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.

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.

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!

These bold, beautiful, and well executed murals are an extremely lovely, and cool addition to Mid…read moreCity! My favorite is the Little Richard mural! Interestingly enough, Little Richard (born Richard Wayne Penniman) is buried not far from this mural, about three miles (or so) away slightly south of Oakwood University! That's right - the "Architect of Rock and Roll" is buried in Huntsville, Alabama! The name of the cemetery is Oakwood Memorial Gardens and it is lovely! He enrolled in theology at Oakwood in the late 50s. I think he graduated from Oakwood, however, I am certain Little Richard became an ordained minister. He loved Oakwood! The Little Richard mural is forty feet by thirty feet and was painted by local artist Logan Tanner at 5901 University Drive. It's large size is well suited to Little Richard's personality which was truly larger than life! He was the ultimate in flamboyancy with his passionate vocals, unique personal style, and percussive piano playing! Thanks, Logan Tanner, for sharing your great talents and honoring the "Architect of Rock and Roll!"

A wonderful place to visit and see the new murals of Huntsville Alabama. Definitely worth it if you…read morelove seeing murals

Hidden in a little street alley off Bank Street is the oldest surviving cemetery in Decatur, going…read moreback to at least 1818. I have learned it is called the Rhodes Family Cemetery, after Dr. Henry Rhodes, one of the original founders of Decatur. In fact, Decatur was called Rhodes Ferry for many years until the name was changed to reflect the heroics of Stephen Decatur during the Barbary Coast War. There a lot of broken gravestones, most are illegible and contain by some records 19-20 people connected to the Rhodes family, The graves contain a high percentage of children and adolescents who died around 1818-1820. There are Rhodes, Sykes, Scruggs and Banks buried here. There's speculation that the cemetery was much larger at some point but other buildings now cover the burial places. It was heavily damaged during the Battle of Decatur as well. Besides a wrought iron gate and a sign, there's little to see.

On the back wall of Fountain Parker Harbarger and Associates Insurance Agency on Holmes Avenue (at…read morethe intersection of Holmes Avenue and Washington Street downtown) you'll find the Galactic Mural! The mural's official name is "Celestial Symphony." The wall of the insurance agency on which it is adorned faces a parking lot shared with the Federal courthouse. It features at least eight aluminum planets and was designed by Alabama artist Ms. Jessie Andrews. The cool aluminum planets are a three dimensional pop out from the flat wall mural behind the art installation. Jessie said it took her a year to come up with the idea, make the planets, and put it all together. She installed the mural in four days. I love Celestial Symphony/Galactic Mural and all the murals Huntsville and North Alabama have! Nice job, Ms. Andrews!

This is the Galactic 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.

Priceville, Alabama is just off of Interstate 65 and is next to the better known Decatur, Alabama…read more It is just south of the Tennessee and Alabama state line and is a growing community with the explosive growth of the whole Huntsville, Alabama area. I stayed at a hotel in Priceville and enjoyed the area.

Downtown Huntsville is actually, great! Why no fifth star? Because it's constantly congested…read moretraffic wise and always seems to have streets blocked off and traffic rerouted for various simultaneous construction projects. Over the years, downtown Huntsville has become a legitimate destination with numerous delicious restaurants, new, sleek hotels, and rooftop dining and bars! Christmas is just not complete without a visit to the Tinsel Trail in Big Spring Park. This massive, free, live decorated tree display is fun to visit! Each, of more than 400 trees, tree is sponsored by a corporation, non-profit, etc., and each one is themed. You can spend a few minutes there or an hour plus! Ice Skating in the Park has been around for several years now. It's in a pop-up ice skating rink behind the Huntsville Museum of Art. On/around the square proper are the Courthouse, Harrison Brothers Hardware Store, the beautiful Church of the Nativity, and Big Spring Park. A few blocks north of the square is the Madison County Veteran's Memorial which is a must see! It really is a lovely park honoring our Veterans with flags, statues, displays and brick pavers engraved with our beloved Veteran's names, Service details, etc. Here, too, you can spend over an hour, or if you are looking for a certain memorial paver, you can find the location on the website. The Huntsville Museum of Art is just southeast of the square and has a free admission day once a month. It's fun to explore the museum and afterwards, eat at Pane E Vino which sits on the edge of Big Spring Park - dining al fresco here is so fun during nice weather! The Twickenham Historic District, Old Town Historic District, and Five Points Historic District are must sees! As the Huntsville.gov website says the Twickenham district is a living museum or architectural styles dating from 1814 ranging from Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne and Bungalow to post-war homes and it is graced by more than 65 antebellum homes. You can tour these districts from your car, on foot and use the HuntsvilleHistoryTours.org to follow along with local tour guides video tours. Alabama Constitution Hall Park/Early Works Museum is another popular downtown destination. Don't forget the Von Braun Center and Mars Music Halls which are great venues for everything from Huntsville Havoc Ice Hockey, Broadway Theatre League performances, to shows by acts like Queensryche. Downtown Huntsville is truly a fun destination for all ages to enjoy!

This organization sets up many events with a lot of moving parts but they rarely respond to…read morequestions from people involved. Weeks go by with zero response to emails or phone calls regarding event deadlines and parameters. You would think greater professionalism would be the norm in an organization that has muscled its way into being the face of Huntsville.