You can spend a whole weekend in Montgomery and never see it all. While there, you can explore life in the 19th-century South at Old Alabama Town, explore the arts at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts or spend the day learning about the era of Civil Rights. Rosa Parks, the African-American woman who refused to ride in the back of the bus and was very instrumental in this era, was arrested in Montgomery. Here you will find several attractions in her honor. Literary scholars will want to visit the Fitzgerald Museum, while kids must take a trip to the Montgomery Zoo. Be sure to eat some down-home southern food while you are here. Don’t miss the following attractions:
MUST FOR KIDS:
Montgomery Zoo
Northern Blvd. / Lower Wetumpka Road / Coliseum Blvd. (334) 240-4900 or www.montgomeryzoo.com. (fee) This popular family destination, spread over 40 acres, is home to over 700 animals from five continents. A train ride around the park provides an overview of the site. There’s also a playground onsite for kids.
The MOOseum
201 S Bainbridge St. (334) 265-1867 or www.bamabeef.org/NewMOOseum.htm. (fee) Children's museum devoted to the history and preservation of the beef cattle industry.
CIVIL RIGHTS LANDMARKS:
Civil Rights Memorial400 Washington Ave. (334) 264-0286 (free)
The names of 40 people killed in the battle for civil rights between 1954, when the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed segregation, and 1968, the year of the assassination of Martin Luther King, are embedded in this round, flat, granite sculpture. Water flows gently over the surface of the inspiring memorial, designed by Maya Lin, who also created the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Rosa Parks Library and Museum251 Montgomery Street (334) 241-8661 (fee)
This tribute honors Rosa Parks, the African-American woman who, in 1955, sparked the civil rights movement by refusing to give her bus seat to a white man. The museum helps visitors relive this tumultuous era with a video, artifacts, historical documents, a life-size statue of Rosa Parks, and a replica of the bus in which she sat that day.
Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church
454 Dexter Ave. (334) 263-3970 (fee) or www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/al7.h...
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., used the pulpit of this church to lead the 1955-56 Montgomery bus boycotts, which ignited the civil rights movement. Steeped in history, this church, where Dr. King served as pastor from 1954 to 1960, was also the site of many civil rights meetings during that era.
Martin Luther King home315 Jackson Street (334) 261-3270
Martin Luther King's residence from September 1954 to February 1960.
LOCAL LEGENDS:
Hank Williams Museum
118 Commerce St. (334) 262-3600 (fee)
The museum honoring country music star Hank Williams, Sr., which includes exhibits such as the 1952 Cadillac in which he died.
F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum
919 Felder Ave. (334) 262-1911 (fee)
The legacy of this celebrated couple is preserved in the only remaining Montgomery home they lived in while married, saved by the wrecking ball when it was purchased in 1986. The historic old house honors novelist F. Scott, best known for "The Great Gatsby," and his wife, Zelda, artist and author. There is a collection of photographs, correspondence, samples of the couple's celebrated works and other memorabilia. The museum is open limited hours each week and by appointment.
HISTORICAL SITES:
Old Alabama Town301 Columbus St, (334) 240-4500 or www.oldalabamatown.com (free)
See what life was like in 19th-century Montgomery, where three blocks of historic houses show how people lived in that era. You'll see barns, a one-room schoolhouse, a church, cotton gin and the striking contrast of rich versus poor from mansions to a tiny house lined with newspaper for insulation.
The Capitol
600 Dexter Ave. (334) 242-3935 (free)
In 1846, following Cahawba and Tuscaloosa, Montgomery became Alabama's capital city. The first capitol building, a handsome Greek Revival structure designed by Philadelphia architect Stephen Button, was built in 1847. However in 1849 the building burned. Between 1850-51, the present capitol building, also in the Greek Revival style, was constructed on the same site. A rear wing was added in 1885 and the two side wings were added between 1906 and 1912. A rear extension with a neoclassical portico similar to the original west front portico was completed in 1992.
White House of the Confederacy
644 Washington Ave. (334) 242-1861 (free)
1835 Italianate-style house was home to President and Mrs. Jefferson Davis while the capitol of the Confederacy was in Montgomery. Home completely furnished with period pieces from 1850s and 1860.
Confederate MonumentCapitol Hill (free)
Commemorates more than 122,000 soldiers from Alabama who fought and died for the Confederacy during the Civil War.
THE ARTS:
Montgomery Museum of Fine ArtsOne Museum Drive (334) 244-5700 or www.fineartsmuseum.com/home.cfm (free)
For seventy years, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts has been a showcase for the visual arts in Central Alabama. A primary focus of the Museum’s mission is collecting and preserving works by some of history’s best known and some of the region’s best loved artists.
Places to stay in Montgomery, Alabama:
Embassy Suites Montgomery
300 Tallapoosa Street
Montgomery, AL 36104
(334) 269-5055
Rates: From $99
Courtyard by Marriott Montgomery
5555 Carmichael Rd
Montgomery, AL 36117
(334) 272-5533
Rates: From $79
Hampton Inn Montgomery East
1401 East Blvd
Montgomery, AL 36117
(334) 277-2400
Rates: From $80
Baymont Inn & Suites
5225 Carmichael Rd
Montgomery, AL 36106
(334) 277-6000
Rates: From $56
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