Alabama

The Gold Room—Northern Alabama Second Place 2013

The pristine shallow lake waters in Sequoyah Caverns, now closed to the public, reflect the surrounding rock formations, resulting in harmonious and beautiful symmetry. There are thousands upon thousands of caves and/or caverns in the United States. A cave and a cavern are basically the same thing. Caves, formed through constantly dripping water eating away the surrounding limestone, are often called caverns. Another distinction between a cave and a carven is that a cavern contains at least one large room inside.

Formed by sulfuric acid rather than water, New Mexico’s Carlsbad Caverns has a space known as the Big Room, which is large enough to hold roughly 6.2 football fields.

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The Phantom Plays—Birmingham, Alabama Third Place 2013

The 2,500 seat Alabama Theater was built in Birmingham, Alabama in 1927 by Paramount Studios to sell tickets to its motion picture films, all silent at the time. During its fifty-five year reign, the projection booth rolled through the movie reels of silent films, black and white talkies and finally wide screen color blockbusters such as Ben Hur. Built during the silent move era, an ornate Mighty Wurliter pipe organ, one of only twenty-five ever built, was used to provide appropriate music for each movie scene. The organ saved the theater from being turned into a parking lot in 1987 when the Alabama Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society attempted to buy the organ. The owners refused to sell only the organ, so the non-profit organization, Birmingham Landmarks, Inc, was created to purchase the building, and the Mighty Wurlitzer. Events continue to be held at the Alabama Theater, including the showing of old movies—even the silent ones with the Mighty Wurliter providing the mood.

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Still In The Game—Birmingham, Alabama First Place 2010

On August 18, 1910 at 3:30 p.m., the gates of Rickwood Field opened to the public for the first time. As more than 10,000 cheering fans watched, the Birmingham Coal Barons triumphed over the Montgomery Climbers 3 to 2.

The park was built by Birmingham industrialist Rick Woodward, who founded the Woodward Iron Company.

Rickwood Field was modeled after Pittsburgh's Forbes Field and Philadelphia's Shibe Park, and like Shibe Park there are no stands in the right field.

Rickwood Field is America's oldest surviving professional baseball stadium, and continues to host baseball games and other events.

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Mirror Mirror On The Wall—Third Place 2016

Ladies Lounge–Alabama Theater

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Gone To Hot Dog Heaven

From summer of 1948 to April 2011, Gus Koutroulakis went to work every single day except for Christmas Day and Thanksgiving Day. When he took a three week vacation in 1995 it made newspaper, radio, and television headlines.

The legend began when Gus’s uncle Pete bought the tiny hot dog shop in 1939 with $600 he won in a Pinochle game. The shop was little more than a narrow room, accommodating three or four customers at a time. It was strictly stand and eat, usually outside.

In 1948 Gus took over the business when he graduated from Phillips High School. He made his secret sauce recipe at home every night. Only Gus knew the secret and it died with him.

Gus worked so long and hard, bent over the grill, he was no longer able to stand up straight. There was a shelf over the grill in font of him, which made Gus stoop over as he cooked the hot dogs. When someone told Gus he should take the shelf down, he replied, “Where am I going to put the bread?"

In his will, Gus left the Pete’s Famous sign to the Barber motorsports museum.

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Vulcan—Original Ironman

Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and forge, has been a symbol of Birmingham, Alabama for over 100 years. Birmingham’s location is unique in that the raw materials required for making iron - coal, iron ore and limestone - are readily available within a thirty-mile radius.

Vulcan, originally built in 1904, is 56 feet tall, from toe to spear point, and sits atop a 124-foot pedestal. Vulcan is the largest cast iron statue in the world and the largest statue ever made in the United States.

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Town of Highlands—Birmingham, Alabama First Place 2010

The area known as Five Points South was originally developed as one of Birmingham, Alabama’s first streetcar suburbs. It was the Town of Highlands from 1887 to 1893 before becoming a part of the City of Birmingham.

Five streets converge, creating five points instead of four corners. The streetcar lines served as transportation lanes to downtown Birmingham, industrial work sites, and entertainment areas.

The original streetcars were pulled by mules with an extra mule waiting at 8th Avenue to pull the car up to the Five Points Circle. The mules gave way to steam and then in 1891 to electricity. By 1920, lines radiated out in all directions.

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Tannehill Country Church— Tannehill State Park, Alabama

Built in 1905 on Eastern Valley Road in McCalla, Alabama, the Kimbrell Methodist Church served its congregation until the late 1950s. It then sat idle for approximately fifteen years until it was donated and moved to Tannehill State Park where it now serves as a wedding chapel available for rent from the park.

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