Ave Maria Grotto - Cullman, AL - Roadside Attractions on Waymarking.com

County of site: Cullman County
Location of site: St. Bernard Dr., S. of US-278, E. of Cullman
Built: 1934
Created by: Brother Joseph Zoetl

"Ave Maria Grotto is a four-acre landscaped park on the grounds of St. Bernard Abbey in Cullman, Alabama, which contains approximately 150 miniature buildings, shrines, monuments, and sculptural works designed and hand built in concrete by Brother Joseph Zoetl

This site was an abandoned rock quarry that was transformed between 1932 and 1934 as a setting for the display of Br. Joseph's collection of small buildings which originally had been located on the abbey recreation ground. This earliest group of buildings, constructed between ca. 1915 and 1930, was named Little Jerusalem and was composed of recreations of the buildings of Jerusalem and Palestine during Biblical times. From 1934 to 1958 Br. Joseph continued to build a variety of structures which were added to the Grotto. However, it appears that more than 85 percent of the present works were in place by 1940 and that almost 95 percent were completed by 1950. (For further elaboration on this point, see Note on Sketch Map Legend.) Ave Maria Grotto has been open to the public since 1934 and is carefully maintained by the abbey. There are no plans to move it or close it.

"The Grotto occupies a heavily wooded bluff above Eightmile Creek. One enters the park on the high side and descends a path flanked by several of the larger works. Rounding a curve one descends a flight of steps to the floor of the quarry which is the main portion of the Grotto. On the right, a low stone wall containing built-in benches borders the wooded bluff which drops down to the creek. On the left, the ground rises sharply creating a long, low hillside where the majority of the miniature buildings are assembled. At the center of this hillside is the largest creation in the park—the Ave Maria Grotto—the structure from which the entire site takes its name. The concrete shell of this grotto is 27 feet high and nearly as wide. It was constructed by local masons to Br. Joe's specifications, which included fitting the ceiling with suspended railroad spikes and chicken wire; Br. Joseph fashioned these into a mass of stalagtites by covering them with concrete e'mbedded with bits of glass, marbles, and stones. Inside this grotto above the altar are statues of Our Lady Queen of the Universe and St. Benedict and St. Scholastica, the twin founders of the Benedictine Order.

"On each side of this grotto the hillside is divided into two sections. The first contains a variety of miniature buildings modeled after existing structures in the United States, predominantly the missions of the Southwest constructed by the Franciscan fathers. The second section features Roman scenes and is composed of the structures of ancient Rome as well as numerous Catholic cathedrals and basilicas. The third section is called Scenes from the Holy Land and the last section is Little Jerusalem. These last two sections contain the earliest buildings, practically all of which were moved from the recreation ground. These are the smallest models and are patterned after the sites in Jerusalem and Palestine described in the Bible. From this point the path leads out of the quarry past additional structures to the exit.

"It is impossible to adequately describe in words the scope and sophistication of this collection of structures because they vary considerably in subject matter, scale, and means of artistic expression. For this reason, numerous photographs have been included which illustrate a representative selection of the individual works as well as. the overall appearance of the groupings and the environment." ~ NRHP Nominatio Form