Tinglewood at Orr Park: Worth a Second Glance

Montevallo, Alabama, located some ways south of Birmingham, has a park. Most towns have parks. This is no big secret. At first glance, Orr Park seems like any normal small-town park. It features a handful of covered picnic tables, a wooden bridge overlooking local Shoal Creek, a small playground, a walking trail, and an ample amount of open field suitable for impromptu Saturday afternoon football and frisbee games. A beautiful rock fountain and nearby gazebo completes the park, lending a peaceful location for visitors and locals to relax.

But Orr Park itself isn't Montevallo's biggest secret, and it might take a second glance to notice why. First, you'll probably notice the old cedar trees that ring the park, many of them long past their primes. Then you might notice a branch, slightly low on a tree, which looks oddly like a unicorn. Beneath it, you might notice something else, an eerily human face peering out at you with wooden eyes, though its smile is broad and inviting.

This is Tinglewood, named for Tim Tingle, a local artist specializing in wood carvings. Mr. Tingle has sprinkled Orr Park with magic in the form of over thirty sculptures carved into the bark of old cedar trees. Many take the form of old men, wizards, and Indian chieftains, their wizened faces smiling or frowning as per their moods, carved into the sides of trees and old stumps. Others include fantastical and mundane beasts: unicorns, dragons, even fish and snakes.

Tim Tingle, a local coal miner, writer, part-time farmer, and father of five, began carving the trees in 1993 after a storm killed many of the living trees. With the city's blessing, Mr. Tingle has been carving his trees ever since, and periodically, new faces and creatures show up in the park. The environmentally conscious need not worry, however, as Mr. Tingle only plies his trade on the dead trees of the park-the living trees are left untouched to grow as they will.

So, come visit Montevallo, Alabama and see the magic of Tinglewood; can you find all of Mr. Tingle's creations? Some of them are cleverly hidden. While you're in town, be sure to visit the beautiful University of Montevallo, established in 1896 and designed by the Olmstead brothers, famous for designing New York City's Central Park.