In fact, you never hear people saying, "you MUST go to Birmingham."
To be honest, we sort of added it as a stop on our road trip to New Orleans just because of the towns rich baseball history.
My best buddy Adam is from Birmingham though. I asked him about some of the other things to do in town, and he mentioned Vulcan.
He is one of the tallest statues in the US. Plus, he is up on a huge pedestal and he just looks perfect.
He was made for the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis to show off what Birmingham could do with Iron.
After the World's Fair, he was shipped back to Birmingham and shuffled around a little until he found his current home on Red Mountain in 1936.
He spent some time at the Fair Grounds before that, and he was used as a bit of a product pitchman, and he was seen holding various other items in his right hand at that time, including coke.
Now, when you visit Vulcan, you can take the stairs or the elevator to his observation deck. The deck is a bit shaky. It almost feels like scaffold, and you know you are up in the sky! It is exciting and scary!
There is a great museum at the park too, detailing Vulcan and his history. There is a display right now on items that have been made with Vulcan on it (statues, postcards, etc.).
We stopped by to see Vulcan during the day, then we went to a Barons game, and after that we went back to see him at night. What a great way to spend a day in Birmingham!
I am definitely moving Vulcan to the top of my list of things a road tripper must see in their lifetime!
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