Marble sculpture of two hands, appearing as if intermixed with a water-like material. One hand entering the water, one slightly beneath. Title: “Allora e Ora” (Then and Now) by Elena Mutinelli

5 Places in Sylacauga to See World-Class Marble

The best marble in the world comes from two places: a town in Italy and Sylacauga, Alabama.

Given the high quality of Sylacauga’s marble, we use it in many of our country’s most famous structures. The Lincoln Memorial and the US Supreme Court building, for example, would not be what they are without marble from Sylacauga.

But if you’re not traveling to Washington, D.C. anytime soon, and you’d like to experience the beauty of this central Alabama wonder, then there are plenty of ways to do so right in Sylacauga.


1. Gantts Quarry Observation Point

Large, open pit marble quarry with green water under blue skies. Sylacauga, AL

The best place to start is the Gantts Quarry Observation Point.

The view offers a direct look into the marble vein beneath Sylacauga. This marble took around 500-million years to form and stretches for 30 miles. In other words, there’s still a whole lot of marble left.

All that famous marble in our country’s capital came from right here.

2. Meet One of the Best Marble Artists in the Country

A man standing in a fenced-in, outdoor space studio with in-progress marble sculptures all around.

For your second stop, drive into town to meet Sylacauga’s sculptor-in-residence, Craigger Browne.

Craigger has marble sculptures on display across the country, and he spends most of his daylight hours at his outdoor studio which he has dubbed “The Cage”.

You can find his studio here, on the corner of Norton and Hickory, right in downtown Sylacauga.

And the best part? He says that you are welcome to stop by, say hello and watch him work.

3. The 3 Outdoor Marble Sculptures

Upward view of a large sculpture of a man carving himself out of a block of marble. Title: "Sylacauga Emerging" by Craigger Browne

Next, let’s get a look at some of Craigger’s finished work. To do so, head to City Hall and the B.B. Comer Memorial Library here.

The marble sculpture above, “Sylacauga Emerging”, took Craigger 15 months to complete. Across the street, he has another sculpture titled “Once Upon a Time…” featuring a man reading to his grandchildren.

Also on site at city hall: Don Lawler’s “Falling Star”, in tribute to a local meteor, the only one known to have hit a person.

4. The Library’s Secret Art Gallery

Marble sculpture showing a woman from the head up with one hand in her long hair. Title: "Rapunzel" by Frank Murphy.

While familiar to locals, the B.B. Comer Memorial Library’s marble sculpture gallery is little known outside Sylacauga.

But as any native of Sylacauga will tell you, hidden inside this library is one of the better collections of marble sculptures in the South, perhaps the country.

Many of the world’s best marble sculptors attend Sylacauga’s annual marble festival, and the library has collected some of their work.

As an example of the quality of sculpting on display here, one of the artists featured here has 3 pieces in the Vatican. Pictured above is “Rapunzel” by Frank Murphy.

5. The Isabel Anderson Comer Museum

Front view of the Isabel Anderson Comer Museum & Arts Center in Sylacauga, AL. Exterior of building is marble and has a large, wavy marble sculpture in front.

Close out your tour with a visit to the Isabel Anderson Comer Museum & Arts Center.

Not only is the facade constructed with Sylacauga marble, but the museum features marble sculptures from various famous artists, including a piece by Giuseppe Moretti (the sculptor behind Birmingham’s Vulcan statue), pioneering female sculpture Geneva Mercer, and of course, Craigger Browne.


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