For a relatively small city with a population of not quite 100,000 residents, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is home to a surprising number of interesting museums. In those repositories and its historic homes, this picturesque city on the banks of the Black Warrior River offers plenty of opportunities for exploring the area’s history and culture.
2. Exploring Tuscaloosa’s Museums and
Historical Architecture
For a relatively small city with a population of not
quite 100,000 residents, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is
home to a surprising number of interesting
museums. In those repositories and its historic
homes, this picturesque city on the banks of the
Black Warrior River offers plenty of opportunities for
exploring the area’s history and culture.
3. Exploring Tuscaloosa’s Museums and
Historical Architecture
Examples of the area’s prominent architecture are
especially prevalent. For example, the Battle-
Friedman House and Gardens is an elegant home
constructed in 1835. Now maintained by the
Tuscaloosa County Preservation Society, the house
provides a glimpse into the antebellum architecture
and culture of Tuscaloosa’s early days.
4. Exploring Tuscaloosa’s Museums and
Historical Architecture
Similarly, the Gorgas House, constructed in 1829, is
an elegant and historic home located on the
University of Alabama campus. The Jemison Van de
Graaff Mansion on Greensboro Avenue, constructed
in 1862, is one of the South’s finest examples of
ornate Italianate architecture.
5. Exploring Tuscaloosa’s Museums and
Historical Architecture
Capital Park is the site of two of Tuscaloosa’s
historic structures – the Old Tavern, constructed in
1827; and the McGuire-Strickland House, the city’s
oldest remaining wood-frame structure.
6. Exploring Tuscaloosa’s Museums and
Historical Architecture
Tuscaloosa’s museums provide enough to keep
transportation buffs busy for hours. The Mildred
Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum features
a comprehensive history of transportation in the
Black Warrior River area, from stagecoach and river
travel to modern electronic streetcars. From there,
travel on to the Mercedes-Benz Visitor Center and
Museum and the Black Warrior Model Railroad
Society.
7. Exploring Tuscaloosa’s Museums and
Historical Architecture
For the younger set, the Children’s Hands-On
Museum offers three floors of exhibits, including a
planetarium, representations of a Choctaw village,
Tuscaloosa shops, an art studio, a farm, a Japanese
house, and much more.
8. Exploring Tuscaloosa’s Museums and
Historical Architecture
As owner and manager of Parkview Properties Real
Estate Development and Management in
Tuscaloosa, Claude Shelby serves as a jack-of-all-
trades for a 22-unit apartment complex, responsible
for marketing, bookkeeping, rent collection,
maintenance, and meeting with prospective tenants.
Mr. Shelby is a graduate of the University of
Alabama.
