2 Best Sights in Birmingham, Alabama

The 1,200 vintage and modern motorcycles comprise what is considered the largest motorcycle collection in America, if not the world. Bikes from 20 countries represent 200 different manufacturers. Also find the largest collection of Lotus racecars in the world here. Birmingham, Alabama, native George Barber grew the array after racing and modifying Porsches in the 1960s. He started collecting and restoring classic sports cars in 1989 and then turned his attention to two-wheelers. The Barber Motorsports Park next door features a 2.3-mile road course that hosts an IndyCar series and the Honda Grand Prix of Alabama.

Two 400-ton blast furnaces that fired Birmingham’s longtime, lucrative steel industry are preserved along with boilers, steam-driven blowing engines, and slag granulators. Some 40 buildings, a web of pipes, and tall smokestacks vividly illustrate the 20th-century industrial age, and steel’s hold on the city’s economy. Tours pass enormous machinery and wind through the underground railroad tunnel. Visiting and resident artists exhibit their work and teach metal crafting.