Birmingham, Alabama: Vulcan the Iron Man
RoadsideAmerica.com Team Field Report
Vulcan Park and Museum
- Address:
- 1701 Valley View Drive, Birmingham, AL
- Directions:
- Vulcan Park and Museum, atop Red Mountain. Entrance at the corner of 21st Ave. S. and Valley Ave.
- Hours:
- Daily 10-6 (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
- Phone:
- 205-933-1409
- RA Rates:
- Major Fun
Results 1 to 5 of 8... Page of 2 [Next 3 items]
56-foot-tall statue of Vulcan, the pagan, bare-butted Roman smithy god, watches Birmingham from his tower on the summit of Red Mountain. Surrounding park trails open from dawn to dusk.
Roadsideamerica.com Report... [01/03/2011]Visitor Tips and News About Vulcan the Iron Man
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An incredible statue (with an incredible past), visible for miles around the city of Birmingham. You can take in the city sights from an observation deck at the top (either by climbing stairs or taking an elevator). There is an interactive museum next door which should not be missed, and the grounds are exceptional!
[Stephen Francia, 03/16/2016]
Great attraction! The museum was small but very educational. There is also a beautiful overlook into the city.
[Lindsey, 01/19/2014]Birmingham, Alabama, has had a giant statue of Vulcan for over a hundred years. Perched atop Red Mountain, he overlooks a city that was famous for steelmaking at the time that he was created....
[03/08/2008] Complete News StoryThe Vulcan is back standing tall in Birmingham, but not without controversy! I have spent the past few days working in the Birmingham area and I can say that most of the people I talked with are not happy about the Vulcan no longer holding a glowing torch (or glowing anything for that matter). When I asked why the spear no longer glows I received an unusual response: the light costs too much to replace. I suppose it is quite costly to replace but that doesn't seem to be an excuse to not replace the torch. Couldn't the lights have been replaced by zillions of LED lights that would have lasted much longer? Maybe, maybe not. But at least The Vulcan was not scrapped. And, even better, the Giant Dog on a Crane off hwy 208 has something interest to look at.
[Greg Brown, 02/14/2004]Page of 2 [Next 3 items]
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June 2005 - Barbara Kelley, Director of Education of the Vulcan Park Foundation, provided this explanation about the torch and the spear: "After the renovation of Vulcan, it was decided to eliminate the light that shown red or green. This was a decision that had nothing to do with money. We wanted to return Vulcan to the way that the artist, Giuseppe Moretti, intended when he sculpted Vulcan for the World's Fair in 1904. Vulcan held a spear (the light was added in 1946) at the World's Fair. The original spear was lost when Vulcan returned to Birmingham after the World's Fair so a new spear was made by Robinson Iron, the folks who renovated Vulcan."