woodward Iron Company.

Rickwood Field was modeled after Pittsburgh's Forbes Field and Philadelphia's Shibe Park, and like Shibe Park there are no stands in the right field.

Rickwood Field is America's oldest surviving professional baseball stadium, and continues to host baseball games and other events.

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American's Oldest Mission

Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman, Alabama is a four acre park with 125 miniature reproductions of famous religious buildings and shrines in the world.

The masterpieces were the creation of Brother Joseph Zoettl, who was a Benedictine monk of St. Bernard Abbey from 1892 until his death in 1961. His diorama, the Basilica in Lourdes, was built in 1958 at the age of 80. He built his first at age 34.

Brother Joseph collected and used an assortment of materials to build his miniatures: cement, marble, colored glass, ash trays, marbles, and many other donated and scavenged items.

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The Gold Room—Second Place

The pristine shallow lake waters of Sequoyah Caverns, now closed to the public, reflect the surrounding rock formations, resulting in harmonious and beautiful symmetry.

There are thousands upon thousands of caves and/or caverns in the United States. A cave and a cavern are basically the same thing. Caves, formed through constantly dripping water eating away the surrounding limestone, are often called caverns. Another distinction between a cave and a carven is that a cavern contains at least one large room inside.

Formed by sulfuric acid rather than water, New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns has a space known as the Big Room, which is large enough to hold roughly 6.2 football fields.

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Get'm While They're Hot

The Peanut Depot began roasting peanuts in 1907 closed forever in the early 21st century. The tantalizing aroma of freshly roasted peanuts drifted onto Morris Avenue in downtown Birmingham, Alabama six days a week.

The Depot offered a wide variety of peanut flavors, which came packed in clear plastic bags to insure freshness. And if you wanted, you get them delivered to your front door!

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Mirror Mirror On The Wall—Third Place

Ladies Lounge–Alabama Theater

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Gone To Hot Dog Heaven

From summer of 1948 to April 2011, Gus Koutroulakis went to work every single day except for Christmas Day and Thanksgiving Day. When he took a three week vacation in 1995 it made newspaper, radio, and television headlines.

The legend began when Gus’s uncle Pete bought the tiny hot dog shop in 1939 with $600 he won in a Pinochle game. The shop was little more than a narrow room, accommodating three or four customers at a time. It was strictly stand and eat, usually outside.

In 1948 Gus took over the business when he graduated from Phillips High School. He made his secret sauce recipe at home every night. Only Gus knew the secret and it died with him.

Gus worked so long and hard, bent over the grill, he was no longer able to stand up straight. There was a shelf over the grill in font of him, which made Gus stoop over as he cooked the hot dogs. When someone told Gus he should take the shelf down, he replied, “Where am I going to put the bread?"

In his will, Gus left the Pete’s Famous sign to the Barber motorsports museum.

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Vulcan—Original Ironman

Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and forge, has been a symbol of Birmingham, Alabama for over 100 years. Birmingham’s location is unique in that the raw materials required for making iron - coal, iron ore and limestone - are readily available within a thirty-mile radius.

Vulcan, originally built in 1904, is 56 feet tall, from toe to spear point, and sits atop a 124-foot pedestal. Vulcan is the largest cast iron statue in the world and the largest statue ever made in the United States.

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It Ain't Over Til

Built in 1889, during the industrial boom, and opened in September 1890, the Fort Payne Opera House is still in use. When the silent movie era came along, the opera house was converted into a movie theater.

Today, the Opera House regularly hosts live theater productions, professional ballet, and musical performances from classical piano to symphony.

The Fort Payne Opera House is on the National Register of Historic Places and the National Register of 19th Century Theaters in America.

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Town of Highlands—First Place

The area known as Five Points South was originally developed as one of Birmingham, Alabama’s first streetcar suburbs. It was the Town of Highlands from 1887 to 1893 before becoming a part of the City of Birmingham.

Five streets converge, creating five points instead of four corners. The streetcar lines served as transportation lanes to downtown Birmingham, industrial work sites, and entertainment areas.

The original streetcars were pulled by mules with an extra mule waiting at 8th Avenue to pull the car up to the Five Points Circle. The mules gave way to steam and then in 1891 to electricity. By 1920, lines radiated out in all directions.

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Little Red Boat House

Some of the most beautiful and historic country in Alabama, once homeland to the Cherokee, is found in and around DeSoto State Park in Fort Payne Alabama.

The park is named for Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, believed to have passed through countryside during his search for gold in the 1540's.

Some believe, however, de Soto was not the first European to see the rivers, canyons and waterfalls of the region.

Tradition holds that Prince Madoc, a Welsh explorer, may have visited DeSoto Falls as early as the 12th century.

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I Saw The Light

Hank and Audrey Williams resting place in Montgomery, Alabama.

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Tannehill Counrty Church

Built in 1905 on Eastern Valley Road in McCalla, Alabama, the Kimbrell Methodist Church served its congregation until the late 1950s.

It then sat idle for approximately fifteen years until it was donated and moved to Tannehill State Park where it now serves as a wedding chapel available for rent from the park.

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Ross Bridge

In 1858, a Carolinian named James Taylor Ross settled in the Oxmoor Valley of Alabama. During the American Civil War in the 1860's, Ross allowed the Confederate States of America to build a railroad supply line through his land. The stone bridge built to cross Ross Creek still stands today.

The residential neighborhoods of the Ross Bridge community now occupy the rolling hills of the surrounding countryside. The Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa is home to the world's third longest golf course, part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.

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