The University of Alabama on University Boulevard. From I-59/20, take U.S. 82 West (McFarland Blvd - exit 73). From there exit onto University Blvd. and turn right. The University opened its doors to students in 1831. The campus was designed by State Architect William Nichols. Union troops spared only seven of the buildings on the UA campus. Of the principal buildings remaining today, the President's Mansion (President's Mansion pictured) and its outbuildings still serve as the president’s on-campus residence. The other buildings have new uses. Gorgas House, at different times the dining hall, faculty residence, and campus hotel, now serves as a museum. The Roundhouse, then a sentry box for cadets, later a place for records storage, is a campus historical landmark. The Observatory, now Maxwell Hall, is home to the Computer-Based Honors Program. Visitor's information is available in Rose Administration Building. The University of Alabama, the state's oldest public university, is the senior comprehensive doctoral-level institution in Alabama. Established by constitutional provision, with subsequent statutory mandates and authorizations, the University advances the intellectual and social condition of all the people of the state through quality programs of research, instruction, and service.
Alabama Museum of Natural History, located in Smith Hall on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Capstone Drive on The University of Alabama campus. The museum features the largest mineral and rock collections in Alabama and fossils from the Coal, Dinosaur, and Ice Ages. You will marvel at the Hodges meteorite, the only documented meteorite known to have struck a human being. Collections include natural history, archaeology, ethnology, Alabama history, and historic photography. (Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Sunday, 1 to 4:30 p.m.)
Murphy African-American Museum, 2601 Bryant Drive at the corner of Lurleen Wallace Blvd. South. A must-see for black heritage scholars and amateurs alike. The lifestyle of affluent black citizens in the early 1900s is depicted in this house built by William J. Murphy, the first black licensed mortician in Tuscaloosa. Changing exhibits of local, state and national achievements of African-Americans are offered. African-American contractors built the two story bungalow in the late 1920s with brick and hand-hewn sills salvaged from the old State Capital building in Tuscaloosa. (M-F 12pm-4pm, telephone: 205-758-2861).
Paul W. Bryant Museum, located at 300 Paul W. Bryant Drive on the U of A campus. Feel the excitement of Alabama championship football. Follow the Crimson Tide through its 100 years history. Photographs, artworks and sports memorabilia, touch screen computer displays. State-of-the-art Sports Archives on Southeastern Conference athletics. (Daily 9am-4pm, 205-348-4668)
Children's Hands-On Museum located at 2213 University Blvd., downtown Tuscaloosa. Innovative and stimulating! CHOM is a must for children of all ages. All it takes is a little imagination and you're in a Choctaw Indian Village, The First National Bank of Tuskaloosa, Maxwell Gneral Store, Pring Shop, Barber's Shop, Grandmother's Attic, Planetarium, Children's Hospital, WCHOM-TV Studio, Beavers' Bend, Images, the Citizenship Center, and the Captain Tim Parker - the wheelhouse of a towboat. In the Resource Center you can even work on computers and conduct experiments in the science lab. (Tuesday-Friday 9-5, Saturday 1-5, call 205-349-4235)
Jemsion-Van deGraaff Mansion, 1305 Greensboro Ave (Alabama Highway 215) in downtown Tuscaloosa. The mansion houses the Tuscaloosa Convention and Visitor's Bureau and the Heritage Commission of Tuscaloosa County and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built c. 1862, it is regarded by architectural historians as one of the finest examples of antebellum Italianate mansions in Alabama. (Monday-Friday 8-5).
Battle-Friedman House, 1010
Greensboro Avenue downtown. The Greek
Revival mansion was built in 1835 by Alfred Battle. Bernard Friedman
purchased the home after the Civil War and his son Hugo gave it to the
City of Tuscaloosa. Furnished with antiques dating from the early 1800s,
it is a museum and cultural center. The house is listed on teh National
Register of Historic Places and is an example of the many 19th century
restored structures in Tuscaloosa and West Alabama. (Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. and on Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m.
There is a charge of $3.00 per person. The house is rented out for weddings, receptions etc. and is
closed to the public when there is an event. Arrangements for rental can be made by calling (205)
758-6138 during opening hours).
Bama Theatre, 600 Greensboro Avenue downtown. Built in 1938 as a movie theatre, it is one of the last movie palaces built in the South. It was converted to a performing arts center in 1976. The interior is a reproduction of an Italian courtyard, complete with twinkling "stars" in the ceiling. The second floor houses an art gallery. (Monday-Friday 8:30 - 5, 205-758-5195).
