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Birmingham Historic Highlights: Guided Landmark Tour
4.8
23 Ratings
Birmingham
Discover the rich history of Birmingham, Alabama, on a guided tour of its iconic landmarks. Explore historic sites, theaters, and the Civil Rights District in this 3-4 hour tour.
Discover the rich history of Birmingham, Alabama, on a guided tour of its iconic landmarks. Explore historic sites, theaters, and the Civil Rights District in this 3-4 hour tour.
Duration:
4 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Heaviest Corner on Earth - The Heaviest Corner on Earth is a promotional name given to the corner of 20th Street and 1st Avenue North in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, in the early 20th century. The name reflected the nearly simultaneous appearance of four of the tallest buildings in the South, the 10-story Woodward Building (1902), 16-story…
- Heaviest Corner on Earth - The Heaviest Corner on Earth is a promotional name given to the corner of 20th Street and 1st Avenue North in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, in the early 20th century. The name reflected the nearly simultaneous appearance of four of the tallest buildings in the South, the 10-story Woodward Building (1902), 16-story Brown Marx Building (1906), 16-story Empire Building (1909), and the 21-story American Trust and Savings Bank Building (1912).
What's Included
- All fees and taxes included
- Complimentary bottled water
- Snacks provided
- Air-conditioned transport
- All fees and taxes included
- Complimentary bottled water
- Snacks provided
- Air-conditioned transport
Additional Information
Embark on a guided exploration of Birmingham, Alabama’s vivid past, journeying through its most significant sites. You’ll see the Arlington House, the only existing plantation home within the city boundaries. Take a step back in time at the Alabama Theatre, a charmingly preserved cinema from 1927, and the Lyric Theater, both integral parts to the city’s…
Embark on a guided exploration of Birmingham, Alabama’s vivid past, journeying through its most significant sites. You’ll see the Arlington House, the only existing plantation home within the city boundaries. Take a step back in time at the Alabama Theatre, a charmingly preserved cinema from 1927, and the Lyric Theater, both integral parts to the city’s cultural heritage. Uncover the Civil Rights District, a setting for crucial occurrences during the Civil Rights Movement; this includes the 16th Street Baptist Church and Kelly Ingraham Park. Lastly, witness the incredible design of the Vulcan Park and Museum, which hosts the largest cast iron sculpture in the world.
Please bear in mind that the tour does not encompass the interiors of the 16th Street Baptist Church or The Alabama and Lyric Theaters.
Spanning 3 to 4 hours, this tour offers an encompassing glimpse into the chronicles of the Magic City.
Location
Birmingham Historic Touring Company
20th Street North
# Location to meet:
219 20th Street North, Birmingham, AL 35206
The best place to park for daytime tours is at the parking deck on 2nd Avenue North directly around the corner
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.8
(23 Ratings)
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Mominchina
Oct 5, 2024
David's Birmingham - David was amazing! My head was spinning with his phenomenal knowledge of the Birmingham area! I cannot say enough good things about his tour. My husband and I got a real "feel" for the city, got to see the highlights of the city and even had a great lunch at the "Garage". I felt thoroughly spoiled after he dropped us off at our hotel! One of the things that impressed me the most is that David actually LOVES Birmingham and is a vibrant resident of the city. We've traveled extensively and this is a very unusual quality!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lafy56
Sep 18, 2024
Extensive, information overview of Birmingham and its history. - This was such an interesting tour. My husband and I had never been to Birmingham. We saw most of the main areas of the city. Our guide was extremely knowledgable about the city’s founding, growth, cholera epidemic, rebuilding, and civil rights movement. He was able to give us lots of interesting information about everything we saw (or drove past). The tour starts at Vulcan Park which was beautiful. It sits high on the mountain and overlooks Birmingham. Our guide personally took us through the museum there and we learned about the city’s history of mining and iron smelting as well as the Vulcan statue. The highlight for us was the Negro Southern League (Baseball) Museum. We are baseball fan’s and loved it. Our guide was knowledgable about every exhibit there. Four hours was not nearly long enough, but we felt like we got a great foundation in Birmingham’s history to do more exploring on our own. Well worth the time and cost.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Innovation007
Sep 4, 2024
Find out what makes the "Magic City" tick.... - I loved my highlights tour with David. He was so informative and engaging. He gave me a better understanding of the city and some of its facets: food (I did not know about white barbeque so will have to try), the history of the negro league, civil rights and architecture. Will have to return to try the other tours like the ghost walk with my posse to celebrate my birthday. What a find!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Awooly
May 17, 2024
An entertaining, personalised and informative tour of Birmingham Alabama - We took their Historic Highlights Tour which gave an overview of the history of Birmingham. Our guide (I can't remember his name, but he looked like a young Colonel Saunders) was very friendly and obviously knowledgeable about the city. The tour included a visit to Vulcan park, Arlington House and the Sloss Furnaces as well as the city’s most iconic landmarks. A really enjoyable and informative four hours. Highly recommended for an overview of Birmingham.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jane_c
May 2, 2024
Best of Birmingham - The most memorable parts of my tour with David were the 16th Street Church and Kelly Ingram Park… along with the Negro League Player’s museum! David was a wealth of knowledge about the history of Birmingham. I learned so much!
Review provided by Viator
Kevin_m
Apr 6, 2024
Wonderful experience!! - David was our guide and was very knowledgeable. We loved everything he took us to. The individual attention was worth the $$$$.
My suggestions for improvement: prior to leaving, poll the group to prioritize sights and ask about the need for a lunch break.
The car was dirty with pet hair and a bit smelly. Not good for someone with pet allergies.
He was very generous with his time! We started a bit early and went well over the ending time. I’d would take the tour again.
Review provided by Viator
Allison_s
Mar 3, 2024
The guide was friendly,... - The guide was friendly, knowledgeable, flexible, and hospitable. This was an overall enjoyable experience. It was worth the value fiscally paid.
Review provided by Viator
Marysh1934oa
Mar 1, 2024
Got to know everything about the city in a short time - Thoroughly fun and professional with limitless amounts of insights. Really maximized my short stay in the city to become knowledgeable of all is highlights. Enjoyed every minute of it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
John_s
Oct 26, 2024
David was very... - David was very knowledgeable about the area and was very informative. He was flexible and gave us options. He needs a serious upgrade for his vehicle.
Review provided by Viator
Curlieque
May 30, 2024
Our plans went awry... - 2 days before the tour, David called to confirm that we were four adults and would need a larger size van than the car he usually drove for a couple or a family with kids. I greatly appreciated him verifying that. The day before the tour, weather caused the airline to reroute us, and I spent an hour at the airport trying to get us back on track - to no avail. Once it became apparent we wouldn't arrive in Birmingham on time to go on the tour the next day, I called David to let him know we had to cancel as our tight schedule didn't have any other alternative day. He said he would be happy to give us a refund if Trip Advisor would, as I hadn't booked directly with the tour company. Unfortunately, when I cancelled on TA, it was less than 24 hours before the tour start (though it was still the day before), which meant no automatic refund.
After I got home from the tip, I filed a claim with TA, explaining what had happened with the airline and how I'd cancelled as soon as I could the day before. After a few days I got an email saying that yes, I would be getting a full refund, and a few days after that the refund appeared on my credit card. So the rating isn't for the tour itself but the friendly call ahead of time confirming the size car we'd need and the effort it took to get the refund.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
