Was just trolling through the referrer logs and happened upon a search that (somehow) led a reader here: The Vulcan in Birmingham used to hold a
BADGER! Not really.
But as you can see from Vulcan Park's website, he has been called upon to hold a variety of demeaning, non-God o' the Forge things--
[...] In 1905, when the World's Fair had ended, Vulcan was taken apart and brought by train back to Birmingham. His pieces lay atop Red Mountain while city leaders tried to decide where to put him. Some wanted him in Capitol Park, now called Linn Park, in downtown Birmingham. Others thought he should stand atop Red Mountain. After a year and a half, he finally wound up at the Alabama State Fairgrounds. Although it was to be a temporary home, Vulcan stayed there for almost thirty years. Mr. Moretti was not there to help, and Vulcan wasn't put together correctly. He couldn't hold his hammer because his left hand was turned the wrong way. His left arm had to be supported by a timber. His right hand was put on backwards, so he could not hold his spear. Merchants began to use him for advertising, and over the years he held various objects, such as a giant ice cream cone, a pickle sign, and a Coke bottle. Later he wore a giant pair of Liberty overalls. In the 1930s he was repainted in flesh tones. Also, people only saw him for the few weeks the fair was open each year. [...]
The Birmingham Public Library has a whole set of historical photos of him--here's an archive photo of the old fellow from way back then--nothing in his hand at all in this one, no Coke bottle, much less a spear. Here's one taken in the '30s after he'd been dolled up in Lifelike Roman God colors, with his hammering hand held up by a stick. And hey, look--chariot races!Anyway, he's had a lot of abuse over the years, but he's never seemed to mind too much. I'm just grateful that as Birmingham has moved away from its heavy industrial past to a present as a nationally-prominent provider of health care services, that no one has gotten the bright idea of using Vulcan as a shill for regular prostate exams.
Posted by Terry Oglesby at June 23, 2005 10:26 AM