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Downtown

Much of the early 20th-century architecture remains from Birmingham's heyday. One of the most impressive is the Alabama Theatre, which was refurbished to its original opulence in 1998 and is now home to concerts, Broadway shows, and the annual fall Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival. Nearby attractions within walking distance include the Carver Theatre (home of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame) and the McWane Science Center, which includes an IMAX movie theater. Also within walking distance are Linn Park (home of the historic Tutwiler Hotel), the Birmingham Museum of Art and the annual music festival, City Stages. Downtown Birmingham witnessed many of the most important and tragic events of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Places of significance such as Kelly Ingram Park are marked by historical plaques, and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute tells the whole story of Birmingham's role in those turbulent times.