Montgomery

Central, AL / Montgomery, AL


Downtown Montgomery lies along the southern bank of the Alabama River, about 6 miles (9.7 km) downstream from the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers. The most prominent feature of Montgomery's skyline is the 375 ft (114 m), RSA Tower, built in 1996 by the Retirement Systems of Alabama. Other prominent buildings include 60 Commerce Street, 8 Commerce Street, and the RSA Dexter Avenue Building.(See Tallest Buildings in Montgomery, Alabama). Downtown also contains many state and local government buildings, including the Alabama State Capitol. The Capitol is located atop a hill at one end of Dexter Avenue, along which also lies the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King, Jr. was pastor. Both the Capitol and Dexter Baptist Church are recognized as National Historic Landmarks by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Other notable buildings include RSA Dexter Avenue, RSA Headquarters, Alabama Center for Commerce, RSA Union, and the Renaissance Hotel and Spa.

One block south of the Capitol is the First White House of the Confederacy, the 1835 Italianate-style house in which President Jefferson Davis and family lived while the Confederate capital was in Montgomery. Montgomery's third National Historic Landmark is Union Station. Passenger train service to Montgomery ceased in 1989. Today Union Station is part of the Riverfront Park development, which includes an amphitheater, a riverboat dock, a river walk, and Riverwalk Stadium.

Three blocks east of the Convention Center, Old Alabama Town showcases more than 50 restored buildings from the 19th century. The Riverwalk is part of a larger plan to revitalize the downtown area and connect it to the waterfront. The plan includes urban forestry, infill development, and façade renovation to encourage business and residential growth. A 112,000-square-foot (10,400 m2) The Convention Center, completed in 2007, has encouraged growth and activity in the downtown area, and attracted more high-end retail and restaurants.

Other downtown developments includes historic Dexter Avenue, which will be the center of a Market District. A $6 million streetscape project is improving its design. Maxwell Boulevard is home to the newly built Wright Brothers Park. High-end apartments are planned for this area. The Bell Building, located across from the Rosa Parks Library and Museum, is being redeveloped for mixed-use retail and residential space.

South of downtown, across Interstate 85, lies Alabama State University. ASU's campus was built in Colonial Revival architectural style from 1906 until the beginning of World War II. Surrounding ASU are the Garden District and Cloverdale Historic District. Houses in these areas date from around 1875 until 1949, and are in Late Victorian and Gothic Revival styles. Huntingdon College is on the southwestern edge of Cloverdale. The campus was built in the 1900s in Tudor Revival and Gothic Revival styles. ASU, the Garden District, Cloverdale, and Huntingdon are all listed on the National Register of Historic Places as historic districts.

Montgomery's east side is the fastest-growing part of the city. Development of the Dalraida neighborhood, along Atlanta Highway, began in 1909, when developers Cook and Laurie bought land from the Ware plantation. A Scotsman, Georgie Laurie named the area for Dál Riata, a 6th-7th century Gaelic overkingdom; a subsequent misspelling in an advertisement led to the current spelling. The first lots were sold in 1914.[39] The city's two largest shopping malls (Eastdale Mall and The Shoppes at Eastchase), as well as many big-box stores and residential developments, are on the east side.