Tuscaloosa ZIP Code

Landmarks and Historic Places in Tuscaloosa ZIP Code 35401

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by

Wesley Jackson
in

The landmarks in 35401 include most of Tuscaloosa’s oldest and best-known places: the ruins of Alabama’s second state capitol in Capitol Park, antebellum houses on Greensboro Avenue, the 1938 Bama Theatre, civil rights sites in the West End, and the historic core of the University of Alabama campus. This guide groups them by area, gives each verified street address, and explains why each place matters. It also flags where a published ZIP is a mailing code rather than the physical location.

Everything listed here has a 35401 street address unless it is marked “nearby.” For hours, tours and admission, use each operator’s official site, since those details change.

Landmarks in 35401 at a glance

Selected historic and civic landmarks with 35401 street addresses
PlaceTypeAddressOperator
Capitol ParkHistoric site / park2800 6th St.Tuscaloosa County PARA
The Old TavernHouse museum500 Nicks Kids Ave. (in Capitol Park)Historic Tuscaloosa
Jemison-Van de Graaff MansionHouse museum / venue1305 Greensboro Ave.Historic Tuscaloosa
Battle-Friedman HouseHouse museum / venue1010 Greensboro Ave.Historic Tuscaloosa
Murphy African American MuseumHouse museum2601 Paul W. Bryant Dr.Historic Tuscaloosa
McGuire-Strickland HouseHistoric house500 28th Ave.Historic Tuscaloosa
Historic Drish HouseHistoric house / private venue2300 17th St.Private owner
First African Baptist ChurchHistoric church2621 Stillman Blvd.Congregation
Bama TheatreHistoric theater600 Greensboro Ave.City-owned; Arts Council manages
Dinah Washington Cultural Arts CenterArts center620 Greensboro Ave.Arts Council of Tuscaloosa
Paul R. Jones MuseumArt museum2308 Gary Fitts St.University of Alabama
Kentuck at Queen CityGallery in 1943 pool house1901 Jack Warner Pkwy.Kentuck Art Center
Mercedes-Benz AmphitheaterOutdoor venue / Riverwalk trailhead2710 Jack Warner Pkwy.City of Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa County CourthouseCivic building714 Greensboro Ave.Tuscaloosa County
Bryce Main / Randall Welcome CenterHistoric hospital building200 Bryce Lawn Dr.University of Alabama
Stillman CollegeHBCU campus3601 Stillman Blvd.Stillman College

The Old Tavern, the Jemison-Van de Graaff Mansion and the McGuire-Strickland House are sometimes printed with ZIP 35403. That is a Tuscaloosa PO-box ZIP used for mail, not a physical area; county 911 address data places the Old Tavern and the Jemison-Van de Graaff Mansion in 35401, and a USPS lookup returns 35401 for 500 28th Avenue. The guide to Tuscaloosa PO box ZIP codes explains the difference.

Riverfront and downtown landmarks in 35401

Capitol Park and the Old Alabama State Capitol ruins

Tuscaloosa was Alabama’s capital from 1826 to 1846. The statehouse, designed by William Nichols, was completed in 1829. It later housed Alabama Central Female College and burned on August 22, 1923. A foundation acquired the site in 1988 and laid it out as a ruin, returning columns and stone fragments to place. Capitol Park marks the western end of the Riverwalk and is the first stop on the Tuscaloosa Civil Rights History Trail, according to the Encyclopedia of Alabama.

The Old Tavern

Hotel keeper William Dunton built the Old Tavern in 1827. Gov. John Gayle lived there briefly, and it operated as a tavern and hotel until 1882, then served as the Wilson family home until 1964. In 1966 it was moved from University Boulevard to Capitol Park when bridge construction threatened it.

Jemison-Van de Graaff Mansion

This Italianate house was built from 1859 to 1862 for state senator Robert Jemison Jr. and designed by Philadelphia architect John Stewart. It served as the Friedman Public Library after a 1955 gift, and Historic Tuscaloosa and the county Heritage Commission bought it in 1991. It is now Historic Tuscaloosa’s headquarters.

Battle-Friedman House

Alfred Battle built this townhouse in 1835, while Tuscaloosa was still the capital; the portico and garden followed in 1844. Bernard Friedman, a Hungarian immigrant, acquired it in 1875, and Hugo Friedman deeded it to the City in 1965. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

Historic Drish House

Physician and contractor John R. Drish built this house in the 1830s with enslaved labor, and its Italianate tower was added later. It later served as a school, a business and a church. It joined the National Register in 2015 and now operates as a privately owned event venue, so it is not a public museum.

Bama Theatre and the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center

The Bama Theatre was built in 1937–38 as a City and Public Works Administration project and opened April 12, 1938. The Arts Council of Tuscaloosa began leasing it in 1976, and it was listed on the National Register in 1984. Next door, the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center occupies a 1903 hardware building and opened in 2013. It is named for the Tuscaloosa-born singer Dinah Washington.

Civic buildings

The Tuscaloosa County Courthouse (714 Greensboro Ave.) is a working government building and a civil rights site: in 1964 “whites only” restroom signs there prompted a campaign led by Rev. T.Y. Rogers Jr., and a federal judge ordered the signs removed on June 26, 1964, according to the National Park Service. City Hall (2230 7th St.) and the main public library (1801 Jack Warner Pkwy.) are nearby. The downtown Tuscaloosa ZIP code guide covers how these buildings fit into the street grid.

Kentuck at Queen City, the Amphitheater and the Riverwalk

Queen City Pool and its pool house, built in 1943, were Tuscaloosa’s first community pool; the pool closed in 1989, and the site was listed on the National Register in 1992. Since 2024 the pool house has been Kentuck at Queen City, a gallery run by Kentuck Art Center. Kentuck’s main campus remains at 503 Main Avenue in Northport (35476), so not every Kentuck location is in this ZIP. The Mercedes-Benz Amphitheater opened in 2011 and was renamed in 2023. The Riverwalk runs about 4.5 miles from Capitol Park east past Manderson Landing, which means it may extend beyond one ZIP; the City’s venue listing uses the amphitheater address.

West End and civil rights landmarks

First African Baptist Church

The congregation organized in November 1866, and the present building dates from 1907. On June 9, 1964, police and others attacked civil rights protesters at the church, and 91 people were jailed, according to the National Park Service. A Tuscaloosa Civil Rights History Task Force marker was placed there in 2019. It is an active church, not a museum.

Tuscaloosa Civil Rights History Trail

The official trail was announced in 2019 with 18 sites. It is a series of markers, not a single building, and individual marker addresses were not all verified for this guide; start at Capitol Park and follow the official listing.

Murphy African American Museum

This early-1920s Craftsman bungalow was built by Will J. Murphy, and sources describe the family differently: Visit Tuscaloosa calls him a mortician, while Historic Tuscaloosa’s page refers to Dr. William Murphy. The museum interprets Black life in early-1900s Tuscaloosa.

Paul R. Jones Museum and Stillman College

The Paul R. Jones Museum shows the University of Alabama’s Paul R. Jones Collection of African American art. Some listings print 2308 6th St.; UA uses 2308 Gary Fitts Street for the same building. Stillman College was founded in 1876 as Tuskaloosa Institute to train African American Presbyterian ministers and was renamed Stillman Institute in 1895. Its campus covers about 105 acres. The college campus ZIP code directory lists its addresses.

University of Alabama campus landmarks

UA buildings have 35401 street addresses for visitors, but many university pages print the same street with 35487, UA’s institutional mail ZIP. Use 35401 for directions. The University of Alabama ZIP code guide explains why both appear.

  • Gorgas House (810 Capstone Dr.): built in 1829, the oldest building on campus and one of four main buildings to survive the 1865 burning.
  • President’s Mansion (717 University Blvd.): built 1839–1841. Tradition credits Louisa Frances Garland with saving it on April 4, 1865. It is a private residence.
  • Little Round House (715 Capstone Dr.): an 1860 guard house for the Corps of Cadets that also survived 1865.
  • Denny Chimes: a 115-foot bell tower on the Quad dedicated May 27, 1929. It has no street address; find it on the Quad near University Boulevard.
  • Smith Hall and the Alabama Museum of Natural History (427 Sixth Ave.): the museum occupies Smith Hall, built in 1910.
  • Paul W. Bryant Museum (300 Paul W. Bryant Dr.): opened October 8, 1988.
  • Bryant-Denny Stadium (920 Paul W. Bryant Dr.): opened in 1929; the field was named for Nick Saban on September 7, 2024.
  • Bryce Main (200 Bryce Lawn Dr.): Bryce opened in 1861 as the Alabama Insane Hospital. UA acquired it in 2010, and it now houses the Randall Welcome Center and a mental-health history museum.

DCH Regional Medical Center (809 University Blvd. E.) is a civic anchor rather than a historic site; DCH describes it as the cornerstone of its system since 1923.

Recently closed and nearby places

The Children’s Hands-On Museum at 2213 University Blvd. closed its doors on August 1, 2026, according to a City of Tuscaloosa announcement; it plans to reopen as Ignite Science Center in the Saban Center, which is still under development. The Mildred Westervelt Warner Transportation Museum closed in July 2024, and its building became Kentuck at Queen City. Neither should be planned as an open attraction.

Moundville Archaeological Park, operated by UA Museums, is often grouped with Tuscaloosa sites, but it is outside 35401 and outside Tuscaloosa’s ZIP codes, at 634 Mound Park, Moundville 35474. For other areas, see the museums and historic sites by ZIP code directory, and for postal and neighborhood context, the 35401 ZIP code guide. Schools near these landmarks are listed on the schools in 35401 page.

Facts in this guide were checked against the sources below on October 10, 2026. Addresses, programs and boundaries can change; confirm with the official source before relying on them.

Sources

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3 responses to “Landmarks and Historic Places in Tuscaloosa ZIP Code 35401”

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