Thirty people voted for kudzu. Dreamland Bar-B-Que, a quintessential staple of Alabama's history, received 39 votes. The World's Largest Office Chair on Noble Street in Anniston picked up eight votes. And, yes, the Alabama Crimson Tide was given a single vote. (Nick Saban didn't make the list.) But none of them are among the Seven Wonders of Alabama.
Two weeks ago, The Star asked readers to vote for the most wondrous items in our state. You did, en masse, as The Star received 424 entries. The original Seven Wonders of the World, named by ancient Greeks, are renowned for their beauty and grandness. A new Seven Wonders list, released earlier this year, included the Taj Mahal and the Colosseum, among others.
But we're partial to Alabama's wonders, as we hope Alabamians are, too. Here are the Seven Wonders of Alabama. You might be surprised at the results.
BALD ROCK
• The precipice that looks west offers an incredible view from atop Mount Cheaha. Bald Rock now has a much-needed wheelchair-accessible walkway.
• Fun fact: The Cheaha State Park, built in 1933, was one of the first acquired by the state and built by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
www.cheahastpark.com
LITTLE RIVER CANYON
• The perfect location in Alabama for canoeing, kayaking, rock-climbing and rappelling. The river's nature preserve was created by Congress in 1992.
• Fun fact: The canyon used to be called "May's Gulf."
www.nps.gov/liri
MOUNDVILLE
• The center of Mississippian society, just 14 miles from Tuscaloosa, has around 30 earthen mounds grouped in pairs that were home to a unique Native American civilization between 1000 and 1450 A.D.
• Fun fact: The mounds range in size from 3 to 60 feet in height.
moundville.ua.edu
VULCAN
• Built in 1904 by Italian artist Giuseppe Moretti in New Jersey. The statue of the Roman god of iron and forge debuted at the St. Louis World's Fair and then was moved to the Alabama State Fairgrounds, its home for 30 years.
• Fun fact: Vulcan used to carry advertising and didn't arrive atop Birmingham's Red Mountain until 1939.
www.visitvulcan.com
U.S. SPACE AND ROCKET CENTER
• The Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville was activated in 1960. German scientist Werner Von Braun, assigned to Redstone Arsenal after World War II, developed the Saturn rockets used for the U.S. moon launches. It's also home to the popular Space Camp programs.
• Fun fact: The center contains five National Historic Landmarks.
www.spacecamp.com/museum
GULF COAST
• Anchored by the popular beaches at Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama's coast is renowned for its white sand and clean water.
• Fun fact: The Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo has more than 300 animals, including lions, tigers and other exotic creatures.
www.800alabama.com
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
• Opened in 1969, the speedway hosts two NASCAR events each year. It's built on a 2,000-acre site that Anniston insurance executive Bill Ward helped NASCAR boss Bill France locate.
• Fun fact: The track sits close to an airport that the U.S. government sold to the city of Talladega after World War II.
www.talladegasuperspeedway.com
The complete results:
424 participants voted through The Star's online and mail-in poll.
Location/site votes
Bald Rock at Mount Cheaha 276
Little River Canyon 256
Moundville's Native American mounds 180
The Vulcan Statue in Birmingham 178
The U.S. Space & Rocket Center/Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville 170
Alabama's white-sand beaches 168
Talladega Superspeedway 154
Others receiving votes
The Ave Maria Grotto near Cullman 129
Coldwater Spring 125
DeSoto Caverns in Childersburg 123
Cathedral Caverns near Guntersville 105
The USS Alabama in Mobile 94
First White House of the Confederacy in Montgomery 92
The Chief Ladiga Trail 86
Fort Morgan in Mobile 61
Russell Cave in Jackson County 48
The Boll Weevil Statue in Enterprise 42
The Blue Crayfish of Coldwater Spring 41
Confederate memorials at the Alabama Capitol in Montgomery 41
Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery 40
Alabama's excellent waterways 39
Dreamland Bar-B-Que in Tuscaloosa 39
The Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail 35
16th St. Baptist Church in Birmingham 34
Kudzu 30
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute 25
Rickwood Field in Birmingham 24
Legion Field in Birmingham 22
The Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma 21
Hank Williams' Lost Highway 19
The Mobile-Tensaw River Delta 17
Martin Dam 11
The "Lifting the Veil" statue at Tuskegee 10
Kelly Ingram Park in Birmingham 4
Ezell's Fish Camp 2
Write-in nominations:
Noccalula Falls 18
World's Largest Office Chair in Anniston 8
Church of St. Michael's and All Angels in Anniston 7
Bellingrath Gardens in Mobile 4
Anniston Museum of Natural History 4
Weaver Cave 3
Mount Cheaha 3
Buck's Pocket State Park in DeKalb; Jackson and Marshall counties 3
Sequoyah Caverns in Valley Head 3
Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery 2
Dauphin Island 2
Aderholdt Mill in Jacksonville 2
Sipsey Wilderness area 2
Walls of Jericho in northern Alabama and southern Tennessee 2
Alabama State Parks 2
Horse Pens 40 near Ashville 2
Berman Museum in Anniston 2
Those getting 1 vote each:
Guntersville Lake; The American Village; Talladega College murals; Covered bridges; Harry/Ruth Davis home & surrounding area (Indian site); Red's Catfish Cabin in Clay County; Cornwell Furnace in Cedar Bluff; Yellow Creek Falls in Cherokee County; Cherokee Rock Village in Cherokee County; the National Longleaf Pine Refuge at McClellan; the Alabama Fire College Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial in Montgomery; Old Cahawba; First Capital of Alabama; Lou Scales Stadium in Alexandria; Hurricane Creek in Tuscaloosa County; Big Daddy's Cafe in White Plains; Palisades Park in Blount County; Horton Mill Covered Bridge in Blount County; Coldwater Mountains; Maya Lin's sculpture documenting history of Civil Rights at Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery; Pinhoti Hiking Trail; Birmingham's Botanical Gardens; the Alabama Crimson Tide; Lulu's Restaurant in Gulf Shores; 631 Mile Alabama Scenic Water Trail; longest in state water trail in the U.S.; Collinsville Trade Day; Dismals Canyon; 12 miles south of Russellville; Janney Furnace in Ohatchee; The Shrine in Hanceville; Blue Hole in Glencoe; Old Rock Stadium in Oxford; the Iron Bowl experience; Sylacauga's marble deposits; and the Natural Bridge near Hamilton.
