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Article Abstracts and Supplements
The Battle-Friedman Garden Blooms Again
by George Stritikus
A home surrounded by an intricately designed and well-kept garden is a rare pleasure today, and was even more so in the nineteenth century. And that’s what makes the rediscovery and restoration of the Battle-Friedman garden such a revelation. Built in the late 1830s by Alfred Battle, the Battle-Friedman house in Tuscaloosa has remained as one of the finest examples of antebellum architecture in Alabama, but not until 1987, when an elaborate garden design was uncovered on the grounds, was the home’s grandeur fully realized. In the Winter 2000 issue of Alabama Heritage, author George R. Stritikus tells the story of the Battle-Friedman garden, the oldest documented garden in Alabama, and a garden with roots running all the way to the rich landscaping tradition of England.
When Stars Fell on Alabama
by John Hall
On the night of November 12, 1833, gamblers, thieves and other assorted sinners along the east coast of the United States traded in the instruments of their debauchery in exchange for prayerbooks, so sure were they that the end was near. The stars were falling from the sky; certainly, they believed, the earthly world was doomed. Alas, the world was not coming to a close. The dramatic display was actually a meteor storm—one of the most intense in recorded history—and, as John Hall writes in the Winter 2000 issue of Alabama Heritage, "its memory seemed to stick with Alabamians long after it was forgotten elsewhere."
Hurricane Frederic
by J. Mack Lofton
Some twenty years ago, in September 1979, Hurricane Frederic ripped through the Gulf Coast, tearing the roofs off buildings, slinging freighters ashore, and wreaking havoc on the lives of half a million Alabamians. Mack Lofton details the life of the devastating tempest in the Winter 2000 issue of Alabama Heritage, charting the storm’s course from its infancy off the coast of Africa all the way to its last gust off the coast of Maine. Along the way, Lofton presents eyewitness accounts of the Mobile area’s preparations for the storm, the damage it caused, and the monumental clean-up and restoration effort that followed it.
Good Business: The Rehabilitation of Historic Commerical Buildings
by Mary Huff
A significant effort is underway around the nation and in Alabama to preserve and re-use historic commercial buildings. Often these restoration projects are so successful—both aesthetically and financially—that they encourage other preservation efforts around them and bring life back to downtown. Such is the case in four Alabama cities chronicled by Mary Johnson Huff in the Winter 2000 issue of Alabama Heritage. Montgomery, Birmingham, Florence, and Anniston have all seen dramatic transformations of neglected commercial properties in recent years.
DEPARTMENTS
RECOLLECTIONS - "The Great Depression" by Roy L. Mott, Sr.
THE NATURE JOURNAL - "Brown Pelicans" by L. J. Davenport
ALABAMA ALBUM - "L. R. Robison and Bro. Dry Goods Store, Wetumpka," courtesy Sarah Cabot R. Pierce
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