Montgomery, Alabama is a place that will satisfy the urge of history buffs to explore and investigate the areas tumultuous past and also stir interest with culture fanatics. Montgomery is Alabama's capital city and its second most populated. Visitors can tour the Capital City's historic Alabama State Capitol building or the First White House of the Confederacy. Or delve into events that changed the world as we knew it. The Rosa Parks Museum is one of the most popular destinations in Montgomery, Alabama in recent years. It is a major landmark in downtown Montgomery and has played a large part in the area's revitalization. Walk down to old Empire Theatre and that's where you will find the site of Rosa Park's adamant and brave stand against segregating Jim Crow Laws in 1955. This is where the museum is located. There are exhibits that recreate the scene on the bus and of the Montgomery Bus Boycott that lead to the Civil Rights Movement in America. Once hungry, there are plenty of southern food shacks to experience. Try the home style, fried southern cuisine or more upscale dining. There is also great shopping in the area as well as arts & cultural venues including the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, and the Hank Williams Museum and Memorial. There are plenty of things beckoning people interested in moving to Montgomery or just visiting for a weekend.
Economy:
The automotive manufacturing industry is one that is doing surprising well in Montgomery, Alabama. In the state of Alabama, there are over 350 automotive-related manufacturers, which will give you a picture of these power clusters throughout the South east. Mercedes Benz has establishments in Tuscaloosa County, Honda manufactures in Talladega County, and Hyundai recently built a motor manufacturing site in Montgomery County last year which brought over 3,000 jobs to the area.
Other industries that are successful in Montgomery are aerospace engineering companies—equipment and parts exports totaled over $584 million in 2008—and the production of forest products resulting in over $2.27 billion exports in this field in the same year. Montgomery moving companies are also doing exceptionally well because of the continual flow of people moving to the southern city. The city's housing market has seen a slight downturn, but is still beating the nation's rates, according to The Birmingham News.
History:
The original settlers of the land that makes up current-day Montgomery, Alabama were the Alibamu tribe of Native Americas. The Europeans showed up in 1540 when Hernando Soto was on an expedition. The arrival and settling down of these men towards the 1700s was slow and steady. The cotton gin came into the picture around 1800. Many explorers that landed here were en route to find land to grow cotton. With the landing of this industry in Alabama, slavery and sharecropping took root in the New South. Montgomery, Alabama became the capital in 1861.
Tourism:
There is a lot to see and do in the town of Montgomery, Alabama. There is family fun, world-changing moments and great theatre to experience. At the Alabama Shakespeare Festival there are world-class contemporary and classic productions of Shakespeare's best. On Felder Avenue, there is the F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum celebrating the novelist and his wife, whom he met here during the World War I. After the war, they got married and reside the house that the museum is located today. A great place to take your family for a bite to eat and entertainment along your meal is available at the Faulkner University Dinner Theatre. The theatre features Broadway-style family entertainment in a Christian based atmosphere. There are loads more of activities to do in this southern city that loves to mix work and play, as well as current progresses with past endeavors.