Birmingham ZooApr 24, 2011
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On Easter Sunday we spent the day at the Birmingham Zoo, visiting all of God's creatures. In 2006, the Birmingham Zoo was rated the #1 tourist attraction in the State of Alabama. After touring the zoo, Dick and I are wondering why???? The zoo recently opened a highly touted exhibit called the Trails of Africa. A very, very large and nice display with only two elephants! One was in a holding area and had no visible water until one of the keepers came with the hose to squirt him off.
Most of the cages were small enclosures with dirty glass fronts; only one or maybe two critters in each cage. The bird displays were so overgrown you couldn't see the birds. After all the zoos we've been through - this one was a disaster. Maybe they should spend more $$ on their animals and not so much on their grounds.
After our trek to the zoo we drove around downtown Birmingham. It was very quiet for Easter Sunday and gave us the leisure to drive slowly and take in all of the architecture. The pictures include a couple of old churches, one more modern building, and views of the Sloss Furnace Factory.
Sloss Furnaces is a National Historic Landmark in Birmingham, Alabama in the United States. It was operated as a pig iron-producing blast furnace from 1882 to 1971. After closing it became one of the first industrial sites (and the only blast furnace) in the U.S. to be preserved for public use. In 1981 the furnaces were designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of the Interior.
If you believe in spirits, then Sloss Furnace is a place for you to check out. It is believed that several spirits lurk in the Sloss Furnace, and that is why it is considered to be one of the scariest places on Earth.
One of the hauntings that seem to occur at the Sloss Furnace appears to be a man by the name of Theophilus Jowers. This individual was extremely proud to be a part of the iron industry. He often bragged to his wife and his friends that the furnace was his “friend”. Unfortunately, a tragic accident occurred one day. He slipped and actually fell into one of the furnaces. It is believed that he felt little to no pain and that his death was instantaneous but it is believed that his spirit still walks among the catwalks and performs his duties in Sloss Furnace.
The next individual that seems to be haunting the Sloss Furnace is a man by the name of James Wormwood. It is believed that this individual was one day overtaken by methane gas while working. When this happened, he was at the top of “Big Alice” that is actually the highest furnace at Sloss. When he was overtaken, he fell and was consumed by the scorching fires within the furnace. Seeing that he was not known to actually work on top of this furnace, several are under the belief that many workers actually threw him into the furnace because of the fact that he created harsh work conditions.
For photos of the Birmingham Zoo, downtown Birmingham and Sloss Furnace click here.
