On This Day In Alabama History: Vulcan Was Voted For Downtown Display

By Alabama NewsCenter Staff

The Birmingham Board of Aldermen voted on this date to proceed with plans to display the Vulcan statue in Capitol Park, known today as Linn Park, anchoring the municipal center of Birmingham. The statue was created in 1904 by Giuseppe Moretti to represent Birmingham’s material resources at the World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri, and needed a permanent home after coming back to Birmingham. But those plans to place Vulcan in Capitol Park did not happen. The 56-foot-tall statue, which depicts the Roman god of fire and forge, eventually found its home in Vulcan Park atop Red Mountain after residing temporarily at the Alabama State Fairgrounds in West End. From 1999 to 2004, Vulcan underwent a $14 million renovation that saw the park and pedestal restored to its original 1938 appearance. It now sits on a park with 10 acres of green space around the statue. Visitors can stop by the Vulcan Center for interactive exhibits, historical facts and displays. The restoration was awarded by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2006.

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