Libraries

Throughout the state there are many pub lic and private libraries. The largest public libraries are in Birmingham, Montgomery, and Mobile. The Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library, on the campus of the University of Alabama, is one of the largest libraries in the entire South.

Fine Arts and Museums

Most high schools and junior high schools in the state have bands or orchestras. The Birmingham Civic Symphony gives annual concerts in the city. It also tours the state.

Before the Civil War, architecture was one of the most important fine arts. Some of the beautiful homes that were built before the war may be seen in the older cities, such as Selma, Huntsville, Eufaula, Greensboro, Mobile, Tuscaloosa, and Montgomery.

The Art Museum at Birmingham and the Museum of Fine Arts at Montgomery have large collections of paintings. The following arc among the other noted museums:

The Alabama Museum of Natural History, at

the University of Alabama, has an excellent display of rocks and minerals.

Mound State Monument, a state park and museum at Moundville, near Tuscaloosa, preserves ancient mounds that Indians built for their temples, council" houses, and burial places. Relics from the grounds in the park, such as skeletons, tools, ornaments, and pottery, are displayed in the museum.

The Regar Museum of Natural History, at Anniston, contains an unusual display of 900 specimens of birds, with nests and eggs.

PLACES OF INTEREST

Some of the many other interesting places have been made by people. Some, such as mountains, forests, and white sand beaches, arc nature's own work.

Historic Places

Many historic treasures are preserved in Alabama's museums. The following are a few of the historic places in various parts of the state:

Horseshoe Bend National Military Park, on

the Tallapoosa River, marks the site of General Andrew Jackson's victory over the Creek Indians.

The Natchez Trace Parkway crosses the northwestern corner of Alabama. It extends from Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee. The parkway commemorates a famous Indian trail and pioneer highway.

Russell Cave National Monument, at Bridgeport in northeast Alabama, was established in 1961. In the cave, scientists have found records of almost continuous human habitation from at least 6000 b.c. to about a.d. 1650.

Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site includes Tuskegee Institute, the George Washington Carver Museum, and Booker T. Washington's home. The museum includes displays of African art and George Washington Carver's agricultural experiments.

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception,

at Mobile, stands on land that the first settlers used as a burying ground.

The State Capitol, Montgomery, is a stately building, similar in appearance to the National Capitol. For the first few months of the Civil War, it served as the capitol of the Confederacy.

Jefferson Davis' Home, in Montgomery, is known as the first White House of the Confederacy because it was here that President Davis lived when Montgomery was the Confederate capital.

Parks and Forests

Alabama has four national forests. The Talladega National Forest has two sections, one in the central part of the state and the other in the east. The William B. Bankhead National Forest, formerly the Black Warrior National Forest, is in the northwest. The Tuskegee, smallest of the national forests, is in the east, and the Conecuh is in the south.

State parks and forests total about 30. They are planned to conserve the natural beauty of the state and to provide places where people may go for outdoor recreation—picnicking, camping, hiking and nature study, fishing and other water sports.

Other Attractions

The following are among other places that attract visitors from all over the nation and the world:

Ave Maria Grotto, at St. Bernard, near Cull-man, displays more than 100 small reproductions of famous religious buildings of the world.

The Azalea Trail, in Mobile, is a 55-kilometer (35-mile) trail of flowers that leads through residential parts of the city, past historic homes and buildings.

Bellingrath Gardens and Home, south of Mobile, is a beautifully "landscaped estate. Here the finest flowers, shrubs, and trees have been brought together in a setting of great natural beauty. The home is noted for its rich furnishings and priceless art objects.

Cathedral Caverns, north ofGuntersville, contains a large forest of stalagmites and one cavern 27 meters (90 feet) deep.

Ivy Green, in Tuscumbia, is Helen Keller's birthplace and childhood home.

Vulcan Statue, at the summit of Red Mountain, Birmingham, is a statue of the god of fire. It was made of iron from the local area and is said to be one of the largest statues in the world.

Annual Events

Many of Alabama's annual events center upon sports, the products of the state, and the interests and traditions of the people. From the early French settlers. Mobile inherited the celebration of Mardi Gras. Mobile's Mardi Gras festival is the oldest such celebration in the United States. It begins on the Friday before the first day of Lent and reaches its high point on the night of Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras.