Florence, Alabama

www.kdartcenter.org

Phone: (256) 760-6379

The cultural center for Florence, Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts is a gallery, educational facility, museum, and a center for the coordination and promotion for cultural activity in the area. It serves as the administrative office for all the museums.

It is a home base and meeting place for cultural groups and a showcase and classroom for all arts disciplines.

The Center features annual exhibits and rotating exhibits by artists from the Southeast, workshops and classes for all ages, concerts, and interesting lectures and programs.

Arts Alive, an annual juried fine arts and crafts festival sponsored by the Center's Volunteers, takes place in May at Wilson Park and the Center.

Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts is open Monday - Friday, 9 am - 4 pm. Free Admission.

Frank Lloyd Wright-Rosenbaum House
601 Riverview Drive
Florence, AL 35630

Phone: (256) 740-8899

www.wrightinalabama.com
Open Tuesday - Saturday, 10 am - 4 pm.
Open Sunday - 1 pm - 4 pm.
Admission Charged

Click Here to Take a Tour of the Frank Lloyd Wright-Rosenbaum House

The Rosenbaum House is the only Wright-designed structure in Alabama. It was built in 1939-1940 for Stanley and Mildred Rosenbaum who were the sole owners and occupants of the house until 1999 when the house was purchased by the City of Florence.

The house is constructed of cypress, glass and brick and has all the hallmarks of Wright's Usonian style...flat multi-level roofs, cantilevered eaves and carports, flowing space, use of natural materials and expanses of glass. Wright designed an addition to the house in 1948, adding two wings. The house has been meticulously restored. The City of Florence received the 2004 Wright Spirit Award in the Public Domain from the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy for the preservation of this important architectural gem. The house holds its original Wright-designed furniture and is open as a city museum.

Pope's Tavern Museum
203 Hermitage Drive
Florence, AL 35630

Phone: (256) 760-6439

At one time a stagecoach stop, tavern and inn, Pope's Tavern is one of the the oldest structures in Florence. Located on the military road that connected Nashville to the Natchez Trace and on to New Orleans, the tavern was an ideal stop-over for weary travelers in the 1800's. Legend has it that Andrew Jackson stopped here on his march to the Battle of New Orleans.

It served as a hospital for both Confederate and Union wounded during the Civil War. The wounded were brought here from as far away as the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, and Shiloh. Later home to the Lambeth family, it remained a private residence until purchased by the city in 1965.

The museum houses beautiful antiques and fascinating artifacts from the 18th and 19th centuries illustrating the uses of the structure as a tavern, inn and private residence. The second floor is filled with artifacts from the Civil War and items of local history.

The museum is operated for the purpose of displaying, teaching, and interpreting the cultural history of Florence and the Shoals area. The annual Frontier Day Celebration takes place at the museum the first full weekend of June with demonstrations of pioneer crafts and dulcimer music.

Open Tuesday - Saturday, 10 am - 4 pm.

Admission Charged

W. C. Handy Home, Museum & Library
620 West College Street
Florence, AL 35630

Phone: (256) 760-6434
Click Here to Take a 360?  Tour of the W.C. Handy Home, Museum & Library

"Where the Tennessee River, like a silver snake, winds her way through the red clay hills of Alabama, sits high on these hills my hometown, Florence." William Christopher Handy begins his autobiography, Father of the Blues, with these words.

W.C. Handy was born in a small log cabin in Florence on November 16, 1873. Handy became famous for his blues compositions such as "Memphis Blues" & "St. Louis Blues". He was also a musician, band conductor, and author.

The museum houses a collection of memorabilia, musical instruments, personal papers and original sheet music. Handy's famous trumpet and his personal piano are just a few of the items on display.

W.C. Handy died in New York in 1958. His hometown of Florence honors the legacy of the "Father of the Blues" with a birthday party at the museum each November 16th and with the week-long W.C. Handy Music Festival during the summer.

Open Tuesday - Saturday, 10 am - 4 pm.

Admission Charged.

Indian Mound and Museum
1028 South Court Street
Florence, AL 35630
Phone: (256) 760-6427

Visit our new Indian Mound Museum - Opened in 2017!

Typical example of the work of the early Native Americans who lived in Alabama before the Cherokee, Chickasaw and Creek nations inhabited this region.

Located near the banks of the Tennessee River, the Florence Indian Mound is the Tennessee Valley's largest domiciliary mound.

It is a typical example of the work of the early Native Americans who lived in Alabama before the Cherokee, Chickasaw and Creek nations inhabited this region.

It is a 42 foot high quadrilateral mound with a summit measuring 145 x 94 feet. Early settlers in the region found steps on the east side and evidence that the mound had been enclosed by a semi-circular earthen wall.

The museum contains Native American artifacts dating back over 10,000 years, arranged in chronological order from Paleo to Historic periods.

Open Tuesday - Saturday, 10 am - 4 pm.; Sunday's, 1 pm - 4 pm

Admission Charged.