POWERGRAMS

15 15 concerts on Aug. 15, 1952 across Fort Dale Road at Tiger Stadium. Musicians frequently strum and sing in the library's Camellia Pavilion, built a decade ago in memory of longtime advocate Fran Branum. This all happens within the city limits where about 800 workers build auto chassis at Hwashin American. And at the same interstate exit where so many passersby go to KFC or Hardee's, locals and visitors have been eating at Bates House of Turkey for 50 years. Within sight of Bates on Interstate Drive, the Big Potato Co. is continuing to grow its customer base with spud specialties. Down one exit going south, BBQ 65 bans tractor-trailer rigs from its parking lot, but the service station store has a steady line of hungry folks awaiting pulled pork, chicken and turkey plates, and sandwiches from its little side restaurant. Amidst the history, there are many other important elements of modern-day Greenville. Lurleen Burns Wallace Community College has a 17-acre campus with three buildings offering nursing, technical training and GED diplomas. There is a vibrant healthcare presence led by the 250 employees of the Regional Medical Center of Central Alabama, managed by UAB Health Systems. Mac Crenshaw Memorial Airport has a 5,500-foot runway capable of serving corporate jets. Recreation is promoted at Beeland Park, with a community center, three baseball fields, practice cages, tennis and basketball courts, picnic pavilions and Katie's Rose Garden. Day Memorial Park and Dunbar Park each have three baseball fields. Greenville's Sportsplex has three ballfields and will host the Dixie AAA State baseball tournament July 10-15. Butler County Courthouse There's little chance of missing the Butler County Courthouse in downtown Greenville. If a visitor keeps driving straight on East Commerce Street, they'll run right into the 1903 brick building with a 107-foot-tall, four-sided clock tower. The tallest building in the county sits in the middle of the street, forcing everyone to either come inside or circle around it. It is a two-story edifice most noted for the elaborate central structure that features intricate brickwork of yellow and red diamond patterns. It is topped by a copper-clad dome built in 1998 after Hurricane Opal destroyed the original three years earlier. A sandstone-walled office and vault addition to the front in 1971 created more space but altered the aesthetics of the courthouse. Still, the original interior is uncommon compared to contemporary courthouses. Inlaid tile artwork on the floor immediately inside the entrance reveals an 8-foot-wide eagle gripping four gold arrows on top of an American flag shield as the raptor holds a ribbon in its mouth inscribed "Here We Rest." The courthouse schedule allows a throwback to old times, closing at noon on Wednesdays. White marble panels run along the walls and up the staircase to a courtroom suitable for a higher court, with the judge's bench in front of four soaring Ionic white wood half-columns centered by a pediment supported by four more columns that frame the Alabama seal and American and state flags. There is no elevator to the courtroom, so people with disabilities do business at the new annex across the street. Surrounding the building are memorials to Butler County soldiers Monuments surrounding the courthouse honor soldiers who died in battle. Commerce Street is the community epicenter. Inlaid tile art graces courthouse entrance. The Martin House is on the National Register of Historic Places.

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