The journey of making Vulcan accessible to all

For almost the entirety of 2025, the elevator at Vulcan was out of order, meaning visitors had to make the 159-stair trek to the observation deck. This meant that many folks with disabilities didn’t get to see Birmingham from its most notable point of view.

The elevator was fixed and put back in service at the end of 2025. The lack of access this caused, however, puts in perspective the importance of accessible architecture, even for those who might not consider themselves disabled.

Even lifelong Birmingham residents might not know of the immense advocacy, negotiation and collaboration that went into getting the elevator installed at Vulcan Park.

Dr. Graham Sisson is a lifelong disability advocate, and he was at the center of this fight for accessibility at one of Alabama’s most prominent landmarks.

For Sisson, the elevator at Vulcan isn’t just a mechanical convenience; it represents a hard-won victory for civil rights.

A brief history of Vulcan’s elevators

When Vulcan was first placed on Red Mountain in 1938, there was no elevator — of course, there were not nearly as many accessibility standards back in the ’30s than there are today. It wasn’t until 1971 for Birmingham’s centennial that Vulcan underwent a modernization when the first elevator was added.

The pedestal was clad in Alabama marble, and an enclosed observation deck was added. Historians and preservationists argued that the additions — including the elevator — were attached to the structure in such a way that it de-emphasized the statue, made it difficult to view from the ground and clashed with the statue’s artistic intent.

On top of those changes, engineers filled the hollow Vulcan statue with concrete in an effort to stabilize it, but due to the different rates at which iron and concrete expand and contract, the iron began to crack and rust from the inside out. The statue was removed in 1999.

In the early 2000s, demolition of the park modernization began, which meant attempting to return the park to its 1938 appearance.

Sisson’s journey to disability advocacy

Sisson, shortly after he graduated high school in 1982, was a passenger in a car that was involved in a head-on collision caused by a drunk driver in Sheffield. The accident left him with a broken back and closed head injury. He was in a coma for eight and a half weeks, and his spinal cord injury caused him to be paralyzed from the waist down.

That tragic accident ended up shaping Sisson’s entire future and career trajectory. He attended college and law school at the University of North Alabama and Vanderbilt Law School, respectively, during a time where there was not federally mandated accessibility. Getting around was more difficult, and he had to learn to advocate for himself.

At Vanderbilt Law School, he wrote his thesis in 1990 on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) before it was passed that same year.

“I graduated May of 1990 from law school, so I’ve kind of made the Americans with Disabilities Act the centerpiece of what I do.”

Graham Sisson

After getting his law degree, he became the Alabama ADA Coordinator in 1993, a role he held for most of his career until his retirement in 2025. He joined the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services (ADRS) in 1998 to manage the state rehabilitation council.

In 2007, he was appointed by Governor Bob Riley as Executive Director and General Counsel for the Governor’s Office on Disability, which he also served as until his retirement. He served on boards for organizations like the Lakeshore Foundation, helping stand up for disabled people around the world. Sisson also served as the Deputy Attorney General for about 25 years, acting as the state’s high-level legal expert on disability law.

The importance of advocacy

By the time Sisson had moved to Birmingham, Vulcan’s marble-clad elevator was inoperable, and efforts hadn’t been made to repair it.

As the efforts to restore Vulcan to its original 1938 appearance ramped up in the 2000s, alarm bells started going off in Sisson’s head.

“When people say they’re going to restore something, preserve it, that’s code in the disability community for exclusion of people with disabilities. Because in 1938, there wasn’t a lot of accessibility…

“[The people restoring Vulcan] weren’t ill-willed or anything, they just wanted it to look the way it did.”

Graham Sisson

In restoring Vulcan to its original appearance, the elevator was removed entirely. Under the ADA, it is illegal to remove accessible features, so Sisson approached the director of the Alabama Historical Commission, who was concerned an elevator would disrupt the flow of people.

“I showed him my research on not removing accessible features…

“The Americans with Disabilities Act does protect historical preservation. In other words, preserving historical significance of a particular feature…I said, ‘But y’all aren’t preserving it. You’re trying to restore it. The ADA does not protect restoration.”

Graham Sisson

Rather than simply blocking the project, Sisson and a coalition — including the Birmingham Independent Living Center and ADA architect Bill Hecker — proposed a creative compromise. They suggested placing a new glass elevator on the outside of the pedestal, tucked behind the statue.

This allowed the front of the monument to retain its 1938 silhouette while ensuring the observation deck remained open to everyone.

Universal design benefits everyone, not just disabled people

Sisson is a proponent of the ideology of “universal design,” which promotes that building for people with disabilities results in a better world for everyone. Whether it’s an out-of-state tourist, an elderly visitor, or a parent with a stroller, the elevator has become the primary way Birmingham experiences its iron man.

“Most people use that elevator instead of walking up 100 steps. And we knew that was going to happen because it’s the idea of universal design…

“That elevator actually benefits everybody.”

For Sisson, the fight for Vulcan was about more than just a lift; it was about ensuring that progress in Birmingham never leaves anyone behind.

“When you advocate for change, you don’t want to browbeat people… You want them to understand why it’s a good idea and how it benefits everybody. And that way, change is more lasting. If people understand it, they will continue to support it.”

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