Big fan of Egg Beater Jesus. I came. I saw. I bought the t-shirt. Whisk you were here.read more

The oldest Baptist church in Alabama! There is a historical marker on the front right corner of the…read moresidewalk. You will definitely not miss this church, it's bright and colorful Jesus portrait is sure to draw your attention. Very neat steeple too that looks similar to a rocket.

This is the Rocket Man Mural.Huntsville has many cool Murals all around the place. This is another…read morecool example of the public art scene in Huntsville. I enjoy all the colors and the design of this public art mural. Go check it out in this cool city.

This is a nice mural on the outside of Straight to Ale overlooking the Butler Green (named for my…read morehigh school, formerly on this site, S.R. Butler High School) at Campus No. 805. Mural artist John Jahni Moore did a great job on this mural! It lends a colorful, vibrant vibe to the greenspace where folks enjoy picnics and walk their dogs and more! Parade magazine featured the mural as the "featured Alabama artwork" in 2019. Arts Huntsville, Google Fiber, and Jahni partnered on the mural. Do take a look and enjoy the mural at Campus no. 805!

Upside Down Hill was a real thrill back in the day! Here's the location: at the eastern end of Big…read moreCove Road, where it meets Governors Drive. Here's the steps to get the total experience: Point your car heading west, away from Monte Sano Mountain. (Make *sure* no one/vehicle is behind you) Take your foot off the brake, put your car in neutral (again making sure no one is behind you -- safety first peeps!) Your car will start to "roll" backward and uphill - defying all gravity!!!!!!! Like I said, as teenagers this was a really exciting adventure and experience. It was a little tricky to find the spot, but, once found, was a regular Friday night "to do" because, let's face it, back then HSV did not have a lot of excitement to offer, especially for teenagers. According to this article about AL's gravity hills, Upside Down Hill in HSV actually had a sign pointing to it until the early 1960s. https://www.al.com/living/2016/03/where_to_find_mystery_spots_an.html A local t-shirt shop printed UDH t-shirts but they sold out before I got one. Go check it out - safely! :)

Thank you, John Hunt, for being the historic pioneer who, in 1805, built a cabin in Big Spring Park…read morewhere he and his family resided, and Mr. Hunt is considered the founding father of this fair city! Mr. Hunt was a Revolutionary War veteran, and you guess it - Huntsville was named for him! It's known as the "Rocket City" and its motto is "Star of Alabama." In 1811, Huntsville became the first incorporated town in what is now Alabama. I was conceived and born here. Mom birthed me at Huntsville Hospital. Crestwood Hospital would have been around at that time at its former location off Jordan Lane north of Bob Wallace across from the former Westlawn Middle School. I heart Huntsville! From its humble beginnings as primarily cotton farmland, which began at what is now MidCity to the west which was considered "the country" back in the day. Huntsville has really grown ya'll. In 2022, the estimated population was 227.5K folks, making it the second most populous metropolitan area in the state after the Birmingham metropolitan area. There were 142K people living in Huntsville when I was in high school. Enough backstory. What's to love about Huntsville? We boasted about the largest number of PhDs per capita for decades, and this may still hold true. This differentiates us from other towns in Alabama. In the early 1940s Redstone Arsenal (RSA) was developed. And the rest is history: NASA, U.S. Army, FBI, Missile Defense Agency, AMCOM and more are located on RSA. The growth from cotton fields to rocket development was phenomenal. And the last two decades have ushered in a huge influx of people. You can barely drive a block without seeing orange construction barrels and cones, along with the ubiquitous crane. Apartment complexes are the latest developments with fewer condos for purchase. This influx has nurtured local restaurants [Cotton Row, Commerce Kitchen, all the Church Street Family eateries/wine shoppes, Green Bottle Grille] and extensive chain restaurants, too. There are craft coffee cards to get stamped, craft brewery cards to get stamped, and more "trails" to follow including real outdoor hiking at Monte Sano State Park, my favorite - Green Mountain, and Ditto Landing. Various entertainment venues are now options in "Hunts Vegas" including Mars, the Orion, the Von Braun Center, and bars with stages both big and small. HSV has the friendliness of a small southern town, with the perks of a larger city. We have rooftop bars, and lovely patios, covered picnic pavilions and sports - the Trash Pandas are always fun at Toyota Field, the Havoc are a blast if you love ice hockey, and we have a soccer [European "football"] team now, and there's always the Dixie Derby Girls, who do roller derby. Don't forget the US Space and Rocket Center and Space Camp, the Huntsville Botanical Garden, the Huntsville Museum of Art, Burritt Museum, the Weeden House, Constitution Hall Park and Museum, Early Works, the Huntsville/Madison County Veterans Memorial Park, the planetarium, and the mixed-use facilities, Lowe Mill, Campus 805, Stovehouse, and MidCity [with more on the way!] You can find events and festivals here: https://www.huntsville.org/events/festivals/ A great destination picnic location is Ditto Landing. Bank fish, or launch your boat and enjoy the beautiful bridge connecting south Huntsville to Lacey's Spring. If nothing in Huntsville "whets your whistle" or you are just itching to get out of town, Nashville is just 90 minutes north, Birmingham is 90 minutes south, Atlanta is ~ 4.5 hours SW, and the white sands of Orange Beach are just 5.5 hours due south. It's a hop and skip down to New Orleans by car, and you can always opt for the train that departs from Birmingham. Just please, please, don't move here - we are getting "full up" with people! Hence the 4 versus 5 stars. Traffic is also really crappy since the infrastructure has not kept pace with the population growth. Another minus for the Huntsville metro area is the dire lack of public transportation. Regardless of various efforts [I'm looking at you "Shuttle" busses and not "Orbit" busses], this is an area Huntsville falls short, especially for those who are wheelchair bound.

I've been in Huntsville for 3 months now and love it. There is so much to do and see here. Of…read morecourse it's the home of the Space & Rocket Center and Redstone Arsenal. Land of opportunity for careers! I've had several interactions with the actual departments of the City of Huntsville as well. One was a frustrating experience dealing with the City Engineer to get my certificate Occupancy for my house. I had to contact the Mayors Office and they resolved the issue within a few hours. Since then no issues. I also have my utilities through the city. Interestingly enough, they combine electric, water, and trash here. Their electric rates have been through the roof during the winter. I guess we will see how it changes in the. Next couple months. Another pro - taxes are cheap and the city offers a homestead tax break for people who own their primary residence in the City of Huntsville.

The Welcome to Huntsville mural is part of the Alabama Mural Trail and was created by Gracie…read moreLennox. As Ashley S., said it is a great photo spot and it one of the most photographed pieces of art in Huntsville. It is really simple and pretty in person and resembles a post card. It's in Big Spring Park and in my opinion, it really brightens up the building on which it is painted which is a parking garage if I recall correctly. The Welcome to Huntsville mural is one of over 14 murals that grace various locations in the Rocket City and Madison County! I highly recommend the Alabama Mural Trail, especially in Madison County!

This mural is a staple of the city and located in Big Spring Park not far from the staircase. It's…read morea great photo spot!

Alabama Korean War memorial tribute and memorial located on premise of the Alabama test stop that…read moreis located just past the Tennessee/Alabama state line. Located on the rear of the premise behind the unmissable Saturn 1B rocket and adjacent from a Vietnam vet of America memorial as well. Nice sized memorial With several different tombstone like structures with plenty of info and honorees. Overall cool and nice piece of public art in a rest stop with all kinds of cool memorials and things to Check out.

This is another excellent war Memorial that Alabama features. We stopped in here, and I was glad…read morebecause I had all kinds of memorials here at this restaurant. This is the Alabama Korean war Memorial and it's a must see.

Maybe this was something great in the last, but we drove through and it was about 3 houses with…read morelights. Still nice that someone posted to keep the memory of their neighbor.

Definitely an annual tradition in Huntsville. It started years ago when Joe Lanza put up the most…read morefestive Christmas display in town. Each year he would add something new, whether it was a sleigh with life size reindeer, a carousel of Christmas Carolers, or the Classic Manger with the Happy Birthday Jesus sign. Then one of the neighbors down the street caught the bug and suddenly there were two ornate Christmas displays to make this little loop of a street the most festive in town. Each year was more festive than the last with Santa and live reindeer making appearances and lights draped over the street. Mr. Lanza passed away a few years ago, but his family has kept his traditions alive, including the special radio station, which now is in synch with the lights so that the displays dance with the music. I suggest you get in line right at dark, any night after Thanksgiving. It gets better and more ornate the closer you get to Christmas, but it also gets more crowded. The other houses in the neighborhood have done their best to add to the festivities - bless their hearts - it's not the best time of year to live on Horseshoe Trail if you're even in a hurry to leave your house!