Kelly Ingram Park sits at the center of the Civil Rights District, flanked by the 16th Street Baptist Church and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. In 1963 it was the staging ground for the Children's Crusade, when thousands of Black schoolchildren marched into the park and faced fire hoses and police dogs on camera. The images broadcast around the world changed the course of American history.
Today the park contains a series of powerful bronze sculptures — firefighters aiming hoses at a demonstrator, a police dog lunging, a minister in prayer, and the Four Spirits memorial to the four girls killed in the church bombing. Walk the sculpture trail slowly; each piece marks a specific episode from the 1963 campaign. The park is open all hours and admission is free.