Smitherman Historic Building

When you visit Selma, don't miss the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum

 that is housed in the Joseph T. Smitherman Historic Building. 

Located at the end of Alabama Avenue a few blocks off Broad Street,

 the 1847 structure built by Masons has housed schools, hospitals,

 a courthouse and now a museum.  Each of the three floors is dedicated

 to different exhibits with the first housing civil war, slavery and Wilby Theatre 

artifacts. The second floor has a replica of longtime Mayor Smitherman's office

 and other civic rooms, and the third is set up for hospital memorabilia. 

  Columns from the old Hotel Albert are preserved in an outdoor courtyard, 

and there are walkways and a fountain. The building is often used 

for weddings, receptions and other events. 

Linking to Shadow Shot Sunday, Weekly Top Shot and City Daily Photo Blogs 

Instructions for the Court

Junior hostesses for Selma's Pilgrimage receive instructions during a photo shoot

 at the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum. The Pilgrimage Court will help at historic homes 

and other sites during the 37th annual Pilgrimage this weekend. 

Columns of the Hotel Albert (Night View)

Here's a night view of the columns of the Hotel Albert. The hotel, which was modeled after the Doges Palace in Venice, Italy, was torn down in 1969, but part of the facade was saved and rebuilt in the courtyard of the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum. The hotel once stood where Selma City Hall is located.

Remembering our Soldiers

To those American servicemen and women who made the ultimate sacrifice, we remember them on Memorial Day.

While we honor them with parades and barbecues and a federal holiday, we also thank God, because freedom isn't free.

Selmians will commemorate our war dead today with an 11 o'clock ceremony at Memorial Stadium. At 3 p.m., everything including traffic, will stop for one minute. Sirens will sound throughout the city and county, and people are asked to stop and observe a moment of silence as part of the National Moment of Remembrance.

This exhibit of military uniforms from various wars and branches of service is on display at the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum.

The "Caring" Butterfly

The pretty blue butterfly in front of the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum is called the "Caring" butterfly, because this building once served as a hospital.

Its hospital exhibits depict the mid-20th Century when it served as the Vaughan Memorial Hospital. Prior to those days, it was a mid-19th Century school "for orphans and children of indigent Masons," and later a Confederate hospital, Freedmen's hospital, county courthouse and military school.

The building houses many other exhibits, including a replica of the late Mayor Joe T. Smitherman's office and much of his memorabilia, Confederate-era items, railroad history and military uniforms.

This weekend, the museum will again serve as headquarters for the Selma Historic Pilgrimage. Stop here first for tickets and a tour.

(The butterfly was painted by artist Sally Jordan and sponsored by Vaughan Regional Medical Center.)
To see more photos of this butterfly, visit The Butterfly Project.

Summer Scenes

So, it's time to pack the beach vacation photos and return to Selma scenes.

I have photos of the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum through spring and fall and winter, and here it is in summer. Spanish Moss is growing in the crepe myrtle tree and makes a nice foreground.