Visiting Montgomery |
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| Alabama’s capital is the city of Montgomery, located right in the heart of the state. It’s not the largest city in Alabama, but from the places I visited while traveling here I think Montgomery is the most interesting city. Above on the left is the state capitol building, also known as the First Confederate Capitol. When the south split from the Union, this building served as the capitol for CSA, and President Andrew Jackson was sworn into oath here. |
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| A popular place to visit in Montgomery seems to be Old Alabama Town. This is neighborhood that covers six blocks of homes from the 18th and 19th centuries. While these aren’t very old, and the outsides of many don’t look too impressive, I think this place is worth a visit for the long house alone. Inside they had it fully decorated as it would be in the 19th century. It was pretty elegant and impressive, but I can’t share photos since they weren’t allowed. |
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 The two photos above are also from old town Alabama. The portraits are from some of the first residents of Montgomery, and someone with knowledge about them told me they were up for sale and expected to bring $25,000 each. The house on the left is not part of Old Town Alabama, but it’s probably the most important historical house in the city. This is the first Confederate White House, where the president of the Confederate States of America resided in the early Civil War days. After less than a year, the Confederate White House was moved from Montgomery Alabama to Richmond Virginia, where it remained for the rest of the war. The two photos below are the insides of the Confederate White House. Honestly I think the town house in Old Town was better decorated, but below gives you a good idea of what the inside of a southern style home looks like from the 19th century. |
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| Montgomery one of the most interesting pasts when it comes to slavery and the African American civil rights movements. Above are two historical markers in Montgomery, the one on the left describes how slaves were bought for $1,500, and those with workers skills were sold at $3,000 back in the early 19th century. When the Union declared the end of slavery in 1861, Confederate states didn’t recognize union laws, and African Americans in these states saw no change in their lives. After the civil war ended, slaves were finally freed, but almost 100 years later, they still did not enjoy all the same rights as full Americans. One of the most important moments regarding African American civil rights occurred here in Montgomery in 1955. The description above describes how Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white person which led to her arrest. The boycott that followed was led by Martin Luther King, and resulted in equal rights on public transportation. |
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| Above is the Rosa Parks library and museum, which was unfortunately closed for 5 days due to the Christmas weekend when I visited in 2010. On the right is the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King would preach. The bus boycott in the 1950s was led started by Martin Luther King in this church’s basement. |
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| Two random photos from Montgomery, Dreamland Barbecue ribs restaurant near the river, and a city Christmas tree on the left, right next to where Rosa Parks took a stand. |
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| I don’t think I’ve ever seen any photos of Montgomery before, but I’d expect historic buildings and southern architecture and that’s exactly what I found. On the left is a trolley passing down one of the city’s main streets, on the right is Union Station, a large railway stop in the city. |
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| These tall buildings seemed to dominate most cities in Alabama, I wasn’t sure what they were, but they are RSA Union owned, that is, Retirement Systems of Alabama. RSA Union manages the pensions of state workers, and you’ll see RSA throughout the state. |
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| The cross hanging from the review mirror is seen in other states up north and west, but definitely was a lot more common here in Alabama. The sign on the left warning you to go church or the devil will get you is something you definitely won’t see up in the north eastern parts of America! Alabama is part of what is known as the bible belt, an area in the southeast United States that is deeply religious. |