Weekend Adventures: Birmingham Vulcan Statue

*DISCLAIMER: This trip was taken back in February*
I love exploring and checking out new places.  We recently played tourist and visited the Vulcan Statue and Museum, something I have wanted to do for a while.

It was my birthday weekend and we just decided to finally make it happen.

We toured the museum and learned all about the history of Birmingham.  With rich coal, limestone and ore deposits this lead Alabama to be the nation's fourth-highest producer of iron and steel in the 1880's.  This lead to a rapid expand of the city of Birmingham.

We then climbed up to the top of the Vulcan Statue (and by climbed I mean we rode the elevator).  

 This statue is a whopping 56-foot, 60-tons and is the largest iron figure ever cast.  At the time is was made it was the biggest statue created in the US, and second-tallest in the country (right behind the Statue of Liberty).  It was made for the 1904 World's Fair and cast with iron made from ore mined at Red Mountain (where the park is now).

 Alright y'all here's a secret, I was scared to death once we got up there.  We stepped out of the elevator and I immediately wanted to go back down.  Don't get me wrong, the view was great but the fact that I could see the ground through the grates in the floor felt a little too unsteady for me.

Once we got back on land we walked around the park area (which was lovely).

If you are in the area it is definitely worth a visit.  It is free to walk around the park but you do have to pay to go to the museum and go up on the statue.  Tickets are $6 per adult and $4 for children but if you are a AAA member you get 20% off.

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