Arguably no Alabama courthouse is better known nor more frequently visited--especially by those not on legal business--than the Monroe County Courthouse, built in 1903. The fame that Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, has brought to the building has attracted thousands of the novel's admirers to tour it. After substantial and thoughtful restoration, the old Monroe County Courthouse now serves as the centerpiece of the Monroe County Heritage Museums complex. There, the Mockingbird buff may stand just where Atticus Finch defended Tom Robinson, to absorb all the atmosphere of the scene in the courtroom that appears quite as it did in the 1930s, when the novel is set.
The council is developing a program that will fund half the cost of preparing architectural illustrations showing how a building would look if it were restored. One pilot project is Camden’s 1870 Antioch Baptist Church, which consolidated local support for preservation. A building that did not appear to have a future now has a renovated exterior.(Thomas Kaufmann) The story of Alabama is to no small degree one about the interplay of three distinct cultures: indigenous, European American, and African American. Only in recent decades, however, has a broad-based concerted effort been made to identify and preserve places that reflect the diversity of the African American experience. The Black Heritage Council of the Alabama Historical Commission is playing a critical role in this effort.
How many of you drive past vacant and deteriorating historic buildings in your downtown or neighborhood? Those of us who love historic buildings believe there are far too many of them out there that need attention, resources, and a new life. During our country’s bicentennial, our national leaders felt the same way and were concerned about the loss of America’s heritage when they saw a decline in our downtowns and older neighborhoods. At the time it seemed that people had abandoned their town centers for shiny, new suburbs and shopping centers. As a result, Congress created tax incentives in 1976 to encourage private investment in historic places.
When taking on a research project, one never knows quite where it will lead. The road appears straightforward, but unexpected twists and turns may lie ahead. Certainly this proved to be the case with the Oakleigh outbuilding known simply as “the cook’s house.”
Operated exclusively with donated materials and volunteer workers, the Mobile Middle Bay Lighthouse Centennial Commission, chaired Capt. Hal Pierce, keeps the lighthouse painted and repaired. "Each of Alabama's significant historic structures needs a resource group as dedicated as this one," says Kimberly Harden, preservation architect with the Alabama Historical Commission. (Courtesy Alabama Historical Commission) Hurricanes, Civil War battles, and time have taken their toll on Alabama's three Gulf Coast lighthouses, but the structures and their quaint, some times tragic histories-live on, primarily because of the affection many Gulf Coast residents have for these beacons of light, and the time and money they are willing to commit to their preservation.
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October 2023
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