Shoppesatlegacypark Damage E1714072501272 — Tornado damage in Tuscaloosa in 2011. (City of Tuscaloosa)

It’s been more than a decade since the state of Alabama was devastated by a tornado outbreak. April 27 will always mean something to the people who lived in the state when those storms hit, especially those in Tuscaloosa.

This Saturday marks the 13th anniversary of the EF-4 tornado that tore through the city along with several other parts of Alabama. We took a quick trip through town earlier this week, following the path of the tornado and seeing how the most severely damaged spots have recovered since 2011.

Richard A. Curry Building

April 27 Damage — The Richard Curry building after the tornado hit. (City of Tuscaloosa) + The new Environmental Services building in Tuscaloosa. (Caleb Turrentine/The Bama Buzz)

Img 7411 Scaled — The Richard Curry building after the tornado hit. (City of Tuscaloosa) + The new Environmental Services building in Tuscaloosa. (Caleb Turrentine/The Bama Buzz)

One of the first buildings destroyed in Tuscaloosa when the tornado came through was the Richard A. Curry Building. It was home to Tuscaloosa’s Emergency Management Agency, the Environmental Services Department, facilities maintenance and operations of other city departments.

Since then, those departments have been separated into other buildings but the facility was rebuilt and is now home to the Environmental Services Department. It now features a 24-hour recycling center and brand new administrative building.

Mary Harmon Park

Mary Harmon Park is located right next to one of the worst hit spots in the city of Tuscaloosa. A new playground now stands where the tornado once came through and the park includes a plaque dedicated to the 53 people who died in Tuscaloosa during the storms.

For the 10-year anniversary, Mayor Walt Maddox delivered a message at the park. It’s home to one of three tornado memorial plaques around the city.

Rosedale Apartments

Img 7418 Scaled — Damage at the old Rosedale Apartments (City of Tuscaloosa) + A newly built complex in the same location (Caleb Turrentine/The Bama Buzz)

Right next Mary Harmon Park is the Rosedale Apartments. The public housing complex is just south of the university’s campus and had around 100 units damaged in the storm.

A bigger complex was built within two years of the storm with multiple phases of the project completed by the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority.

Hargrove Road

Universityplaceelementary Damage Scaled — University Place school building after the tornado (The City of Tuscaloosa) + The new school in 2024 (Caleb Turrentine/The Bama Buzz)

Img 7426 Scaled — University Place school building after the tornado (The City of Tuscaloosa) + The new school in 2024 (Caleb Turrentine/The Bama Buzz)

While the tornado never crossed over onto the University of Alabama campus, it continued in heavily populated areas of Tuscaloosa including the popular Hargrove Road.

University Place Elementary School and Central Church of Christ were two of the biggest buildings to get hit by the storm. Both have undergone full rebuilds and remain in their original locations today.

Central Church of Christ on Hargrove Road was rebuilt after being destroyed in the storm. (Caleb Turrentine / The Bama Buzz)

Alberta community

Albertabaptistchurch Damage — Damage at the Alberta Baptist Church building after the April 27 tornado. (City of Tuscaloosa)

Albertaarea Damage1 — Damage at the Alberta Baptist Church building after the April 27 tornado. (City of Tuscaloosa)

The Alberta community may have been the hardest hit area in Tuscaloosa. Places damaged included:

Alberta Baptist Church
Alberta Elementary School
Juanita Drive subdivision
SWJ Technology Headquarters
Gateway Innovation and Discovery Center

Many of those spots have been rebuilt since the tornado struck. The Alberta School of Performing Arts is now where the old elementary school stood. Several homes in the Juanita Drive subdivision have been completely rebuilt.

The new Alberta Baptist Church building in Tuscaloosa. (Caleb Turrentine / The Bama Buzz)

City of Tuscaloosa dashboard

The city has a dashboard that has its major projects from the recovery process in one place. It also has a by the numbers section which shows more facts from the recovery including:

More than $1 billion invested
4,398 residential permits equaling $285.2 million
1,513 commercial permits equaling $573.7 million
$790 million in new construction
$404.8 million in repair

Do you have memories of the April 27, 2011 storms in Alabama? Share them on social media and tag The Bama Buzz on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn. And sign up for our newsletter too!