I come here when I'm visiting my mother and I love the improvements they've made to the downtown…read morehistorical area. Ever since the TV show "Home Town" came here, the downtown area looks fantastic. There are plenty of shops to browse and the park is always a nice place to take a walk by the river. While you're here, don't forget to stop by Coaches Corner for a beer.

For us tourists, Montgomery is an hour and 20 minute drive from Birmingham. It's a 2 lane highway…read morewith no traffic. Just trees, trucks and you. Montgomery itself is the capital. There is a Capitol building and a lot of other historic sites to see. I would have rather stayed in Birmingham but I tried it but wasn't anything for me to return to see multiple times.

I've lived around the globe as a Navy wife. And in some pretty sad places. Impoverished places. But…read morenever have I seen a place where the people so disrespect their city as this place! They have the potential for a great city. There are two military bases (both small but nice). They have history. There's the potential for southern charm. And yet the criminal element is taking over. Just last weekend alone, we had 4 homicides. And it's been an ongoing problem. Theft is likewise a problem with businesses, either boarding up or closing down. And the panhandling problem is crazy. They'll stop you on the side of the road and approach your car, and often leave trash behind. Add to that people tossing trash out of their cars or using other people's yards to dump their large throw away stuff. We are down by 200 police officers. We need a minimum of 400, but nobody wants to do the job and risk their lives only to see a criminal go through a revolving door. Our Mayor is in abstention most of the time, running off to give speeches at $15,000 a pop, and the City Council? Only one stays in touch with the public. The Mayor promised, when he went into his second term, that this would not be the Montgomery it used to be. I wasn't here for that, Montgomery. But from what i hear, it needs to come back. The schools are tanked, and they just hired the guy who was in charge of Selma's failing school system to be in charge here. Somehow, that doesn't provide much comfort. This city needs a fix. And I don't mean drugs. So no, I would not move here. I would even thing twice about visiting!

The Governor's Mansion is a beautiful home located in a residential area of Montgomery. As of this…read morewriting, tours are given on Tuesday's and Thursday's from 10-2, so unfortunately, we weren't able to do a tour since we were in Montgomery over the weekend.

MONTGOMERY'S CONFEDERATE MONUMENT ON CAPITOL HILL…read more The Confederate monument is not located on Bainbridge, it is actually located on the left side of the capitol on Monroe. You will have to climb steps to actually reach this monstrosity. It has a huge presence with its very wide base and soaring height, (88 feet tall). It was built to recognize the 122,000 Alabamians who fought in the Civil War. Surrounding the structure are four statures representing the four branches: artillery, infantry, calvary and navy. There are also battle scenes depicted along with the words " "Alabama honors her sons who died in her service." I found it interesting that this was the one monument (that I've noticed), that was not commissioned by the Daughters of the Confederacy. It was actually a very involved process, (starting in 1865) that included fundraising, soliciting the government and requesting private donations. In 1866, appeals from the state of Virginia to help bury Alabama's dead soldiers halted fundraising efforts and did not resume until 1882. The monument was finally competed and dedicated in 1898, seventeen years after the initial fund raising started. This monument originally featured four Confederate flags, but they were removed in 2015.

This is an amazing monument on the grounds of the Capitol which honors those who fought for the…read moreConfederacy and died during the Civil War. It stands 88 feet high. The detail of this monument is incredible. We just finished a tour of the Capitol, so just had to walk around the building to see this monument. Well worth the stop. A great piece of history.

Oh my gosh!! This musuem and all it offers needs to be seen by everyone! It is beautifully curated…read moreinto 4 Legacy sites. Transportation on a air conditioned shuttle takes you to any of the 4 Legacy sites. Each site is unique to sharing the history, painful as it can be to remember, of lynching, slavery, and the fight to freedom. The museum is indoors and I spent 2 hrs and only got through 1/4 of the museum. I explored the lynching memorial site which is outdoors and provides a wealth of information on slaves lynched in America. They also offered a boat ride to an outdoor Freedom park with thoughtfully crafted pieces of art, breathtaking monuments and historical artifacts. I did not have time to visit the last Legacy site before it closed but I now have a reason to go back! It was a park dedicated to Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Not only was I taken aback from the detail placed into each Legacy site but to know they only charge $5 for all of it. On top of the fact that they provide motorized vehicles for those in need. This is hands down the best history musuem I have encountered. I suggest everyone visit! The staff is very friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable about it all. They showed great pride in what has been created here.

We visited the National Memorial for Peace and Justice (NMPJ) on Jan 8, 2026 as part of Road…read moreScholar's "The Civil Rights Movement - Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma, Birmingham" program. It is one of the three Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) Legacy sites in Montgomery, AL, and the only one where photography is allowed. Like with the other two sites, security checkpoint is present and I surrendered my foldable (smartphone) tripod. While the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park has a collection of artwork in a park setting, the entire area of the NMPJ can be seen as a single artwork of many sections, like the long wall mural in Dexter Ave Baptist Church (also in Montgomery; within walking distance from the Legacy Museum). The first section of NMPJ is a large grassy area bordered by walkways, wall-mounted written content on the subject of "from slavery to lynching". and the Nkyinkyim Installation sculpture. I don't know if picnics or napping on the grassy area is allowed. I didn't ask. Walking from this area to the next section took time. The next section, being the memorial temple, is the highlight of NMPJ. An open structure that houses numerous tall tablets resembling coffins. Each tablet bears the names of county and state, followed by the names of lynching victims and their respective dates of death. Initially, the tablets look like they are resting on the floor. At the center of the temple is a grassy square accessible from multiple points. Standing at the center of the square, the visitor can see the sheer masses of deaths memorialized within the temple. (Photos and footages are found on my YouTube channel @1Somber. Look for video title "Day 5: National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Freedom Monument Sculpture Park" in playlist "2026-1: The Civil Rights Movement - Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma, Birmingham".) At one end of the structure, the path turns right to a corridor that slopes down. I then realized that the tablets are hanging from the ceiling. When the corridor reaches the bottom level, the tables are hanging over my head. Mounted on opposite walls are panels, each mentions the known "justification" for the victim's death. Why only the bottommost area of the panel is used is a mystery. I hope in time more names will be added to these panels. The final wall has an inscription draped by a waterfall states that the "victims of racial terror lynchings... whose deaths cannot be documented... whose names will never be known... are all honored here." Leaving memorial temple, I came to Monument Park. In this area, the tablets take on the shape and size of coffins, and lay on the ground rows after rows on the left and the right of the walkway. Like the tablets at the memorial temple, each bears the names of county and state, followed by the names of lynching victims and their respective dates of death. After Monument Park comes the "Guided By Justice" sculpture, and then Community Park. Tablets shaped like signposts line up in a single file to one side, and act as shoulders for the visitor walkway. Each has written details of specific lynchings. I followed these "signposts" and arrived at the "Arise" sculpture. The path then leads back to starting point. Visitors can either go for another round or leave. Our tour guide said that a visit at the NMPJ can be done in 45 minutes. I say, "Take all the time you want." The patrolling staff is sparse and there's no hurry. The $5 admission price covers all three EJI sites. Although I appreciated the NMPJ, particularly capturing a considerable amount of photos and footages, I do not give this place 5 stars because of the unnecessary security checkpoint to do the boat ride from Boat Launch at 101 Morris Street to Freedom Monument Sculpture Park, and vice versa. See attached image for further details. At 12:56pm, after visiting the National Memorial for Peace and Justice (NMPJ), I showed up at Boat Launch. There was a security checkpoint. I was told to turn over my tripod before getting on the boat. The big, burly bespectacled guy in the suit claimed that tripods could be used to vandalize the sculptures, and I could take the boat back and to this pier to get it back. He gave no explanation as to how a tripod would be a hazardous or dangerous object on a boat ride itself. The Sculpture Park has its own security checkpoint where I would turn over the tripod, and I wasn't planning on coming back to this pier just to pick up my tripod. It would be a waste of time. So I waited for the shuttle to take me back to the Legacy Museum after stopping over at NMPJ. When I finally arrived at Sculpture Park, 45 minutes of my time was wasted. This limited the time spent there. There was no necessity to have security checkpoint at Boat Launch when Sculpture Park has its own security checkpoint. Until EJI Legacy updates their policy to one that makes sense, this EJI site gets no more than three stars.

Such an amazing day on the grounds of the Capital, uniting with people that believe in equality and…read morethe rights for fair democracy in this state and country. We are better together!

On our journey to visit all 50 capital cities and capitol buildings, we landed in Montgomery,…read moreAlabama this day. The building is a gorgeous and brilliant white. It sits upon a hill. As you approach, you are greeted with a large wooden door that's quite heavy to pull open. Security is quick and courteous. After we received wristbands, we were orientated on the history of the building and grounds. Points of interest include the room where the 7 state leaders met to vote for secession from the Union and the room where Jefferson Davis was elected President of the Confederacy. The seemingly floating cantilevered stairs leading to these rooms were designed and engineered by a former slave. The gift shop is large with a wonderful collection of Alabama pottery, jewelry, housewares, food items, and more. Bathrooms are clean and well kept.

This memorial is located on the outside of the Legacy Museum in a small plaza. It is located behind…read morewhere the shuttle picks up to take visitors to the memorial park. This is a very nice memorial that is intended to honor the thousands of Black people lynched in the years immediately following emancipation, whose names may never be known. The memorial has bench seating on its permitter and features a fountain that lists 560 names of lynching victims, a small representation of the thousands killed between 1865 and 1876. You will find sculptures of 3 African heads of different ages coming out from the center of the water fountain. They are very detailed and almost look real. I can feel their pain. At the end of the fountain you will see a wall that reads a follow: "May we never forget all those who suffered and died because they asserted their basic human right to be free". It is very somber memorial and is respectfully done. It educated me as well. I really did not think about the mass lynchings that were conducted post emancipation by white mobs. The fact that everyone was not happy and did not approve of emancipation is commonly overlooked. Many of those people resorted to violence to express their disapproval and maintain supremacy. I like this mural. It is a one of a kind and honors a somewhat forgotten group. The fountain/water table, sculptures and wall and masterfully done and look awesome. You just have to see it for yourself. Anyway, as with most memorials that I have visited and reviewed, this is not a very long stop. I was there less than 10 minutes. More than likely you will stop here while visiting the Legacy Museum, but if not, you should at least make this part of a larger itinerary.

As an artist and art educator I appreciate a well designed and curated museum and this one is…read moreperhaps one of the best I've ever been in. Really powerful stuff here, I think every adult in America needs to experience it. I would caution that I think it would take a well prepared and mature child to visit here, it really drives home America's ugly racial past.

I wasn't planning on writing a review until I saw this business listing. On Day 4 of our Road…read moreScholar's "The Civil Rights Movement - Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma, Birmingham" program, the tour guide pointed out the location of the bus stop where Rosa Parks boarded the bus and made history. Later that afternoon, we visited the Rosa Parks Museum, the Civil Rights Memorial Center, and the Freedom Rides Museum. I used the free time we had on Day 5 to take a picture with Rosa Parks herself. Since I never got the opportunity to meet her in person, I settled for the next best thing. I went to Court Square, saw her, and appreciated all the work that went into her likeness. The floor plaques include the names of the four plaintiffs in the "Browder v. Gayle" bus segregation lawsuit. These four - Susie McDonald, Aurelia Browder, Claudette Colvin and Mary Louise Smith - had been arrested for the same offense that Rosa Parks got famous for months later. So on Day 5, Jan 8, 2026, it happened. Ms. Parks was most obliging, and I got the photo to prove it. 5 stars!

Really cool piece. I appreciated the plaque mentioning other brave individuals that broke norms at…read morethe time to help move society forward. I didn't look too closely at the quality of the statue/face, which seemed to not be up to par according to other comments!