Bird's-eye views of Birmingham

[Randy Sandford]

This afternoon, my wife and I gave my cousin from Texas a quick tour of

Downtown Birmingham and a few other areas of the city. Our first stop

was at my wife's company's office on the 18th floor of the 34-story

SouthTrust Tower, Birmingham's tallest building (wish we could have gone

to the top, but the views from this floor were still very nice).

Looking south towards the historic district of Downtown Birmingham

with Southside (Birmingham's "Midtown" area) in the background:

A W-I-D-E panoramic view from east to west:

-> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> -> ->

A zoomed-in view of 20th Street, Birmingham's "Main Street":

A zoomed-in view of the UAB Medical Center:

Looking towards the northwest:

A zoomed-in view of the Alabama Power Bldg. with rain falling on the distant horizon:

Looking towards the north-northeast:

We then took 20th Street to a lookout point on the slopes of Red Mountain.

Here are 2 views looking north with Southside in the foreground and

Downtown in the distance:

From this vantage point, you can also see Vulcan, the largest cast-iron

statue in the world, which was recently returned to its perch atop Red Mountain

after being dismantled for refurbishing. The sandstone tower upon which

Vulcan stands is still under renovation, and the observation deck should

reopen to the public in a few months.

[DruidCity]

The Birmingham Visitor's Bureau needs photos like those on its web site - Great job showing off Alabama's "big city."

[Allan]

WOW. These are some great photos, Randy.

[Scott]

Excellent pics!!

I think the 18th has a good angle. All the other buildings look apropriately tall, not dwarfed by looking down on them.

[Brickhead]

Thanks for those great pictures, Randy. Birmingham looks fantastic. And, it's good to have Vulcan back where he belongs.

[DevinLee]

RANDY, YOU HAVE TO TAKE ME IN THE SOUTHTRUST!!!

I have a goal to get in every skyscraper in Birmingham, and hopefuly every

building and it is SOOO friggin hard to get into Southtrust without breaking some

kind of law. (Even though I illegally went to the top of AmSouth-Harbert)

[Guest donaltopablo]

Nice.

SOOO friggin hard to get into Southtrust without breaking some

kind of law. (Even though I illegally went to the top of AmSouth-Harbert) 

Maybe that should be part of the challenge, how many buildings you can get into without going to jail, LOL!

[turlough]

Excellent pics

[Randy Sandford]

Thanks, guys! Glad y'all enjoyed the pics!

[uptownliving]

Randy, great pics...can you take some pictures of the Highland Ave area...there are some kewl looking old style apartments there...not too far from Five Points.

[Randy Sandford]

Randy, great pics...can you take some pictures of the Highland Ave area...there are some kewl looking old style apartments there...not too far from Five Points.

Thanks, uptownliving! I have a lot of photos of Highland Avenue. I'll post them in a new thread in this section, so be on the lookout for it!

[cityboi]

I think Birmingham, without a doubt, has the best historical skyline in the south. You can really tell that Birmingham strongly believes in preservation. The 2nd best historical skyline is up in the air. Memphis or Richmond?