Attending the Business Guided Walking Tour of Sheffield, Alabama

April 20, 2026

The local paper had an announcement for guided walking tours in Sheffield every Saturday during April. The tours start at 10 am, meeting the tour guide on the west side of the courthouse. The first two tours are about the homes of Sheffield. The third tour is about the business on Montgomery Avenue, which is the main street of Sheffield.

Early in the week, I asked Bruce if he would like to go. He also thought it would be fun.

On April 18 (Saturday), we drove to Sheffield and found a good parking spot. We could see the small tour group waiting. We just made the start of the tour.

Our tour guide was a retired history teacher. He was extremely knowledgeable. He took his role very seriously and continues to do research on Sheffield. He had a three-ring binder full of historic pictures of how the town looked in the past. He also talked about what Sheffield looked like when he was growing up which was fun.

We had a couple who lived in Sheffield. Everyone who drove past waved at them. Several yelled out, “Hi, Ms. (name here).” She had been an 8th grade teacher and every one seemed to know her. The other two taking the tour where from central Mississippi. They had to leave early.

The Quad Cities (Sheffield, Tuscumbia, Muscle Shoals, and Florence) decided to have a series of Singing River sculptures of musicians made out of aluminum.

Here’s Sheffield’s Singing River sculpture. The locals call it “The Not Elvis” sculpture. The city made a big deal that it was just a singer and not Elvis. In the background, you can see an apartment complex, with the two sections joined by a pedestrian bridge. The side on the left was an office building and the side on the right was a hospital.

Here’s a close-up of the sign.

Here’s a picture of downtown.

There is some revitalization going on. A local family is turning old abandoned buildings into apartments with balconies. It is a nod to New Orleans. The balconies are fairly simple black ironwork, instead of the fancier ones you see in New Orleans.

There are still a lot of abandoned buildings in downtown. It is sad to realize how fast Sheffield went from one of the most important cities in North Alabama to a struggling city. Restaurants seem to struggle here. There are long-time favorites that are crowded.

Here is a picture of the library.

After our tour ended, Bruce and I had lunch at Sheffield Public House. The food was delicious. The menu was mixed with English pub fare and Greek street food. We spent some time talking to the owner or executive chief. It wasn’t clear which one his was. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch his name or I would be able to figure it out. His mother is Greek and he learned to cook Greek food from her. He lived in England for a while, thus the English pub food. Bruce and the owner(?) had a great time discussing beer. Bruce enjoyed the Guinness on tap; it was a proper pour.

Bruce had the fish and chips that came with a side of mashed peas. I had the traditional chicken souvlaki with the spiced glazed carrots side.

Bruce ranked the fish and chips as five stars. He enjoyed the mashed peas, they were not mashed. They were in some type of sauce.

I enjoyed the souvlaki. The bread was warm and soft. The chicken breast was juicy and the tzatziki was delicious. The spiced glazed carrots weren’t like any carrots I’ve had before. I loved the sweet glaze. It had cinnamon, maybe allspice or clove, and a bit of nutmeg.

After lunch, we walked to Uncle A. A.’s Emporium, an enormous antique store. It is well organized with beautiful displays. We did not buy anything, but had fun looking.

I drove home since Bruce had beer. I was the designated driver.

It was a nice day! I thought of Suzie from https://suzassippi.wordpress.com as we did the tour. She researches old buildingss.