Warner Museum of Young America

[DruidCity]

Here's a nice article on the private art collection, completely unknown to most locals and Alabamians in general (esp. since some Alabamians turn up their nose at this "poor, ugly" region of the state), but gaining a bit of national recognition:

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...6/31209009/1146

http://www.warnermuseum.org/

Photos :

http://www.sarabrittarts.com/warnermuseum.htm

http://imgsrv.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs...e=1146&MaxW=400

Mr. Warner is one of a very small number in the southeast (only one in AL-MS-LA-AR-TN-KY) on Arts & Antiques Magazine's 2003 list of the world's top 200 private art collectors. The close-to-90-year-old philanthropist is a former trustee of Washington & Lee University, and owned a horse named Tuscaloosa that won a bronze medal at the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

The Warners have contributed greatly to local preservation efforts, including the UofA President's Mansion interior. Additionally, the Warner family restored and donated the "University Club" (1830s-built structure that served as the Alabama governor's mansion in the 1840s) in downtown Tuscaloosa to the UofAlabama in the 1940s:

.

Here are photos of Jack Warner's personal garden :

http://www.sarabrittarts.com/gardens.htm

The Warners' generosity has also benefitted First Presbyterian Church downtown, which includes such interior features as 15th century German and Flemish stained glass pieces:

The Warner family's company, Gulf States Paper Corporation, employs over 2,000 workers, just a few hundred of whom work here in Tuscaloosa at the corporate headquarters:

The company also does a good amount of residential construction locally, mostly around their signature property, NorthRiver Yacht Club, visited by guests like Ronald Reagan, Colin Powell, and the late Bob Hope. They plan over 1,000 new homes (including a few "McMansions") in that area, many in "The Lakes," which will be the City of Tuscaloosa's largest new subdivision when built out.

Photos of the yacht club :

http://www.sarabrittarts.com/yatchclub.htm

http://www.smithgolf.com/

Another division of the company is Westervelt, which maintains a 10,000+ acre hunting lodge in Pickens County (one of the few things that rural county is known for) and outdoors travel through an office in Woods-n-Water, Alabama's first "outdoor superstore," which opened earlier this year in Tuscaloosa:

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/pdfads/tmag/WoodsWater.pdf

http://woodsandwateroutdoorshow.com/grandopening.htm

[turlough]

I seen that place on southern living i thought it was a cool place