EXCURSIONS BY CITYVISION HUNTSVILLE, MADISON AND DECATUR 7TH EDITION

EXCURSIONS

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HUNTSVILLE

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Inside: Public Art Transforms Local City Centers plus...

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Experience the best of Huntsville in a comfortable, yet elegant atmosphere located in the beautiful Village of Providence.

Our culinary team offers award-winning entrée selections as well as daily features to enhance your experience at Grille 29.

Our Grouper Oscar has been featured in the 100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die and our Jumbo Scallops stuffed with Lump Crab, Filet “29”, and Sesame Seared Tuna Mignon are crowd favorites! You will begin your dinner journey on a high note with our Firecracker Shrimp or Gorgonzola Fondue. But save room for dessert! The Grille 29 hand-made desserts are not to be missed — our guest favorites include the Raspberry Truffle Cake, Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle, and Chocolate Soufflé.

For the past 6 years, Grille 29 has been voted Best Restaurant in the Taste of Huntsville.

Come in for Lunch or Dinner, visit our lounge, or ask about our Banquet Room for meetings. Grille 29 is the place to dine in Huntsville for a memorable and enjoyable taste adventure!

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Welcome to Huntsville Hub, your office away from home. Our state of the art equipment including projectors, high-speed internet, web and audio conferencing and more helps you conduct your business meetings, mediations, depositions and trainings of any size. Come experience executive style rentable office spaces and conference rooms today, your first-class business deserves it!

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L E T T E R F R O M T H E E D I TO R & P U B L I S H E R

Thank you for reading EXCURSIONS! We are very pleased to publish our seventh annual edition of EXCURSIONS for Huntsville, Madison and Decatur!

EXCURSIONS is truly a collaboration of many talented, civic-minded people, business owners and organizations, and I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to our advertisers and sponsors, Mayor Battle of Huntsville and his staff, Judy Ryals, Jennifer Moore, Charles Winters and their staff at the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Mayor Paul Finley, Samantha Magnuson and Mary Beth Broeren of the City of Madison, Pam Honeycutt and her staff at the Madison Chamber of Commerce, Melinda Dunn and her staff at the Decatur/Morgan Co. Convention & Visitor Bureau, Mayor Tab Bowling of Decatur, the talented writers and photographers from the Huntsville area and, especially, my team of talented and dedicated folks in Birmingham and Madison who work to create the best products possible for our clients and our readers.

The greater Huntsville area continues to grow and change at a rapid pace and we are honored to be your guide to exploring Huntsville, Madison and Decatur.

In Huntsville, several downtown-focused organizations joined forces as one entity: Downtown Huntsville, Inc. They are doing exciting and innovative things to bring more folks to the city center to work, play, live and visit. The same thing is happening in Madison with their historic downtown. New life is being breathed into these areas by entrepreneurs bringing unique shopping and dining opportunities.

Decatur’s historic downtown districts are full of great places to shop and dine and you will truly enjoy walking these areas and discovering a new breed of local-loving merchants and entrepreneurs.

We would also like to thank you for picking up our book to learn about the Huntsville, Madison and Decatur areas. I hope that you will pay particular attention to those who are advertising in this edition and mention EXCURSIONS when you visit them. It is they who make this useful tool possible and available to you. We also want to thank our hotel partners for placing EXCURSIONS in their guest rooms for you to find.

Safe travels and many returns,

Brent Boyd PHOTO:

editor and publisher p r e s i d e n t, c i t y v i s i o n , i n c .

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P R E S I D E N T S’L E T T E R S WELCOME TO HUNTSVILLE/MADISON COUNTY, ALABAMA! On behalf of the Board and staff of the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, it is my honor and a pleasure to welcome you to our community. Whatever brings you to the Rocket City, I encourage you to enjoy the attractions, outstanding dining options and the wide variety of activities available during your stay.

World-class shopping and dining sure to please any palate are easily accessible from all major lodging providers. Bridge Street Town Centre, Parkway Place Mall and The Garage at Clinton Row each offer shoppers some of the very finest “Space to Splurge.” Visit the unique retail offerings in Five Points, Downtown Huntsville and Madison, at area attractions and in the Huntsville/Madison County Visitor Center®. You’re sure to find the perfect gift or keepsake for that special someone! Find “Space at Our Table” at one of over 500 restaurants. You can easily match menus to your mood. Southern specialties include barbecue, grits and sweet tea. Try a beer from one of ten local craft breweries, if you’re so inclined. Visit one of the many upscale dining venues featuring some of the best-known chefs in the region or explore our ever-expanding food truck offerings.

Get out and experience our “Space to Play” from the top attractions in the state, all within minutes of your room! The U.S.

SAVOR THE FLAVOR OF DECATUR AND MORGAN COUNTY, ALABAMA! Nestled on the banks of the Tennessee River, Decatur, Alabama is a vibrant city that offers a variety of family friendly activities to enjoy throughout the year that celebrate our unique history, culture and natural resources! A visit to Decatur is an adventure for the senses as you thrill to the sight of hot-air balloons as they fly through the sky, smell the savory scent of world-famous barbecue, splash in the waters of America’s first wave pool, taste delectable chocolates made by hand or hear stories that tell of a proud past and a city of survivors!

Decatur’s rich history and culture is found in our historic downtown that abounds with interesting museums, fabulous dining and wonderful shopping!

The adjacent historic residential districts and beautiful parks add to the air of grace and charm to discover! Unique historic sites and museums offer fascinating insight into the stories that shaped and define our past. Shop one of the many stores that features an appealing mix of art, antiques, home decorative objects, “Made in Alabama” gifts, upscale clothing and more. As you stroll your 6 EXCURSIONS

Space & Rocket Center, Burritt on the Mountain, Huntsville Botanical Garden, Huntsville Museum of Art, EarlyWorks Museum Complex, Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment, Campus No. 805 and so many more attractions offer visitors memorable experiences. Be sure to see what’s going on at the Von Braun Center. You’ll find a wealth of outdoor venues like the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Hampton Cove, Ditto Landing Marina and Monte Sano State Park. New entertainment options like Top Golf, Stars and Strikes and the Stand Up Live comedy club makes this an ideal vacation destination. There are plenty of places you can enjoy a hike, bike, walk or run. Check out the trails and nature preserves of the Land Trust of North Alabama.

Not that energetic? Just relax and enjoy the scenery. Big Spring International Park is a favorite destination, in the heart of downtown Huntsville, for locals and visitors alike who want to enjoy a little time with nature Let us assist you in planning your free time. Watch the Visitor Channel on the television in your room or visit our website at Huntsville.org. Call us at 256-533-5723 or better yet, stop in the Huntsville/Madison County Visitor Center®. It’s located in downtown Huntsville at 500 Church Street NW and open seven days a week for your convenience. Ask us about our money-saving coupons for attractions, sports, and arts and entertainment.

Once again, welcome to our community. We’ve Got Space and we’re so happy you’re in it!

Judy S. Ryals president/ceo

huntsville /Madison county convention & visitors bureau

way through our historic districts that boost one of the largest collections of 19th and early 20th century architecture, you will work up an appetite that you can satisfy at one of the many local eateries! Whether your taste is for down-home or innovative farmto-fork cuisine, Decatur has a restaurant that will satisfy your taste buds!

If you love the outdoors, Decatur, Alabama has so much to offer! From beautiful park settings to the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, you will reawaken your sense of adventure! Spend some time on the water and catch one of the big bass or catfish that have made Wheeler Lake a popular destination for tournaments and recreational anglers.

Create a memory with a visit to a town that provides a unique, authentic and delicious experience! The Decatur Morgan County Convention and Visitors Bureau is happy to help you plan your visit to the area and encourages you to stop by our Visitors Center at 719 6th Avenue SE, call 800-524-6181 or explore our website at decaturcvb.org for more information.

Melinda M. Dunn president/ceo

decatur /MorGan county convention & visitors bureau

M AYO R S’ W E LCO M E S

WELCOME TO HUNTSVILLE, a city of rockets and defense, bio-tech and computer science, arts and parks —a smart city on the move. Huntsville is home to the second-largest research park in the United States with a concentration of high-tech workers.

Named the “Rocket City” for its close history with U.S. space missions, Huntsville has played a vital role in developing space technology since the 1950s. It is one of the most recognized cities in the Southeast that is consistently named as a best place to live and work by a variety of national publications. We offer an exceptionally high quality of life experience through our museums, educational facilities and cultural and recreational activities. All of these opportunities, when coupled with the area’s affordable housing and low cost of living, provide a unique environment for families to prosper.

While you are in our city, I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy the many sights and attractions Huntsville offers— the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, the Huntsville Museum of Art, Early Works, the Botanical Garden and many more. I would also like to invite you to visit Parkway Place Mall and the Bridge Street Town Centre to explore some of our best shopping and dining options.

As mayor, I welcome you to our city and invite you to discover the many great things Huntsville has to offer.

WELCOME TO THE CITY OF MADISON—A city of historic charm where progress meets preservation and residents and visitors alike can enjoy fabulous food and fun entertainment. My family and I are proud to call Madison home!

Located only a few miles west of Huntsville and just north of Huntsville International Airport, our more than 47,000 residents enjoy the multiple opportunities Madison has to offer.

Nationally recognized schools, superior health care services, family-friendly venues and welcoming neighbors make Madison a safe and nurturing place to call home.

While you are in town, take the time to walk, jog or bike the Bradford or Indian Creek Greenways whose natural settings provide miles of relaxation and recreation away from the trappings of urban life.

Go back in time walking the rose-lined streets of our Madison Station Historic Downtown. Main Street’s restaurants, brew pub, boutiques and shops provide varied and eclectic shopping and dining experiences. And you don’t want to miss our annual Madison Street Festival the first weekend in October!

Whether you are in town for a day, a weekend or a lifetime, we know you will quickly discover that Madison truly is a unique place to live, learn and grow.

Sincerely,

WELCOME TO THE CITY OF DECATUR—Decatur’s richly storied past of opportunity, prosperity, diversity and determination has shaped the city that we are today—a Grand City on a Charming Scale.

From families whose ancestors first settled this fertile river valley to newcomers who move to the area because of our progressive business environment, our city’s welcoming spirit and sense of community are what make Decatur home to a diverse group of people. Our awardwinning schools and family-friendly, safe neighborhoods make Decatur a great place to raise a family.

Outdoor recreation is a year-round staple in Decatur. Folks take advantage of our location on the Tennessee River for boating, water skiing and fishing from the first warm days of Spring through those late, lazy Fall days when the sun on the water beckons.

Festivals throughout the year bring our citizens and neighbors from around the region together to celebrate with music, balloons, food and fun.

With a rich heritage and dynamic future, Decatur will continue to pursue the economic prosperity, cultural diversity, and community spirit that make this – a Grand City on a Charming Scale.

Sincerely,

PHOTO:

Sincerely,

Tommy Battle

M ay o r — c i t y o F h u n t s v i l l e

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Paul Finley

M ay o r — c i t y o F M a d i s o n

Tab Bowling

M ay o r — c i t y o F d e c at u r

EXCURSIONS 7

CON TEN TS

ON THE COVER:

Huntsville-Madison County Veterans Memorial

ON THIS PAGE:

Iconic red Japanese bridge and cherry trees, given to Huntsville by Japanese Major General Mikio Kimata

Huntsville

Madison

10 Public Art Makes a Big Splash

58 Explore Madison

16 Huntsville History

64 Madison Chamber of Commerce Welcomes You

Art is transforming local city centers.

From Big Spring to big dreams

20 13 Things To Do Downtown Huntsville’s thriving downtown area is brimming with sights, sounds and tastes for you to experience. Take a walk and take it all in.

30 Downtown Huntsville Map Find your way around Downtown Huntsville.

32 U.S. Space & Rocket Center Consistently ranked as Alabama’s No. 1 tourist attraction!

Where progress meets preservation.

See how the chamber helps to make Madison a great place to live, work, play and do business.

66 Taste the Flavors of Madison

From old-fashioned candy shops to upscale bistros and down-home hangouts, Madison restaurants satisfy any appetite.

68 Map of the City of Madison

A quick reference map to help you get your bearings.

34 Explore Huntsville’s Main Attractions

From shopping to museums to nature preserves, Huntsville has the perfect agenda for every traveler.

35 Huntsville Botanical Garden

Offers year-round family fun

40 Wide Open Spaces

From awe-inspiring mountain vistas to echoing caverns, the Huntsville area offers a wealth of outdoor escapes.

Decatur

photography by JEFF SCHREIER

70 Discover Decatur

Referred to as The River City by locals, few cities in the south enjoy a connection to the Tennessee River like this one.

72 Decatur—A Brief History of The River City

Decatur’s rich history explained by John Allison, Morgan County Archivist.

76 Adventures Await

From golf courses to museums and historical sites, Decatur/Morgan County has the perfect agenda for every traveler.

82 Shop Decatur

From the most popular national stores to local boutiques, art galleries and antique stores, Decatur has what you need to get your shopping fix.

84 Out and About in Decatur On the Cover:

The Von Braun Center (VBC) anchors downtown Huntsville across from Big Spring International Park and is undergoing a $42 million expansion. VBC is the social and entertainment hub for the Tennessee Valley and beyond. Read more about the Von Braun Center on page 23.

Photograph by Jeff Schreier

From farm-to-table fine dining and upscale bistros in historic downtown to down-home hangouts on the river, Decatur delivers on flavor and atmosphere.

90 Maps of Downtown Decatur and Surrounding Areas Easily locate Decatur Favorites and attractions.

42 Treat Yourself

From the most popular national stores to local boutiques and salons, Huntsville has what you need to treat yourself well.

44 Out on the Town

From enriching plays and theater to rockin’ live music, there are good times to be had in Huntsville and Madison.

From award-winning fine dining and upscale bistros to down-home hangouts, Huntsville area restaurants are guaranteed to please.

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48 Dine Huntsville

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COVERING THESE ALABAMA CITIES

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Arts Scenes Make Big Splashes in Huntsville, Madison and Decatur Visual and performing arts are transforming local city centers and bringing communities together for common purposes.

by ROBB KELLER photography by BRENT BOYD

A

lbert Einstein once said, “After a certain high level of technical skill is achieved, science and art tend to coalesce in esthetics, plasticity, and form. The greatest scientists are artists as well.”

While the cities of Huntsville, Decatur, and Madison bring people from all around the world to work in technical, aerospace and military professions, it is the public art displayed across the tri-city area that both residents and tourists fully embrace. Art comes boldly alive as you walk the streets downtown.

When you think of art in general, museums and galleries probably immediately come to mind. But that is not the case in Huntsville, Madison, or Decatur. Each of these cities take the preconceived notions of what art is and turn art into what it should

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be: vibrant, accessible and relatable. From the performing arts to statues to artistic functional bike racks, these cities promote art on the same level as tech and science skills to the point where, according to Anne Scarbrough the Executive Director of the Princess Theatre: Center for the Performing Arts said, “the two are not exclusive.” Indeed, the cities have worked so tirelessly to bring public art to the residents and tourists that the public art displayed in their cities coalesce seamlessly with the technology and science pervading the cities.

Huntsville, for example, combines technology with art in unique and creative ways. Its murals throughout the city, particularly Clinton Row Color Walk located in Downtown Huntsville off Clinton Row, encourage Instagrammers to post pictures of the murals. This, in turn, builds recognition for the art and artists

and garners appreciation for the art—all without the cost of advertising. Another example of compelling public art is the Koi Mural located on the side of the 200 West Side Square. The koi painted on the wall is designed to be 3-D, jumping off the wall when you look at it from the right angle. This mural was inspired by the koi fish that inhabit the waterways throughout Big Spring Park in downtown Huntsville.

Locals know Campus 805 to be the perfect place for a night out with friends.

And the redeveloped Stone Middle School has plenty of surprises in store for visitors—including its well-hidden speakeasy. While you’re there, be sure to check out the mural by Chandler Hayes from Honest Aerosol. It’s brilliant colors and distinctive design pair perfectly with the Straight to Ale posters, fun wall décor, and a nice pint of Monkeynaut (of course)!

Located on University Drive, Liquor Express shows off more than just its amazing brews and spirits.

If you have a spare moment before walking inside, be sure to check out the spectacular mural, painted by Robert Bean, that’s displayed in the store’s front parking lot. The mural showcases a gorgeous outdoor scene complete with a moon and astronaut— doesn’t get more “Rocket City” than that. The blue truck driving into the sunset will surely inspire you.

At the forefront of the arts movement in Huntsville is Arts Huntsville. Arts Huntsville promotes the work of more than 200 member arts organizations and individual artists. One way it

promotes artists is by creating public art installations. The most famous one by Arts Huntsville is the SPACES Sculpture Trail. These art installations are a collaboration between Alabama A&M University, Huntsville Museum of Art, Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment Center, University of AlabamaHuntsville, the Madison Arts Council, and Ditto Landing. SPACES Sculpture Trail features thirty-nine sculptures from twenty-two artists. The trail is several miles long, starting in Madison, then extending east to Huntsville and ending in the south in Ditto Landing.

Arts Huntsville created an app SPACES HSV so that visitors can delve deeper into each sculpture. The app contains a picture of each sculpture, its location, and a statement from each artist on what each sculpture is meant to convey.

If you are looking for something more hands-on or adventurous, then Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment Center is for you.

Lowe Mill has 148 studios for artists of all kinds, such as painters, printmakers, puppeteers, jewelers, musicians, photographers, filmographers, and woodworkers. It has regular exhibitions that showcase local artists. And it makes art accessible to all by hosting classes throughout the year. These classes include comic book art classes, painting and drawing lessons, and art camp after school.

And if you are looking for live concerts, Low Mill hosts Concerts on the Dock which draws thousands of music fans every month.

There’s not better place to view art of all types than Huntsville’s very own Museum of Art. This is a spot you don’t want to miss on

ABOVE

Moon Tower by artists Gus and Lina Ocamposilva stands majestically in front of Von Braun Center in Downtown Huntsville.

BELOW

A section of the expansive, forcedperspective koi mural near Big Spring Park in Downtown Huntsville created by local creative firm Red Brick Strategies in coordination with Downtown Huntsville Inc., the City of Huntsville and the owner of 200 West Side Square..

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ABOVE

Sculpture in the heart of historic downtown Madison by Kevin Vanek titled A Carpenter’s Dream. This permanent installation is one of several public art installations adorning the Madison area.

RIGHT

your artistic tour of the city. There are many permanent collections and traveling exhibits to discover.

Spearheading public art in Madison is the Madison Arts Council. The purpose of the Council is to enrich the quality of life for the residents of Madison through public art, such as dance, music, theatre, and visual art. The Madison Arts Council organizes Art 4 Paws, an annual pet adoption and art festival, the Kris Kringle Market, and Concerts at the Gazebo. It has also played a major role the in SPACES Sculpture Trail.

In Decatur, the art has aided in the revitalization of downtown.

From butterflies to dragonflies to bike racks, the Carnegie Visual Arts Center is helping residents and tourist embrace public art.

Carnegie’s most recent public art project is the creation of bike racks throughout the city. In cooperation with the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of Decatur, the artistic bike racks meld aesthetic beauty with functionality to create stunning pieces of art throughout the city. Some of the more popular bike racks are the bike racks shaped like a group of herring, a set of gears, and a reclining man with a guitar.

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Carnegie also displays various exhibits throughout the year. It also hosts Lunch & Learns that correspond to the current exhibit.

The Carnegie Center also hosts creativity classes for children, teens, and adults.

For those who like a good party, each year, Carnegie holds Carnegie Carnival, its largest annual fundraiser. Carnival takes place the Saturday before Fat Tuesday and is an entire day of events. Starting off with a 13.1 mile run, the Carnival has a dog parade, a children’s parade and culminates the Carnegie Carnival parade. According to Kim Mitchell, Executive Director of Carnegie Visual Arts Center, the success of Carnival lies in the fact that the carnival gets people involved who might not otherwise be involved in the arts. For example, the King and Queen of Carnival are selected from three men and three women who raise the most money for the event. Indeed, according to Ms. Mitchell, Carnival raises the profile of Carnegie Visual Arts Center because the event brings tourists and residents together to celebrate art in a fun and engaging way.

But Carnival is not the only show in town. Held annually on Explore more at huntsville.org

PHOTO: (BOTTOM) MYRA SAWYER;

Sunset by Gus and Lina Ocamposilva at Dublin Park in Madison is part of the SPACES Sculpture Trail which features thirty-nine sculptures from twenty-two artists. The trail is several miles long, starting in Madison, extending east to Huntsville, then ending in the south in Ditto Landing.

ABOVE: Mural on the Morgan County Archives building in Decatur designed by Markus Tracy, an award-winning muralist from Las Vegas. Students from the Alabama Center for the Arts and staff and students from three local elementary schools joined forces to paint the mural.

LEFT: One of several funky, functional and artistic bike racks placed around Decatur (this one is in front of the Alabama Center for the Arts on 2nd Avenue). Carnegie Visual Arts Center spearheaded this project and more are slated for installation in the future.

the fourth weekend of September, River Clay Fine Arts Festival is a juried fine arts festival which takes place on the campus of City Hall in downtown Decatur. Artists compete, display, and sell their works, ranging from ceramics to wood. It is a festival where people across the region gather to see artistic demonstrations, children’s art activities, and musical performances.

For those who love music, the Princess Theatre offers a unique listening experience like no other in North Alabama. The Loft at Princess Theatre aims to put the appreciation back into the music.

With no pool tables, no televisions, no distractions, it is just the listener, the musician, and the music all in a cozy environment.

Huntsville, Madison, and Decatur evidence that science and art coalesce to create a vibrant community that enriches the lives of its residents. As Ms. Scarbrough succinctly observes, “In art, we see the diversity of our city.” So take some time out of your schedule to sit back, relax, and take in the dynamic art scene. You might just regret it if you don’t.

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EXCURSIONS 13

Downtown Huntsville at night. photograph courtesy of HUNTSVILLE/MADISON COUNTY CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU

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Explore more at huntsville.org

Welcome to Huntsville Huntsville grew rapidly as a leader in technological developments.

This continued growth inspires local entrepreneurs and restaurateurs to set up shop here. Huntsville leads the region in craft brewers, award-winning restaurants, first-class shopping, an active and growing downtown and a thriving arts and cultural community. The folks who live here are just plain nice, too.

Enjoy your visit to The Rocket City.

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HUNTSVILLE

From Big Spring to Big Dreams B Y K I M B E R LY BA L L A R D P H O T O G R A P H S C O U RT E S Y O F T H E H U N T S V I L L E - M A D I S O N C O U N T Y L I B R A RY A RC H I V E S

Visitors have been drawn to the vistas from Monte Sano ridge for more than a century.

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T

ucked in the rolling foothills of North Alabama, the city of Huntsville is a hidden oasis of culture, innovation and progress. Known best as the cradle of the American space program, this “Rocket City” has blasted off, amazing visitors and residents alike with its surprising pedigree of events and attractions. But like most places, Huntsville’s origins are much more humble.

The story begins more than 200 years ago. Absent were the towering projectiles of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, missing was the sprawling luxury retail jungle of Bridge Street. Back then, Huntsville was all fields, trees and foothills. That is, until Tennessee frontiersman John Hunt scaled Monte Sano Ridge and changed everything.

The rumor of a freshwater spring lured Hunt from his home to explore the North Alabama wilderness. Amid the Chickasaw Indians who hunted along the banks, Hunt built a two-bedroom log cabin for his family on a bluff overlooking the spring he discovered. The word spread, and by 1808, around three hundred settlers lived near “Big Spring,” where locals transported their cotton crops down the Indian Creek Canal to the Tennessee River.

H U N T S V I L L E H I S TO RY Captivated by dreams of space travel since his youth, von Braun brought powerful passion and vision to the American space program.

Huntsville Springs to Life

As cotton production picked up, the settlement grew. In 1807, Wyatt Bishop established the town’s first school. The next year, Stephen Neal stepped up as the first sheriff and married the town’s first couple, James McGuire and Elizabeth Ghormley. Soon after, John Bunch’s Old Tavern opened as the city’s first watering hole, and by 1810, the town’s first murder trial had taken place and Eli Newman had been hanged at the edge of town.

With Hunt’s Big Spring booming, the city’s founder headed back to Tennessee to sell his family’s land to pay his settlement registration fees. While he was gone, three profit-minded pioneers bought up his spring-front property and the surrounding area. One of these men, LeRoy Pope, renamed the town Twickenham after the English hometown of his famous ancestor, the poet Alexander Pope. But in 1811, Hunt’s land around Big Spring was reinstated and Huntsville was given its permanent name. LeRoy Pope may have lost the name game, but Twickenham lives on as the name of Huntsville’s antebellum district — the largest in Alabama—famous for its Federal, Italianate and Neo-Classical architecture.

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With land disputes resolved, Huntsville was free to grow in peace. By 1812, a city newspaper, the Madison Gazette, had been established. Near the end of that decade, the growing city was named Alabama’s first capital, albeit only temporarily, when state lawmakers gathered in a local cabinetmaking shop to draft the state’s first constitution. By 1823, Huntsville had developed a public water system, thanks in part to its famous spring. With its infrastructure taking shape, the city took its first steps toward industry.

Huntsville Faces War and the Great Depression

The influx of cotton farmers to the area soon drew the railroad industry’s attention to Huntsville. By the mid-

1800s, the Memphis and Charleston Railroad had been constructed through Huntsville, becoming the first railway to link the Atlantic seacoast with the lower Mississippi River. Partly because of its strategic location (and perhaps its charm), Huntsville never saw battle during the Civil War. Union forces, led by Brigadier General Ormsby M. Mitchel, moved in quickly in 1862 to cut the Confederate supply lines. Mitchel decided to stay a while, using the Huntsville railroad depot to incarcerate Confederate soldiers.

Federal officers occupied Oaklawn Plantation on Meridian Street, while renegade Confederate soldiers hid out in the Mayhew home, located on Eustis Avenue.

Having avoided the destruction suffered EXCURSIONS 17

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by many southern cities in the war, the thankful townspeople found their lives getting back to normal fairly quickly. But tough times were still ahead. Following the depression and throughout the 1930s, Huntsville faced its first true economic downturn since its founding. Struggling against waning industry, Huntsville survived only on cotton production and its fleeting fame as the watercress capital of the world.

But things were to turn around in 1941, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared “a state of unlimited emergency” and the Chemical Warfare Service began searching for an artillery manufacturing facility. The State of Alabama ceded 160 acres of cotton fields to the War Department to build Huntsville Arsenal, which went on to employ nearly 20,000 people. By 1943, the redesignated Redstone Arsenal had expanded to 475 acres.

who had grown up in the shadows of Nazi Germany but had maintained a fascination for space travel and rocketry.

Von Braun became part of the infamous “Operation Paperclip,” a mission in which the Third Reich’s most brilliant scientists were drafted by the United States. After the war, von Braun found himself and his colleagues transplanted to the isolated cotton fields of North Alabama, where, over the next four years, they would invent rocket science.

From Warfare to Wonder

However, it seemed that this success would be short-lived. In 1949, WWII was over, and the U.S. Army hung a “for sale” sign on Redstone Arsenal’s doors. What were they to do with this secluded outpost? At the last possible moment—on July 1, 1949—a new prospect appeared on the horizon.

That prospect centered around a German scientist, Wernher von Braun, 18 EXCURSIONS

The harsh realities of World War II brought a new industry to Huntsville—the industry of war. Huntsville Arsenal (later Redstone Arsenal) opened to meet the needs of the American military, employing many female workers.

In September 1954, von Braun presented his first thesis proposing the use of the Redstone military missile, which he would be instrumental in developing, as the prototype for a vehicular rocket that could launch satellites into space. Over the next few years, numerous military missiles were successfully built, tested and launched using von Braun’s thesis.

On January 31, 1958, Huntsville earned the nickname “The Rocket City” after the Explorer I became the first U.S. satellite to orbit the earth. The front page of The Huntsville Times read: “Jupiter C Puts Up Moon: Eisenhower Officially Announces Huntsville Satellite Circles Globe,” and the world turned its eyes to Huntsville.

Soon after that momentous event, standing on the steps of Huntsville’s new Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), President Eisenhower proclaimed the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). With von Braun as MSFC’s first director, rocketry moved from the defense sector into civilian space exploration. Not only did MSFC receive 1,900 acres of undeveloped land and buildings, but several thousand U.S. Army engineers, scientists and administrators were assigned a slate of challenging space exploration projects.

Success came quickly for the growing center, and, barely a year later, the

PHOTO:

The rumor of a freshwater spring lured John Hunt to explore the north Alabama wilderness. By 1808, three hundred settlers lived around “Big Spring.”

H U N T S V I L L E H I S TO RY

Industry brought progress, resulting in the opening of the first Huntsville Airport in the 1930s.

Mercury-Redstone rocket boosted America’s first astronaut, Alan Shepard, into suborbital flight. Then, in 1969, the largest of the Saturn family of rockets built and tested at MSFC propelled American astronauts to their most-anticipated destination—the moon.

A visiting magazine writer, who witnessed the testing of those massive Saturn V rockets, penned these evocative words: “One leaves the observation bunker with a weakness in the knees that is just short of collapse...It was total flame, total sound total power!” That sentiment was echoed by many local residents, who said they could hear and feel launches up to 100 miles away.

After the close of the Apollo program, Huntsville experienced an exodus of big business throughout the 1970s. Ultimately, it would be the U.S. Army, and not the space program, that would prevail. Such military innovations as the TOW missiles and the biomedical research from the HudsonAlpha Institute set Huntsville on a more diverse path to technological excellence.

PHOTO:

The Moon, Mars and Beyond

Today, more than 7,000 government and civilian contractors work at Marshall Space Flight Center. But most visitors are more interested in the Space & Rocket Center’s Rocket Park, with its massive and Go EXCURSIONS Mobile at EXCURSIONSGO.com

impressive Saturn V missile.

The U.S. Space & Rocket Center contains the most comprehensive flight hardware museum in the world. It also features the Spacedome IMAX Theater and its renowned Space Camp, where, every year, thousands of students come from around the world to experience space education at its finest. But, dominating it all, hovering 10 feet above the floor, the 476-foot-long, 90-foot-wide, 63-foot-high Saturn V rocket floats like a leviathan above the new Davidson Center facility.

Redstone Arsenal is one of the Department of Defense’s most strategic technological assets, employing over 30,000 people and managing over $25 billion in annual federal spending—over half of the army’s total annual weapons procurement budget.

Leading Alabama into the Future

Thanks in part to the aerospace and defense industries, Huntsville has one of the most diverse cultures, per capita, in the country. Today, a mixture of nearly 300 international, high-technology and aerospace/defense agencies, plus 50 Fortune 500 companies, reside in the Cummings Research Park, the country’s second largest research and development park.

The area has been recognized by Forbes

magazine as one of the ten smartest cities in the world, BusinessWeek’s second-best recovering job market and one of Fortune Small Business’s top midsize cities to launch and grow a business.

Two hundred years after its discovery, John Hunt’s Big Spring is still at the center of downtown life. Buffered on all sides by a beautiful public park, the lagoon is surrounded by fine hotels and such distinguished civic buildings as the public library and the Von Braun Center. Lined with park benches and accented by its distinct Red Bridge (a gift from Japan), Big Spring Park is landscaped with cherry blossom trees, a gazebo and eternal flame, around which the city gathers for festivals, like the Panoply Arts Festival and many local concerts.

It’s fair to say that modern-day Huntsville, with its towering rockets, luxury shopping facilities, manicured parks and decadent dining options, would be hardly recognizable to its grizzled frontiersman founder. But, if you ask its residents and many visitors, they’d say that’s just fine.

Supported by a culture of innovation, the Rocket City is poised to lead the state, and the rest of the South, into the next century.❖

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13 Things To Do in Downtown Huntsville Huntsville’s thriving downtown area is brimming with sights, sounds and tastes for you to experience.

Take a walk and take it all in…

Celebrating the opening of The Garage at Clinton Row, home to unique shops and specialty retailers. photograph courtesy of HUNTSVILLE/MADISON COUNTY CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU

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DOWNTOWN FAVORITE

Below the Radar Brewhouse 220 Holmes Avenue NE 256.469.6617; btrbrew.com

@BelowTheRadarBrewingCo

Voted Huntsville’s Best Burger Below the Radar is Huntsville’s first micro-brewhouse situated in the historic Huntsville Times building in the recently established “Downtown Entertainment District.”

Named one of the best bourbon bars in America, Below the Radar is a great place to have lunch or meet after work for socializing with friends and co-workers.

Below the Radar is known for its one-of-a-kind variety of micro-brews, extensive wine list and liquor drinks and its inventive array of food by their in-house chef.

Enjoy live music every Friday and Saturday night to make it a night to remember.

Below the Radar is open seven days a week for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch and has 32 rotating draft beers from all over the world on tap including four craft brews made in-house. They also offer an extensive selection of bottle beers, focusing on seasonal and limited-production brews.

See Below the Radar’s mobile profile at EXCURSIONSGO.com to view their Facebook feed, get driving directions, tap to call, go to their website and more.

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For craft beer fans, Huntsville has become a popular destination for your favorite ales, stouts and more. Even better, many of the top craft beer establishments are concentrated in the Downtown Huntsville area. That’s why we’ve created the Downtown Huntsville Craft Beer Trail which includes ten unique downtown destinations. These include breweries at Straight to Ale, Yellowhammer, Salty Nut, Below the Radar, Mad Malts and Green Bus Brewing as well as craft beer and wine stores such as Old Town Beer Exchange, Liquor Express, Wish You Were Beer and Church Street Wine Shoppe. Guests on the trail can pick up a trail card at any of the ten establishments. From there, you can get your trail card stamped at each stop. Once you complete all ten, you can redeem your trail card for free trail swag. In other words, the Downtown Huntsville Craft Beer Trail rewards you for tasting all the great local craft beers in the city center.

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Experience City Center Nightlife

Whether you’re looking to grab a drink and chill to some tunes or dance into the night, you can find just the right spot in Downtown Huntsville.

Live bands are a mainstay at many bars and clubs, including Humphrey’s Bar & Grill, the Furniture Factory, Sidetracks and Voodoo Lounge, where you can also grab a bite to eat. Or, you can rock out at such local favorites as Sammy T’s Music Hall and Whiskey Bottom Saloon. Don’t miss Church Street Wine Shoppe, Church Street Purveyor, Amendment XXI, SiP Lounge and Ruth’s Chris Steak House, downtown favorites, for a handcrafted cocktail or a glass of wine and an appetizer.

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PHOTOS: (BOTTOM) RUTH’S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE; (TOP) DOWNTOWN HUNTSVILLE, INC.

Huntsville, Alabama

Craft Beer Trail

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PHOTOS: (TOP) JEFF SCHREIER; (CENTER) VON BRAUN CENTER

Out at the Von 3 |Rock Braun Center Whether you’re in the mood for a rowdy sports event, a rockin’ concert or a traveling Broadway show, the Von Braun Center is your go-to entertainment venue. On any given night, there’s something spectacular happening at Huntsville’s premier multipurpose complex.

No matter what type of event you’ve arrived to watch, the VBC has craft beer enthusiasts covered. With over 30 different craft beers on tap year-round, you’re sure to find the right one to satisfy your taste buds within the Propst Arena concourse. Then it’s time for the show!

Sports aficionados will

find no shortage of cheering opportunities—the Von Braun Center is the home of the Huntsville Havoc and UA Huntsville Chargers hockey teams. Families will love being entertained at events like Family Fun Festival & Expo, Heads-N-Tails Crawfish Boil, and Von Brewski Beer Festival.

For the DIY in each of you, check out the Building, Home & Remodeling Show, the Tennessee Valley Hunting & Fishing Expo or the Fall Home & Garden Show.

If you’re craving entertainment that’s a bit more cultured, the Von Braun Center has the hottest tickets in town. The Broadway Theatre League, Huntsville Symphony Orchestra and the Huntsville

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Ballet Company all call the Von Braun Center home, as do Theatre Huntsville and the Fantasy Playhouse Children’s Theater.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s always something to do at the Von Braun Center—top-billing concerts, A-list comedians, family entertainment extravaganzas and so much more.

Check them out on the web at vonbrauncenter.com.

See the Von Braun Center’s mobile profile at EXCURSIONSGO.com to view their live Facebook feed, get directions, tap to call and more.

Seasonal Calendar BROADWAY THEATRE LEAGUE

October - March HUNTSVILLE BALLET COMPANY

October - April HUNTSVILLE HAVOC

October - March HUNTSVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

September - April UA HUNTSVILLE CHARGERS

October - January

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Shop Unique Boutiques

In the mood to do a little shopping?

Then look no further than the Clinton Row District. This one-of-a-kind shopping destination in historic Downtown Huntsville is home to some of the city’s most unique boutiques. From boho chic goods at Scout & Molly and 5th Avenue inspired fashions at Elitaire Boutique to a full service men’s provisioner at Roosevelt & Co. and U. G. White Mercantile (the centerpiece of downtown shopping), these locally owned and operated shops are sure to have a unique selection of items you won’t find anywhere else. Best of all, after you’re done shopping you can head over to Frios gourmet popsicles and pick-up a tasty treat!

See all the unique shopping that downtown has to offer by visiting shopclintonrow.com.

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Explore Big Spring Park on a Downtown Huntsville BlueBike

DOWNTOWN FAVORITE

Humphrey’s Bar + Grill 103 Washington Street NE 256.704.5555; humphreysdowntown.com

Humphrey’s Bar + Grill, now smoke-free, features an open-air, New Orleans-style patio that is a favorite hangout for locals and was rated one of the top three in Huntsville. Enjoy our creative craft cocktail list and extensive beer selections, as well as the best food and drink specials in the Rocket City. With a focus on buying local and organic, Humphrey’s menu selections

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include their smoked chicken wings with white Alabama barbecue sauce, Angus beef burgers and the best barbecue in town. From acoustic folk to rock-n-roll and down home blues, Humphrey’s is also the place to come to catch the best live music in town. So don’t forget your dancing shoes!

See EXCURSIONSGO.com to view their Facebook feed, tap to call, go to their website, get directions and more.

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PHOTOS: (TOP) BRENT BOYD; (MIDDLE) DOWNTOWN HUNTSVILLE, INC.

Without a doubt, Big Spring Park is the epicenter of life and culture in Huntsville, and now zipping around downtown is easier than ever. 40 Downtown Huntsville BlueBikes are now readily accessible throughout downtown at eight stations including two in Big Spring Park. Riders can pay by the hour or join the program by signing up for monthly or annual memberships. Throughout the year, the park plays host to numerous events, including the Panoply Arts Festival, Big Spring Crush and Paddle the Canal. But you don’t have to wait for a major event to enjoy the park. Children will love the famously friendly ducks, geese and koi that call the lagoon home. Or, use the park as a starting point for your exploration of Huntsville. It’s bordered on all sides by some of the city’s most-visited landmarks, such as the Huntsville Museum of Art and the Von Braun Center. Visitors can enjoy strolling the walking trail, viewing the Grotto Lights display every evening after dark in Big Spring Park East, stopping for a peaceful picnic or even surfing the web courtesy of free wi-fi.

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Experience World Class Art and Performances

Looking for a cultured night out on the town? Head to the Von Braun Center (VBC) for a variety of performances by local, regional and national groups. Enjoy all that Huntsville performing arts has to offer by visiting the luxurious Mark C. Smith Concert Hall. Treat yourself to an evening with the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra and enjoy classical and modern performances led by maestro Gregory Vajda. For information, visit www.hso.org. The Huntsville Ballet Company also calls the VBC home. Visit huntsvilleballet.org for a schedule of performances by some of the country’s most talented dancers.

The VBC hosts Broadway Theatre League shows, brought straight from NYC to the Rocket City. For a list of dates and shows, visit broadwaytheatreleague.org.

Looking for local theater talent? The Von Braun Center Playhouse plays host to the Fantasy Playhouse Children’s Theater (letthemagicbegin.org) and Theatre Huntsville (yourseatiswaiting.org).

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Discover Unique Gathering Spaces

PHOTOS: (TOP) HUNTSVILLE/MADISON COUNTY CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU; (CENTER) DOWNTOWN HUNTSVILLE, INC.

Park Place Plaza and A.M. Booth’s Lumberyard are some of Huntsville’s coolest shopping destinations and event venues. Be sure to step into A.M. Booth’s hundred-year-old lumberyard, offering the most original party space in the heart of “uptown” Huntsville. The large outdoor courtyard, surrounded by lounging nooks, covered bars and banquet areas, includes a raised covered stage that can easily host a band, DJ or banquet.

Campus No. 805 has become the connecting point for the resurgence of West Huntsville neighborhoods, the treasured historic districts and the hundreds of exciting new loft residences in downtown. The Stone Center building and the new 16,000 square foot Student Union has attracted a growing list of tenants including craft breweries, restaurants, catering, bars, retail and entertainment venues.

Located above U. G. White Mercantile on Clinton Avenue, Pints & Pixels boasts a large inventory of vintage pinball and arcade games along with more recent versions. Enjoy a wide variety of craft beers on tap and a fully stocked wood-carved English bar and delicious food while you hone your gaming skills. Honest Coffee Roasters is also situated on Clinton Avenue and offers a peaceful environment to enjoy a cup of joe.

DOWNTOWN FAVORITE

The Bottle 101 Washington St. NE, Huntsville 256.704.5555; thebottledowntown.com

The Bottle, an upscale eatery that features southern cuisine with a French influence, specializes in steaks, chops and a variety of the freshest fish available. The changing seasonal menu includes raw oysters, jumbo lump blue crab cakes, veal chops, lamb racks and Hereford Choice Beef. The Bottle—a name referencing the near mythic, long-

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shuttered Green Bottle Grill—invites guests to experience southern hospitality that will not soon be forgotten.

See EXCURSIONSGO.com to view their live Facebook feed, tap to call, get directions, link to their website and more.

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Stop by the Visitor Center

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Need information about what to do during your stay in the Rocket City?

Stop by the Visitor Center, located in the lobby of the Huntsville/Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau in Downtown Huntsville. Pick up Attractions Passport coupons to use at area attractions. Sports fan? Pick up an All-Star Sports Pass which allows you to buy one ticket and get one FREE to the Dixie Derby Girls roller derby, Huntsville Havoc hockey, UAH Chargers basketball and Huntsville Tigers women’s football. The Visitor Center is also the perfect place to pick up a Rocket City souvenir, or the Arts & Entertainment Pass.

For more information about the Visitor Center and to see online listings of where to stay, shop, dine and play, call 800.SPACE.4.U or visit huntsville.org.

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PHOTOS: HUNTSVILLE/MADISON COUNTY CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU

TH

Scan the code to access their mobile profile at www.excursions.cityvision.tv to view their Facebook feed, find them on a map and more.

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Explore more at huntsville.org

We are dedicated to bringing wine innovation from places like Napa Valley & Rhône Valley all the way to the Tennessee Valley.

9|

Grab a Bite to Eat

One thing’s for sure—you won’t go hungry while you’re visiting Downtown Huntsville. Whether you’re in the mood for a quick bite, a leisurely dinner or fine dining, there are plenty of options to please your palate. For lunch or casual dinner, try Humphrey’s Bar and Grill; they have an inventive menu and live music on the patio. For an amazing fine dining experience, The Bottle is a downtown favorite. Meat lover? Be sure to stop in Ruth’s Chris Steak House for the city’s best steak. Two more local favorites are Sam & Greg’s Pizza and Gelato and Big Oh’s Asian Fusion. Downtown is also home to Cotton Row and Commerce Kitchen by celebrity chef James Boyce. See EXCURSIONSGO.com for a complete list of dining options.

501 Church Street, NW Downtown Huntsville

PHOTOS: (TOP) BRENT BOYD; (BOTTOM) HUNTSVILLE/MADISON COUNTY CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU.

256.970.4097

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Have a Blast at a Fun-Filled Festival

Looking for a fun event with local flair? Huntsville boasts a number of annual events. If you’re visiting Huntsville in the spring, don’t miss the Panoply Arts Festival, held in Big Spring Park the last weekend of April. Panoply celebrates music, dance, theater and visual arts, featuring local artists, musicians and actors. The Annual “Battle of the Buffalo” Chicken Wing Festival also rolls around in spring. This annual event donates to local charities in the fight against cancer. BBQ lover? The annual WhistleStop Weekend is the area’s premier music and BBQ festival, held in May on the grounds of the Huntsville Depot Museum. This festival features live entertainment on two stages, Space Camp Kid’s Zone, professional and amateur BBQ cooking competitions and the Alabama Cornnhole Competition. NASA in the Park features more than 60 exhibits and demonstrations by NASA experts, as well as performances by musicians, educational activities and games and hands-on activities for all ages. See EXCURSIONSGO.com for events throughout the year.

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201 Jefferson Street Downtown Huntsville

256.419.2555

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DOWNTOWN FAVORITE

Clinton Row 100 North Jefferson Street 256.701.0818; find us on Facebook

See Clinton Row’s mobile profile at EXCURSIONSGO.com to view their Facebook feed, get directions and more.

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Get Cultured

Located in the heart of Downtown Huntsville in Big Spring Park, the nationally accredited Huntsville Museum of Art fills its numerous galleries with a variety of exhibitions throughout the year, including prestigious traveling exhibits, the work of nationally and regionally acclaimed artists and exhibits from the museum’s own 3,000-piece permanent collection. After you take in the art, stop in the Museum Store for unique jewelry, pottery, glasswork and more. Then enjoy Italian fare for lunch or dinner at Pane e Vino Pizzeria.

Museum hours: Sun, 1 - 4 pm; Tues, Wed, Fri and Sat, 11 am - 4 pm; Thurs, 11 am - 8 pm; closed Mon. Admission charged. Located at 300 Church Street in Downtown Huntsville.

256.535.4350; hsvmuseum.org Interested in Huntsville’s culture? The Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau has placed 16 “push pins” around the city. So what are these, exactly? Each push pin (inspired by the universal map symbol for location) describes a littleknown fact about that particular space. It could be a hidden Lucky Duck Scavenger Hunt duck, the footprints of a famed astronaut, or something else completely unexpected—but completely and uniquely Huntsville.

For the full experience we encourage you to follow each clue on to the next location, but whether you find one push pin or all 16, we’re glad you are here. Go to huntsville.org/ youarehere for more information.

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PHOTO: (TOP) HUNTSVILLE MUSEUM OF ART

Clinton Row is an innovative mixed-use space comprised of over 20 storage units repurposed into hyper-local retail shops and startup offices. Offering a wide variety of eclectic creations, Clinton Row provides a unique retail experience at the high visibility intersection of Clinton Avenue and Jefferson Street.

Merchandise ranges from vintage records to men’s and women’s clothing to locally and regionally made art. The shops are located in the Quigley Entertainment District, allowing patrons to enjoy their favorite beverage as they browse Clinton Row’s offerings. In addition, Redstone Federal Credit Union’s first Downtown ATM is located at Clinton Row. Current businesses include: Boutique Station, Yoga Gypsy Fitness, Clinton Row Gifts, Asylum Comics, Elsweyr, Echo Records, 81 Home Gifts and Glam, and more.

Come out and shop local in Downtown Huntsville!

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Explore Downtown Public Art

PHOTOS: (TOP) BRENT BOYD; (BOTTOM) HUNTSVILLE/MADISON COUNTY CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU;

SPACES is a collaborative project developed in 2010 by Arts Huntsville, Alabama A&M University, Huntsville Museum of Art, Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment and UAH. Originally designed as a biennial sculpture installation, the founding institutions welcomed the Madison Arts Council to the SPACES Sculpture Trail project in 2012 and Ditto Landing in 2017. Now featuring 39 total sculptures, SPACES is designed to engage and enliven the Huntsville/ Madison County community through a large-scale public art installation.

Explore the trail using the SPACES HSV app, available for free in the iTunes and Google Play stores.

Don’t miss the new Secret Art Project—four space-themed art pieces hidden in plain sight around downtown and the Clinton Row ColorWalk—a quirky alley filled with lights and art between U. G. White Mercantile and Clinton Row.

in Time 13 |DueGo Back to its occupation

by Union troops during the Civil War (and the hard work of the Historic Huntsville Foundation), the city of Huntsville boasts more homes on the National Register of Historic Places than any other in Alabama. Located downtown, the Twickenham District is one of the South’s best-kept secrets, featuring the largest collection of antebellum homes in Alabama.

In addition to these Southern beauties, the city also boasts some outstanding examples of early 20th century architecture. Two residences are open to the public year-round, the HumphreysRodgers House and the Weeden House, now a museum.

Kids and adults alike will be impressed by the re-created world of the past at Alabama Constitution Village (shown above), where interpreters live the lives of early Huntsville settlers. And who doesn’t love trains? Stop by the Huntsville Depot Museum for a ride through railroad history. Can’t decide which one you want to visit? See all three and enjoy a discount. Call 256.564.8100 for more information.

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DOWNTOWN FAVORITE

Ruth’s Chris Steak House 720 Gallatin Street at Twickenham Place 256.539.3930; ruthschris.net

Ruth’s Chris Steak House delights guests with their customaged, USDA Prime steaks, served with the signature sizzle.

In addition to dinner service in the beautifully appointed dining room, the Twickenham Place restaurant offers a nightly happy hour in the bar/lounge and private dining accommodations for up to 50 guests.

Reservations recommended.

See their mobile profile at EXCURSIONSGO.com to view their Facebook feed, get directions, tap to call, go to their website to make a reservation and more.

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30 EXCURSIONS

Explore more at huntsville.org

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511 Pratt Ave., 256.603.0308

7 HISTORIC HUNTSVILLE DEPOT 320 Church Street NW, 256.564.8100

8 THE BOTTLE 101 Washington Street, 256.704.5555

f PAPOU’S GREEK RESTAURANT 110 Southside Square, 256.534.5553

8 HUNTSVILLE-MADISON COUNTY

9 VON BRAUN CENTER 700 Monroe Street, 256.533.1953

g PANE E VINO 300 Church Street SW, 256.533.1180

0 WISH YOU WERE BEER-CAMPUS NO. 805

h PINTS & PIXELS

q X-GOLF HUNTSVILLE-CAMPUS NO. 805 2500 Clinton Ave W, Ste C, 256.715.8785

j SAM & GREG’S PIZZERIA 119 Northside Square, 256.533.9030

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200-298 Monroe Street NW 9 LOWE MILL ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 2211 Seminole Drive, 256.533.0399

115 Clinton Ave NE, 256.970.4844

0 MAPLE HILL CEMETERY 202 Maple Hill Drive, 256.539.5537 q WEEDEN HOUSE MUSEUM 300 Gates Ave., 256.536.7718

k SAMMY T’S MUSIC HALL 116 Washington Street, 256.539.9974

Mcclung Ave SE

Stores, Salons, Spas

w FRIOS GOURMET POPS 116 Clinton Ave E, 256.763.1786 e FURNITURE FACTORY BAR & GRILL 619 Meridian Street N, 256.539.8001

v TACO MAMA

301 Pelham Ave. SW, 256.519.6262

Dr SE

4 GREENE STREET MARKET 208 Eustis Ave, 256.682.4429 Mo nte rre y

Tennessee St SE

Colorado St SE

c STRAIGHT TO ALE Harrison Ave Ave. SE E, 256.489.0820 2610 Clinton

5 KAFFEEKLATSCH 103 Jefferson Street N, 256.539.1636

Fraser SE GARDEN b THAIAve

800 Wellman Ave. NE, 256.534.0122

6 LAWREN’S GIFTS 809 Madison Street SE, 256.534.4428 Sier n THE R (EMBASSY SUITES) 800 Monroe Street SW, 256.539.7373 ra Blvd 7 Bluefiel d Ave SE SE LEWTER’S HARDWARE 222 Washington Street NE, 256.539.5777 m TED’S BBQ 212 Andrew Jackson Way, 256.536.5002 8 RAILROAD STATION ANTIQUES 315 Jefferson Street N, 256.533.6550 O l i v THE VOODOO LOUNGE e Dr , SE SE 110Tun Southside law Rd Square, 256.539.0335 & CO. 9 ROOSEVELT k Inside The Garage at Clinton Row ee r C SALOON . WHISKEY BOTTOM n 114 Clinton Ave E, 256.536.8809 ga 109 WashingtonFaStreet NE, 256.715.8042 0 SCOUT & MOLLY’S / YELLOWHAMMER BREWING 201 Jefferson Street N, 256.261.3041 2600 Clinton Ave W, 256.489.3510 Woodmont Ave SE q SO VAIN SALON 609 Meridian Street N, 256.551.1010

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r GREEN BUS BREWING 206 Eustis Ave SE, 256.990.2477

3 ELITIARE BOUTIQUE Inside The Garage at Clinton Row 116 Clinton Ave E, 256.337.9333

2406 Clinton Ave W, 256.713.8877

6 CAJUN STEAMER 301-C Pelham Ave. SW #1, 256.533.5503

q DALLAS MILL DELI 500 Pratt Ave. NW, 256.489.3354

2 BOUTIQUE STATION 100 Jefferson Street, 256.655.0937

Hermitage Ave SE x SALTY NUT BREWERY

5 BIG OH’S ASIAN FUSION 121 North Side Square, 256.801.8773

0 THE COZY COW 100 Church Street SW, 256.213.7479

z SOUTHERN GROWLER 1812 University Drive NW, 256.478.3581

Locust ; SIP Ave SE

4 BANDITO BURRITO 3017 Governors Drive SW, 256.534.0866

9 COTTON ROW 100 Southside Square, 256.382.9500

111 Greene Street NE, 256.858.1244

1 ATTITUDES SALON 604 Andrew Jackson Way NE 256.534.7001

Lexington St

l SHEA’S EXPRESS 415 Church Street NW, 256.532.5282

3 AMENDMENT XXI 123 Northside Square, 256.715.0131

t HONEST COFFEE ROASTERS 114 Clinton Ave.E, 256.964.6993

VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK

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6 HARRISON BROTHERS HARDWARE 124 Southside Square, 256.536.3631

7 CHOCOLATE BAR HUNTSVILLE 300 Pelham Ave. SW, 256.203.2861

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3 CAMPUS NO. 805 2610 Clinton Ave W, 256.652.8055 Ave SE

s OLD TOWN BEER EXCHANGE 301 Holmes Ave. NE, 256.270.7825

6 HUNTSVILLE MUSEUM OF ART 300 Church Street SW, 256.535.4350

2 AM BOOTH’S LUMBERYARD 108 Cleveland Ave NW, 256.715.7130

SE Aly

Goldsmith St SE

a MEI WEI ASIAN BISTRO 5 EARLYWORKS MUSEUM 309 Pelham Ave. SW, 256.288.0114 Highland Ave SE 404 Madison Street, 256.564.8100

1 1892 EAST RESTAURANT 720 Pratt Ave. NE, 256.489.1242

SE Ln er t s i nn Ba

Windham St SE

5 HUMPHREY’S BAR & GRILL 103 Washington Street NE, 256.704.5555

Cambridge St SE Grayson St SE

p MAD MALTS BREWING 109 Maple Ave. NW, 256.503.2233

Restaurants & Bars

500 Church Street NW 256.533.5723 huntsville.org

Grayson St NE

Minor St NE

4 CLINTON ROW 100 Jefferson Street N, 256.701.0818

Mcclung Ave ve S v SE VISITOR CENTER

Randolph Ave SE 2 BICENTENNIAL PARK 315 Fountain Circle

o LONE GOOSE SALOON 2620 Clinton Ave. W, 256.715.0705

2500 Clinton Ave W, 256.715.7148 Ad am sS tS E

1 ALABAMA CONSTITUTION VILLAGE 109 Gates Ave., 256.564.8100

3 CHURCH STREET PURVEYOR 201 Jefferson Street, 256.970.4097

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y JEFFERSON STREET PUB 111 Jefferson Street N, 256.519.2997

2 CHURCH STREET WINE SHOPPE 501 Church Street NW, 256.970.4097

Maple Hill St SE

0 TWICKENHAM HISTORIC DISTRICT E

Lacy St SE Lacy St NE

1 BELOW THE RADAR BREWHOUSE 220 Holmes Ave. NE, 256.469.6617

Wells Ave SE

SE St

Downtown Favorites

England St SE

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w SPA BOTANICA (EMBASSY SUITES) 800 Monroe Street SW, 256.539.7373 e THE PANTS STORE 301 Pelham Ave. SW, 256.417.6523 r U.G. WHITE MERCANTILE 115 Clinton Ave E, 256.907.1917 ❖

EXCURSIONS 31

No trip to Huntsville is complete without a visit to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center!

H

untsville, Alabama, is the city that sent mankind to the moon. Working for the U.S. Army at Redstone Arsenal, Dr. Wernher von Braun and a team of German and American engineers developed the launch vehicle for Explorer I, America’s first satellite.

Just a decade later, the world watched as 32 EXCURSIONS

the Huntsville-developed Saturn V rocket carried the men of Apollo 11 on their historic journey to the moon. To showcase the amazing technical accomplishments of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and Huntsville, the State of Alabama established the U.S. Space & Rocket Center as a public museum for space exploration, national defense and energy technology.

Located off Interstate 565, the Rocket Center is the nation’s most complete collec-

tion of America’s space vehicles, with nearly 1,500 artifacts, interactive experiences and immersive simulators that provide an exhilarating experience for all who visit. A Saturn V moon rocket, the largest object in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution, is the centerpiece of a collection spanning more than half a century. From the Apollo 16 command module, to the launch console for Explorer I, to NASA’s next launch vehicle, the Space Launch System, Explore more at huntsville.org

PHOTO:

Consistently Ranked as Alabama’s No. 1 Tourist Attraction

Hours: 9 a.m.–5 p.m. (daily) For more information: rocketcenter.com 1-800-63-SPACE (1-800-637-7223) Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @RocketCenterUSA

visitors learn the past and future of mankind’s greatest journey.

PHOTO:

The USSRC is the Official Visitor Center for NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and is also a Smithsonian Affiliate museum.

The Center’s Rocket Park, which astronaut and former U.S. Senator John Glenn called “the finest rocket collection in the world,” includes 27 missiles and rockets. Shuttle Park, the home of the Pathfinder orbiter, is the only place in the world that visitors can see a full-stack configuration of the Space Shuttle.

The newest permanent exhibition, International Space Station: Science on Orbit, provides an immersive experience of NASA’s current manned spacef light activities. Visitors can explore a model of the Payload Operation Integration Center, where NASA manages the experiments on the station, as well as two full modules of the ISS, interacting with digital displays and machines in order to learn about how astronauts live and work in space.

The Center is also home to two state-

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of-the-art theaters that play the latest documentaries about space, science and more: the Spacedome IMAX® and the National Geographic Theater!

Camp missions include commercial and international space missions to the International Space Station, the moon and Mars.

Out-of-this-world camp programs available for ages 7 to 100!

The Rocket Center is also home to week long Space Camp®, Aviation Challenge® Camp and Space Camp® Robotics programs. These internationally-acclaimed educational programs immerse trainees in authentic astronaut and pilot training, allowing them to view mathematics, science and engineering as something more than just an academic exercise.

Trainees in Space Camp experience simulators like the 1/6th gravity chair, build and launch rockets and conduct science experiments. Space

Aviation Challenge Camp is a military-themed training experience where young people gain an understanding of the basics of aerodynamics, f light physiology and wilderness survival. During this exciting week outdoors and in jet simulators, they train like fighter pilots and develop lifelong leadership and teamwork skills.

At Space Camp Robotics, trainees learn to use robotic technologies to create engineering solutions for real-world problems. Trainees work as a team to build and test their own designs in air, land and sea challenges. The week culminates in a contest as trainees test the robots they spent the week developing.

Stay an hour or stay a week—there is something at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center for everyone in the family! ❖ EXCURSIONS 33

Explore Huntsville’s Main Attractions From shopping to museums to nature preserves, Huntsville has the perfect agenda for every traveler.

The magnificent new guest and conference center at Huntsville Botanical Garden PHOTO:

photograph by JEFF SCHREIER

34 EXCURSIONS

Explore more at huntsville.org

Huntsville Botanical Garden

PHOTO:

Offers Year-Round Family Fun

THE GARDEN CELEBRATES every season with a festival for the entire family. In the dead of winter, Beaks & Barks brings dogs and their owners to the Garden for some cold-weather fun.

Visitors may roam the many hiking paths, and enjoy a game of fetch in the 5 acre “leash-free zone.” The Garden is not only a great horticultural display for human and canine visitors; it also attracts large numbers and many species of birds.

February brings birding enthusiasts out to the Garden to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count and enjoy the Lewis Birding Trail.

In the spring, the Garden comes alive with thousands of spring flowers.

Huntsville Blooms celebrates the coming of spring with Garden Chats, floral displays and the region’s largest plant sale.

Visitors enjoy tulips, daffodils, trillium, azaleas and dogwoods as they tour the Garden’s 112 acres. The annual Spring Plant sale gets everyone ready for spring and summer by offering a wide variety of botanicals and advice from the experts!

As summer approaches, the nation’s largest butterfly house opens on May 1st. Visitors enjoy over 3000 butterflies, dozens of turtles and a menagerie of other critters throughout the summer. The Purdy Butterfly House festival features family picnics, Wacky Wednesdays children’s activities and summer camps

that feature bugs, butterflies and all types of outdoor educational fun. Summer also provides bubbling rocks, misting rockets, dinosaur bones, the Pollywog Bog and other water features that provide children both an opportunity to splash around and to cool off in the heat of the summer.

As summer fades, the popular Scarecrow Trail festival begins. Huntsville Botanical Garden offers year-round family fun. This fun festival features wild, wacky and wonderful scarecrows created by local families, church groups, schools and businesses. From September through October, visitors enjoy weekend hayrides and getting lost in the Sorghum Maze.

Gardeners know that fall is the best time to plant shrubs, trees, grasses and perennials.

The annual Fall Plant Sale features Blue Ribbon selections and native plants best suited for our region.

November and December feature the area’s largest holiday light show—one of the Alabama Tourism Department’s top ten tourism events—the Galaxy of Lights.

From mid-November through December, more than 125,000 visitors walk or drive through the Garden and enjoy customcreated animated light displays. This unique event is created and coordinated by more than 1000 volunteers to delight crowds filling the Garden nightly from 5:30 till 9 pm.

The Garden has a gift shop, indoor

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and outdoor facility rental options and elementary and adult education programs.

Stop by for a visit anytime because there is always something “growing on” at the Huntsville Botanical Garden.

Groups of 10 or more qualify for group rates: Adults $9; Children 3-18 $6 Less than 10: Adults $14; Children 3-18 $9 Children 2 and under: Free Members: Free Group reservations should be made in advance by calling 256.830.4447, ext. 223 Located conveniently off Interstate 565 hsvbg.org 256.830.4447 Toll free 1.877.930.4447 See The Garden’s mobile profile at EXCURSIONSGO.com to see their live Facebook feed, get directions, link to their website and more.

EXCURSIONS 35

H U N T S V I L L E AT T R AC T I O N S

Meet A Historic Hunts

Alabama Constitution Village Constitution Village is a unique and unforgettable journey into Alabama’s past.

Come see villagers busy with their daily tasks, seemingly unaware that nearly two centuries have come and gone.

Hear the whir of the spinning wheel, smell the enticing aroma of freshly baked bread being prepared over an open fire and turn the great wheel lathe in the cabinetmaker’s shop. Admission charged. See website for hours. {109 Gates Avenue, 256.564.8100; earlyworks.com}

Big Spring International Park Located in downtown Huntsville, this iconic park serves as the center of the city. Named after an underground spring that John Hunt, Huntsville’s founder, built a cabin next to in 1805, it’s now surrounded by museums, hotels and more. The park plays host to 36 EXCURSIONS

major area events, like the Panoply Arts Festival and local concerts, and showcases gifts bestowed upon the city by other countries, including the “Red Bridge” and 60 cherry trees from Japan. Free Admission. {Located adjacent to downtown Huntsville}  Bridge Street

Town Centre

Bridge Street Town Centre is the premiere retail and entertainment center in North Alabama. Featuring over 70 upscale shops and restaurants, including favorites like J. Crew, The Apple Store and Anthropology.

The center also includes the 14-screen Monaco Pictures Theater, a 10-acre lake with gondola boats and water craft rentals, a beautiful carousel, fountains and lots of open green spaces. Free admission. {Located at the corner of Old Madison Pike and Research Park Blvd.; 256.327.8400; see their ad back cover; bridgestreethuntsville.com}

Burritt on the Mountain Also known as the “Jewel on the Mountain,” this living museum is seated atop RoundTop Mountain and features entertainment for all ages.

At the 19th-century farm, children can pet barnyard animals, while adults can wander the 14-rooms of the unique X-shaped 1930s mansion. Visitors can explore the winding nature trails, visit authentic exhibits and even attend concerts and plays. Admission charged.

See website for hours. {3101 Burritt Drive, Huntsville; 256.536.2882}

Ditto Landing For overnight, over the weekend or week-long vacation, Ditto Landing is a camper’s paradise. Nestled in the shaded comfort of densely wooded lots, the campground is cool, peaceful and just a moment’s walk from an abundance of funfilled activities. It serves as the gateway to Wheeler

Explore the past at Burritt on the Mountain

reservoir, which has more than 60,000 acres of adventurous playground. There are ample facilities for boats of all sizes. See website for hours. {293 Ditto Landing Road, Huntsville; 256.882.1057}.

Dublin Memorial Park Located in Madison, this park features 66 acres of recreational activities. The Dublin Memorial Park Facility includes an outdoor swimming pool with baby and diving pools. Indoor facilities include a double-court gymnasium equipped for basketball and volleyball, an upstairs walking track and a 25-yard heated indoor swimming pool. Other outdoor activity areas include a walking trail, five soccer fields, a community-built playground and seven tennis courts.

See website for hours. Free admission. {8324 Old Madison Pike, Madison; 256.772.9300}

Explore more at huntsville.org

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Ride the carousel at Bridge Street Town Centre

H U N T S V I L L E AT T R AC T I O N S EarlyWorks Children’s Museum

Andy at the sville Depot

EarlyWorks was designed for children—go ahead...touch, climb, pull, explore! Hear stories from the Talking Tree, play a tune on the giant-sized instruments at the Alabama bandstand and try your hand at building in the Kidstruction Zone. Explore a 46-foot Keelboat, trade your wares at the general store and try on clothing from the 1800s in the federal house. Preschoolers will enjoy exploring Biscuit’s Backyard, a touch-and-learn area which includes a garden, grocery store and even karaoke. See website for hours.

Admission charged. {404 Madison Street in Huntsville; 256.564.8107; earlyworks.com}

Harrison Brothers Hardware Better than a museum, Harrison Brothers is a living

19th century landmark sitting serenely in the midst of downtown Huntsville. When you’re searching for that perfect souvenir to take home, Harrison Brothers is the place to visit. This shopper’s delight is filled with treasures, like a stack of antique biscuit jars brimming with old-fashioned candies, cotton throws, colorful tins, marbles by the scoop, cast iron cookware and oak rocking chairs. See website for hours. Free admission. {124 South Side Square in Huntsville; 256.536.3631; harrisonbrothershardware.com}

Historic Huntsville Depot Hear the rattle of the tracks and the engineer’s whistle as you experience life on the rails in 1860. Discover Civil War graffiti and listen as Andy, the robotic ticket agent, tells of Alabama’s railway history.

Listed on the National Reg-

ister of Historic Places, the Depot was an active passenger station until 1968. The original depot building now stands as a symbol of Huntsville’s transportation history and city growth. See website for hours.

Admission charged. {320 Church Street, Huntsville; 256.564.8100}  Huntsville Botanical

Garden

In this dynamic young garden you’ll find inviting woodland paths, stunning floral collections and exhibits to delight visitors of all ages. Paths meander through the shady woodlands of the Dogwood Trail and the lush fern glade, while native wildflowers quietly populate the Nature Trail. The daylily and herb gardens rival or surpass those of older, more mature botanical gardens.

The demonstration vegetable garden showcases varieties of

produce and inspires home gardeners. With new exhibits every season, there’s always something blooming at the gardens! See website for hours. {4747 Bob Wallace Avenue in Huntsville; 256.830.4447; hsvbg.org}  Huntsville Museum of Art

Nestled next to Huntsville’s famous Big Spring Park, the nationally accredited Museum of Art fills its seven galleries with a variety of exhibitions throughout the year, including prestigious traveling exhibits and the work of nationally and regionally acclaimed artists. Shop the Museum Store for unique jewelry, pottery and glasswork by local artists, and enjoy Italian fare at the café, Pane e Vino. Admission charged. See website for hours. {300 Church Street, S. in Huntsville; 256.535.4350; hsvmuseum.org}

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EXCURSIONS 37

H U N T S V I L L E AT T R AC T I O N S

Let your imagination run wild at the Early Works Children’s Museum

Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment

This memorial recognizes by name the Madison County veterans killed in action during all wars from WWI to present and recognizes and honors Madison County veterans awarded the Medal of Honor.

The mission of the memorial is to inspire visitors by instilling a sense of pride and respect for all veterans who have served in the armed forces of the United States of America, to provide an incentive to serve and to educate visitors, especially the young, about the sacrifices made by those that came before them and those who continue to guarantee our freedom by serving in the Armed Forces of the United States of America. {200 Monroe Street NW; 256.604.3896; hmcvm.org}

Located in historic Lowe Mill, supports a diverse creative community dedicated to the free expression of the arts in Huntsville. Our vision is to be a true arts destination and to grow Huntsville’s appreciation and interaction with the arts. {2211 Seminole Drive Huntsville, 256.533.0399; lowe mill.net}

38 EXCURSIONS

Monte Sano State Park Slip into your walking shoes and get ready to explore the beautiful North Alabama outdoors! Spread across more than 2,100 acres, historic Monte Sano State Park sits 1,900 feet above sea level and boasts some of the most beautiful views of the Huntsville area. Spanish for “Mountain of Health,” this park features cabins and camping facilities, as well as 20 miles of hiking trails

and 14 miles of biking trails.

Hours: 7 am – sundown.

Admission charged. {5101 Nolen Road SE, Huntsville 256.534.3757}

North Alabama Railroad Museum Located just east of Huntsville in the historic Chase community, this museum is a boon for train lovers. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, take a guided tour of more than 30 train cars, including locomotives, dining cars and sleeper cars.

On Saturdays from March – Dec, you can even take an hour-long train ride and enjoy the local scenery. Admission charged. {694 Chase Road in Huntsville; 256.851.6276; northalabamarailroadmuseum.com}

Old Town Historic District The Old Town Historic District features homes in a variety of styles including

Federal, Greek Revival, Queen Anne, American Craftsman and Prairie School with homes dating from the late 1820s through the early 1900s. {Roughly bound by Dement and Lincoln Streets and Randolph and Walker Avenues}

State Black Archives Research Center and Museum Located in the historic James H. Wilson Building on the campus of Alabama A&M University just outside Huntsville, the center is a repository of AfricanAmerican history and culture, providing a dialogue between the present and past. Archival collections and featured exhibits span three floors of beautiful gallery areas.

Admission charged. {Located on the campus of Alabama A&M University in Normal, AL; 256.372.5846} Explore more at huntsville.org

PHOTO: HUNTSVILLE/MADISON COUNTY CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU

Huntsville Madison County Veterans Memorial

H U N T S V I L L E AT T R AC T I O N S Twickenham Historic District Alabama’s largest antebellum district features Federal, Italianate, and Classical architecture, including the Weeden House Museum, Alabama’s oldest house open to public. Guided tours conducted. {109 Gates Avenue at Constitution Village in Huntsville}  U.S. Space and Rocket Center

The world’s largest space attraction features dozens of interactive exhibits surrounding Apollo, Mercury and Space Shuttle spacecraft.

The U. S. Space and Rocket Center is the only place in the world where you can stand under a “full stack”—the Space Shuttle, external tank, and two rocket boosters.

Experience three times the

force of gravity as you spin in the G-Force Accelerator, feel the powerful G forces of launch aboard the Space Shot and maneuver through space aboard the Mission to Mars.

You can also stop for a show in the Spacedome Omnimax theater. Hours: 9 am – 5 pm, seven days a week. Admission charged. {One Tranquility Base in Huntsville; 1.800.63.SPACE; see their ad pages 32-33}

Veterans Memorial Museum Take a walk through American military history at this museum filled with exhibits, memorabilia and more. The collection includes more than 30 military vehicles, including tanks, helicopters, motorcycles and boats. Dedicated to promoting and disseminating the accomplishments of American

military men and women, the museum is popular among veterans and their families. See website for hours.Admission charged—cash only. {2060A Airport Road in Huntsville; 256.883.3737; memorialmuseum.org}  Von Braun Center

The Von Braun Center is a multi-purpose entertainment venue that hosts major concerts, Broadway performances, ballets, symphonies and a full range of sporting events. The 10,000-seat Arena, 2,153-seat Concert Hall and 502-seat Playhouse Theatre can also be used as meeting areas for conferences or seminars. The Von Braun Center Arena is host to Huntsville Havoc SPHL Hockey, UAH Chargers Hockey, and Tennessee Valley Vipers Arena 2 Football. {700 Monroe Street,

Huntsville; 256.533.1953; see their ad on page 17; vonbrauncenter.com}

Weeden House Museum Alabama’s oldest open-tothe-public building is best known as the birthplace of 19th century poet and artist Maria Howard Weeden, whose poetry and paintings captured the essence of nineteenth-century Southern culture. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Weeden House is the only home in the Twickenham Historic District open as a museum. Call in advance to schedule a tour. Admission charged. {300 Gates Avenue, SE, Huntsville; 256.536.7718; weedenhousemuseum.com} ❖

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N AT U R A LW O N D E R S Blevins Gap Valley View

Wide Open Spaces Major Outdoor Attractions NORTH ALABAMA BIRDING TRAIL Comprised of 50 sites throughout north Alabama, The North Alabama Birding Trail is not a “trail” in the traditional sense, but a series of mostly roadside stops throughout north Alabama selected for their bird-watching characteristics.

While all of the sites can be accessed from a vehicle, many of the sites also have traditional walking trails associated with them; and a few sites contain extensive areas that are best explored by boat or canoe. Contact the Huntsville/Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau for more information at 256.551.2230.

40 EXCURSIONS

MONTE SANO STATE PARK Monte Sano, Spanish for “Mountain of Health,” rises more than 1,600 feet above sea level. The mountain has attracted visitors since the mid 1820’s. Currently over 14 miles of hiking/biking trails service our state park and its patrons. The North Plateau Loop and South Plateau Loop trails offer stunning vistas of the Tennessee Valley, with mild trail elevation changes. For our more serious hikers and bikers we invite you to try our Mountain Mist and McKay Hollow trails. Call 256.534.3757 for more information.

WADE MOUNTAIN PRESERVE Approximately 11 miles of trails on a combination of land trust and private land and TVA easements. The trails are

moderately technical single-track that ring the west and south sides of Wade Mountain. When followed in the correct order, the trails can provide nearly two hours of enjoyment, riding on undulating or descending single-track (after one long climb). The trail can be ridden in two segments, one 8-mile figure-8 loop with the option of the more difficult 3-mile Land Trust Devil’s Racetrack trail at the beginning or end of the ride. The Devil’s Racetrack is a unique geological formation that surrounds the crest of Wade Mountain. It is connected to trails that encircle the south and west portions of Wade Mountain. Located on Spragins Hollow Road. For more information call 256.534.5263.

Explore more at huntsville.org

PHOTO: LAND TRUST OF NORTH ALABAMA

From awe-inspiring mountain vistas to echoing caverns, the Huntsville area offers a wealth of outdoor escapes.

Fagan Creek on Monte Sano Nature Preserve is popular with families.

PHOTOS: LAND TRUST OF NORTH ALABAMA

CATHEDRAL CAVERNS Located deep beneath Gunter’s Mountain in northeast Marshall County is a hidden treasure that offers breathtaking sights and chilly temperatures. Cathedral Caverns boasts one of the world’s largest stalagmites, frozen waterfalls, flowstone walls and stalagmite forests. The constant year-round temperature is 60 degrees F (16 C) in the 14-acre underground wonderland, designated as a Registered National Natural Landmark in 1972.

Call 256.728.8193 for more information.

THE LAND TRUST OF NORTH ALABAMA Showcasing leisurely walks and challenging hikes, wildflower trails and natural springs, The Land Trust of North Alabama preserves and protects green space and natural resources for conservation, public recreation, and environmental education. The Land Trust offers more than 62 miles of free public trails for hiking, biking, and outdoor recreation. Fagan Creek runs along Wildflower Trail on Monte Sano Nature Preserve. It’s a great spot for a family hike.

Kids can play in the creek and look for salamanders, tadpoles, etc. Trail Maps available at landtrustnal.org.

Call 256-534-5263 for more information.

Go EXCURSIONS Mobile at EXCURSIONSGO.com

Enjoy one of many walking trails

Canoeing & Boating

Local Walking Trails ALDRIDGE CREEK GREENWAY

1100 Mountain Gap Road

ATWOOD LINEAR PARK GREENWAY

7500 Atwood Drive

BIG COVE CREEK GREENWAY

100 Old Hwy 431

BLEVINS GAP NATURE PRESERVE

Cecil Ashburn Dr SE

CHAPMAN MTN NATURE PRESERVE

Hwy 72 East

GREEN MOUNTAIN NATURE TRAIL

5000 Nature Trail Road HAYS NATURE PRESERVE

7153 Hwy 431 S

INDIAN CREEK GREENWAY

Slaughter Road

LITTLE COVE ROAD GREENWAY

100 Old Hwy 431

MONTE SANO NATURE PRESERVE

numerous trailheads

RAINBOW MTN NATURE PRESERVE

230 Stoneway Trail, Madison WADE MOUNTAIN PRESERVE

Spragins Hollow Road Trail maps available at landtrustnal.org

CHICKASAW CANOEING Featuring two courses on the Flint River; the upper course is great for small children, while the lower course is a bit more adventurous.

Call 256.682.1561 for more information.

DITTO LANDING Servicing Wheeler Reservoir, which has more than 60,000 acres of adventurous playground. There are ample facilities for boats of all sizes.

Call 256.882.1057 for more information.

NORTH ALABAMA CANOE & KAYAK Large variety of canoe and kayak rentals, a variety of river tours for groups of any size, shuttle service to all local waterways, guide service to all local waterways and daily information on water conditions.

Call 256.529.0357 for more information.

MADISON COUNTY LAKE Madison County Lake is 15 miles northeast of Huntsville. The lake is a 105-acre, public fishing lake offering concessions, picnic facilities, grills, rentals and a bait shop. Fishing license and daily permit required. Madison County Lake is located at 2501 Country Lake Road in Gurley. For more information call 256.776.4905. ❖ EXCURSIONS 41

HUNTSVILLESHOPPING

Treat Yourself From the most popular national stores to local boutiques and salons, Huntsville has what you need to treat yourself well.

THE ANTIQUE MARKET

11595 Memorial Pkwy SW Huntsville 256.270.9636 ANTIQUES, ETC. APPRAISALS

7515 Sherwood Drive SE Huntsville 256.533.7647

ALEXANDER’S JEWELRY

2314 Memorial Pkwy SW 256.536.33391 BIRCH HILL ANTIQUES

5000 Whitesburg Drive Huntsville 256.881.1225

BLUE BIRD ANTIQUE MALL

9195 Hwy 431 Owens Cross Roads, AL 35763 256.725.4000

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FIREHOUSE ANTIQUES & INTERIORS MARKET

10095 Memorial Pkwy SW Huntsville 256.880.9111 GOLDEN GRIFFIN

104 Longwood Drive SE Huntsville 256.535.0882 HARTLEX ANTIQUES & INTERIORS

6515 University Drive NW, Huntsville 256.801.9168 INTERIORS BY CONSIGN

8506 Whitesburg Drive SE Huntsville 256.880.0909 LENNART’S, INC.

806 Wellman Ave. NE Huntsville 256.536.6789 LIMESTONE FLEA MARKET, INC.

30030 US Highway 72 Madison 256.233.5183

LINCOLN CENTER ANTIQUES

1214 Meridian Street N Huntsville 256.536.3117

RAILROAD STATION ANTIQUE MALL

315 Jefferson Street N Huntsville 256.533.6550 RIVENBANK AND ROPER

110 Main Street, Madison 256.772.4444

900 Bob Wallace Ave Suite 111, Huntsville 256.564.9800

MADISON SQUARE ANTIQUES

WHITE LILY ANTIQUES

MARY’S

WILLOWBROOK SHOPPE

MADISON STATION ANTIQUES

1017 Old Monrovia Road NW Huntsville 256.430.0909 505 Pratt Ave., Huntsville 256.658.4972

PACKARD’S ANTIQUE CENTER

11110 Memorial Pkwy SW Huntsville 256.881.1678

8512 Whitesburg Drive SE Huntsville 256.881.7707 7900 Bailey Cove Road SE Huntsville 256.270.7181 UNIVERSITY PICKERS

3024 University Drive NW, Huntsville 256.964.6862 ❖

POLLY’S ANTIQUES

5813 Criner Road SE, Huntsville 256.883.2032 PHOTO:

ALPHA ESTATE & AUCTION SALES

12315 Triana Blvd, Ste. C, Huntsville 256.536.3117

Explore more at huntsville.org

HUNTSVILLESHOPPING

 Bridge Street Town Centre Bridge Street Town Centre is a premier mixed-use lifestyle center featuring more than 70 upscale shops and restaurants, the 210-room Westin Huntsville Hotel, a 14-screen Monaco Pictures and a six-story office tower. The property also features a customer service center, carousel, fountains and lots of green open spaces. Located at the corner of Old Madison Pike and Research Park Boulevard in the heart of Cummings Research Park. 256.327.8400; bridgestreethuntsville.com View their mobile profile at EXCURSIONSGO.com to view their Facebook feed, get directions, go to their website and more. (See their ad inside back cover) MENS & WOMEN’S FASHIONS:

Belk Buckle Gap H&M Jos. A. Bank Lucky Brand Jeans Old Navy Orvis Oxford Street Menswear Shades WOMEN’S FASHIONS

Altar’d State Anthropologie Chico’s Francesca’s J. Jill kate spade new york LOFT Michael Kors

New York & Company Soma Versona Victoria’s Secret White House|Black Market CHILDREN’S FASHIONS

Claire’s Gap Kids Gymboree H&M Justice Old Navy Toys “R” Us / Babies “R” Us JEWELRY & ACCESSORIES

Anna Cate Brighton Collectibles Claire’s Fossil Francesca’s

Grogan Jewelers Jared the Galleria of Jewelry Kay Jewelers Kendra Scott Michael Kors Pandora REEDS Jewelers Shades HEALTH & BEAUTY

Bath & Body Works BLUE Huntsville Rejuvenation Nail Spa Sephora Signature Smile Ulta Beauty RESTAURANTS & EATERIES

Bar Louie Barnes & Noble Café BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse

Bravo! Cucina Italiana Café 153 Cantina Laredo The Chocolate Crocodile Connors Steak & Seafood Dickey’s Barbecue Pit Great American Cookies IT’SUGAR Kona Grill MaggieMoo’s Ice Cream The Melting Pot Moe’s Southwest Grill Orange Tree Frozen Yogurt Panera Bread P.F. Chang’s Pieology Pizzeria The Pretzel Twister Red Robin Sage Grille at the Westin Scene Restaurant & Lounge Steel City Pops

Texas de Brazil Urban Cookhouse Vintage Cigar Lounge HOME FURNISHINGS

Anthropologie Bed Bath & Beyond Mattress Firm Southern Living Store SPECIALTY STORES

Apple AT&T Barnes & Noble Clarks Dick’s Sporting Goods DSW Shoes Mountain High Outfitters Orvis The Walking Company

Parkway Place Mall Measuring in at 650,000 square feet, Parkway Place is anchored by Dillard’s and Belk. This indoor retail mall offers shoppers of the Tennessee Valley more than 70 stores, including favorites like Ann Taylor and Hollister Co. The attached movie theater features 18 screens. Hours: Mon - Sat: 10 am - 9 pm; Sun: noon - 6 pm. Located at the intersection of U.S. 231 (Memorial Parkway) and Drake Avenue. 256.533.0700 STORES INCLUDE: Belk, Dillard’s, AÉROPOSTALE, Ann Taylor, Hollister, Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma, Men’s Warehouse, New York & Company, Sunglass Hut, Brookstone Denotes our sponsors—see their mobile profiles at EXCURSIONSGO.com

EXCURSIONS 43

Out on the Town From enriching plays and theater to rockin' live music, dance clubs, comedy clubs and breweries, there are good times to be had in Huntsville and Madison.

44 EXCURSIONS

Explore more at huntsville.org

N I G H T L I F E E N T E R TA I N M E N T

HAPPY HOUR AND BEYOND...

These are some of our top picks for entertainment and libations in Huntsville and Madison.

HUNTSVILLE  BELOW THE RADAR 220 Holmes Ave NE 256.469.6617 (see ad page 22)

 CHURCH STREET PURVEYOR 201 Jefferson Street 256.419.2555 (see ad page 21)

 THE NOOK

DEATH & TAXES

LONE GOOSE SALOON

3305 Bob Wallace Ave SW 256.489.0911 (see ad page 38)

600 Jordan Ln NW, Ste 2 256.384.7844

2620 Clinton Ave Campus No. 805; 256.715.0705

 WISH YOU WERE BEER

FOCUS LIVE MARTINI BAR

OLD TOWN BEER EXCHANGE

2500 Clinton Ave W Campus No. 805; 256.715.7148

2020 Country Club AVE NW 256.517.1106

301 Holmes Ave. NE #150 256.270.7825

AMENDMENT XXI

FUBAR

123 North Side Square 256.715.0131

109 Washington Street SE 256.715.8042

MAD MALTS BREWING

BANDITO SOUTHSIDE

FURNITURE FACTORY BAR & GRILL

11220 Memorial Pkwy SW #P1 256.489.3232

619 Meridian Street N #200 256.539.8001

BAR LOUIE

GREEN BUS BREWING

MVP SPIRITS AND GRILL

206 Eustis Ave SE 256.990.2477

11220 Memorial Pkwy, SW 256.489.0677

JEFFERSON STREET PUB

PINTS & PIXELS PUB

365 The Bridge Street, Ste 100 256.327.8630

CHIPS & SALSA CANTINA 10300 #10 Bailey Cove Road SE 256.880.1202

 CHURCH STREET WINE SHOPPE

COPPER TOP BAR AND GRILL

501 Church Street, Huntsville 256.970.4097 (see ad page 21)

200 Oakwood Ave NE 256.536.1150

 HUMPHREY’S BAR & GRILL

DAS STAHL BIERHAUS

109 Washington Street, Huntsville 256.704.5555 (see ad page 16)

7914 Memorial Pkwy SW 256.858.1495

111 Jefferson Street 256.519.2997

HOT SPOT BAR & GRILL 1117 Jordan Lane 256.430.1777

109 Maple Ave NW 256.503.2233

MAGGIE MEYERS IRISH PUB 1009 Henderson Rd. 256.964.6216

115 Clinton Ave E, Fl 3 256.384.5115

ROCKET CITY TAVERN 2100 Rideout Rd SW 256.319.3333

LEE ANN'S 415 Church Street NW #12 256.489.9300

SAMMY T’S MUSIC HALL 116 Washington Street 256.539.9974

Wish You Were Beer is North Alabama’s first craft-only beer store complete with onpremise tasting room that not only sells beer by the glass, but growlers, bottles, cans and flights, too.

They only carry the most reputable domestic and imported craft beers available with meticulous detail to preserving their quality with proper storage and rotation. They place a high priority on supporting local and regional breweries.

Visit Wish You Were Beer and enjoy samples while you shop. Then relax on their beautiful patio and enjoy some beer before returning to your hotel.

PHOTO: (OPPOSITE) BRENTBOYD

WISH YOU WERE BEER 2500 Clinton Avenue West, Huntsville, AL Campus No. 805 256.715.7148 7407 Highway 72 W, Madison, AL 256.325.9992 wishyouwerebeer.net View their profile at EXCURSIONSGO.com

Denotes our sponsors—see their mobile profiles at EXCURSIONSGO.com

@WYWBeer

EXCURSIONS 45

Performing Arts Broadway Theatre League

Flying Monkey Arts Center

This organization brings Broadway’s best productions to Huntsville. "Rent," "Chicago," "Sweeney Todd," "Spamalot," "Chitty Chitty, Bang Bang," and extras, such as, "Happy Days" and "The Rat Pack," have been performed in the Von Braun Center. {700 Monroe Street Southwest in Huntsville; 256.518.6155}

Located in the historic Lowe Mill, the center hosts a variety of events and many presentations of the Film Co-op, in addition to other events. {2211 Seminole Drive SW in Huntsville; 256.489.7000}

Community Ballet Association The Community Ballet Association operates the Huntsville Ballet Company and Community Ballet School. In addition to the annual "Nutcracker" and Spring Repertory performances, the CBA works with touring companies to bring the best in dance to Huntsville. {800 Regal Drive in Huntsville; 256.539.0961}

Fantasy Playhouse Children’s Theatre An all-volunteer organization, Fantasy Playhouse performs for the children of North Alabama both on stage and off. Fantasy Academy, the organization’s dance, music and art school, teaches children and adults each year. {3312 Long Ave SW, Huntsville; 256.539.6829}

46 EXCURSIONS

Huntsville Community Chorus Association The state’s second-oldest performing arts organization produces both choral concerts and musical theater productions, ranging from "The Pirates of Penzance" to "Guys and Dolls" and "Jesus Christ Superstar." {3312 Long Avenue SW, Huntsville; 256.533.6606}

Huntsville Symphony Orchestra The Huntsville Symphony Orchestra is the oldest continuously operating professional orchestra in the state of Alabama. The symphony offers classical, pops, chamber and young people’s concerts. {700 Monroe Street in Huntsville; 256.539.4818}

Independent Musical Productions Founded in 1993, this local group presents at least one annual main production such as "Ragtime," "Civil War," and "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street."

In addition, musicals for children and outreach programs complete the season. {520 Green Cove Road SE, Huntsville, 256.337.9071}

Merrimack Hall Performing Arts Center After nearly $3 million in renovations to their historic building, this facility now includes a 302-seat performance hall, a 3,000 square foot dance studio, and rehearsal and instructional spaces for musicians. {3320 Triana Blvd. SW, Huntsville; 256.534.6455}

Renaissance Theatre The Renaissance Theatre features two stages, the Main Stage (upstairs) and the Alpha Stage (downstairs), each with seating for about 85. {1214 Meridian Street, Huntsville; 256.536.3434}

Theatre Huntsville This nonprofit, all-volunteer arts organization presents six plays each season in the Von Braun Center Playhouse. It also produces the annual "Shakespeare on the Mountain” at an outdoor venue. Call for a schedule of events. {1701 University Drive, Huntsville; 256.536.0807}. ❖

Explore more at huntsville.org

N I G H T L I F E E N T E R TA I N M E N T SCENE RESTAURANT & LOUNGE

THE END ZONE

370 The Bridge Street 256.327.8347

1909 University Drive NW 256.536.2234

SIDETRACKS MUSIC HALL

THE VOODOO LOUNGE

415 E Church St, Ste 12 256.585.1390

110 South Side Square Huntsville, 256.539.0335

SIP

VINTAGE CIGAR LOUNGE

111 Greene St NE 256.585.1244

355 The Bridge St Town Ctr, Ste 117; 256.585.2345

SPORTS PAGE LOUNGE & DELI

WEST END GRILL

9009-M Memorial Pkwy S 256.880.9471

6610 Old Madison Pike #106 256.722.8040

STAND UP LIVE HUNTSVILLE

YELLOWHAMMER BREWING

2012 Memorial Pkwy SW 256.261.3374

2600 Clinton Ave W 256.489.3510

STRAIGHT TO ALE 2610 Clinton Ave W Campus No. 805; 256.801.9650

THE CAMP 5509 University Dr thecamphuntsville.com

MADISON

OLD BLACK BEAR BREWING CO. 212 Main Street 256.853.4639

 WISH YOU WERE BEER 7407 Hwy 72 W 256.325.9992 (See ad page 37)

BISON’S BAR & GRILL

ROCKET REPUBLIC BREWING 289 Production Ave rocketrepublicbrewing.com

SIDELINES PUB & GRUB

8020 Madison Blvd.

256.772.4477

7407 U.S. Highway 72 256.945.7806

BLUE PANTS BREWERY 500 Lanier Road 256.325.1131

THE STATION PUB AND GRILL 8694 Madison Blvd.

256.325.1333

CORK & CRUST PIZZERIA & WINE BAR

THE STEM & STEIN

12120 County LIne Road 256.801.9463

10871 County Line Road 256.325.3779

HALF TIME GRILL

WILD BILL’S SPORTS BAR & GRILL

8873 Hwy 72 W 256.430.0266

9076 Madison Blvd, Ste J 256.772.8514

MADISON STATION 8694 Madison Blvd 256.325.1333

THE BRICKHOUSE SPORTS CAFE 7 Town Center Drive NW, 256.585.1599

80 On Tap, 36 Local

Huntsville’s Best Year-Round Patio!

The Nook Tavern PHOTO: (IN AD TOP) MIKE MOORER

3305 Bob Wallace Ave SW, Huntsville, AL 35805 256.489.0911 TheNookTavern.com Mon - Sat: 11 am - Midnight, Closed Sundays LIMITED FOOD MENU @thenooktavern View their profile at EXCURSIONSGO.com

Denotes our sponsors—see their mobile profiles at EXCURSIONSGO.com

EXCURSIONS 47

Dine Huntsville

PHOTO: BRENT BOYD

From award-winning fine dining and upscale bistros to down-home hangouts, Huntsville area restaurants are guaranteed to please.

48 EXCURSIONS

Explore more at huntsville.org

Sophisticated Sizzle Grille 29—Favorite Huntsville Restaurant ~quoted from Trip Advisor MOUTHWATERING DISHES, seasonal ingredients and warm hospitality come together seamlessly for Saturday and Sunday brunch, lunch and dinner seven days a week.

Located in the heart of the beautiful Village of Providence, Grille 29 sets the standard for fine dining in a casual atmosphere in Huntsville through its sophisticated sizzle. Grille 29 continues to be ranked in the top group of “Best Restaurants” on Trip Advisor.

In addition to menu favorites such as Crab Cake Blend Stuffed Sea Scallops, the Filet 29 and the culinary team’s artfully designed nightly features, the Grouper Oscar has become a signature entree, pan seared black grouper topped with jumbo lump crab meat, asparagus, and hollandaise. Pan-seared and topped with jumbo lump crab meat, asparagus and hollandaise, this dish is worthy of all the raves it receives.

Being in the Rocket City, Grille 29 embraced the space experience with the starry sky display over the bar. Over 1.3 miles Go EXCURSIONS Mobile at EXCURSIONSGO.com

of fiber optic lighting were used to make the constellations in the northern hemisphere and guests can catch a glimpse of a shooting star or comet over head as they enjoy their dinner.

Your culinary journey will not be complete unless you experience dessert at Grille 29! Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle, Lemon Lava Cake and Crème Brulee are just a sampling of delectable desserts that you must try.

Make Grille 29 your restaurant for meeting friends after work, celebrating a special occasion or enjoying a business luncheon.

Your table is ready and waiting! ❖ 445 Providence Main Street NW, 256.489.9470; grille29.com

EXCURSIONS 49

A Certified Angus Beef filet served with a grilled prawn

Housemade Canoli Con Sherry

Nick’s Ristorante A slice of northern Italy with a broad sense of service

by JENNY ADAMS photography by BRENT BOYD

S

inatra’s best lyrics are floating through a microphone in the lounge. The lighting is dim in the larger dining room, where the woods are polished and gleaming. The steaks are sending clouds of charred perfume off hot plates. It’s another night at Nick’s. However, what’s become beloved in just a few short years by locals is often a refreshing discovery for those visiting from out of town. This steak house has a serious love of premium cuts and a philanthropic side for the men and women of our Armed Forces. Behind it all is owner Nick Mikus—a man who served in the Army around the globe for nearly five decades before settling down to serve up some of Huntsville’s most lauded cuisine.

Nick opened his northern Italian steak

50 EXCURSIONS

house alongside his wife, Sherry, in 2010.

In just seven years, the restaurant has become a cornerstone in the community.

It’s located off-the-beaten-path, and for Nick, he’d want it no other way.

“The location is paramount to what we do. I want people to come and find us,” he says. “I want to be a hideaway, where you discover something remarkable and like finding your way back.”

“This restaurant is something we talked about doing more than 40 years ago when our mom was still alive,” concurs Nick’s brother, general manager, Dave Mikus. “Inside the space, you feel like your walking in someone’s home. There are family photos on the wall and our bistro has leather sofas. We want guests to relax just like they would at home. I like to say

we’ve entertained as a family our whole lives and this is an extension of that.”

You will definitely be welcomed by the family atmosphere and literal family ownership, but there are aspects of Nick’s you cannot find in most homes.

The quality of steak on the menu is a serious component, and it sets the place apart in the Southeast. Nick’s is one of the only Certified Angus Beef operations in the state of Alabama, which means every single cut of meat is in the top 5-percent of all beef produced. Executive Chef Tom Chapman sources his 21-day aged cuts from three farms in the Midwest, and they are butchered and packaged specifically for the venue.

“We have a spice blend that Nick and I worked to create,” says Chapman, who’s been in the kitchen nearly five years now, Explore more at huntsville.org

The cozy dining room dressed to impress

and studied in the field under a noted Italian chef before joining this team. “Our seasoning is seven ingredients: salt, pepper, garlic, smoked paprika, ground oregano, cinnamon and coffee grounds,” he says.

“The coffee grounds add a robust flavor that we find complements a steak very well.”

“Our most popular steak is the filet, and when you hear the term cuts like butter, it definitely applies,” Nick laughs.

He loves sitting down to the New York Strip. “It’s my favorite,” he says, “because when I cut into a steak, I want to feel the heft of it. We also have a House Sirloin that’s the best deal going. It’s 12 ounces for under $30, and you can easily feed two people.”

A man who comes from a long line of proud Italian heritage, and who still has family operating restaurants over in Italy, Nick serves a traditional menu one might find in Florence, Italy, including a mean, thin-pounded veal and a delicate, rich, mushroom risotto.

“You won’t find the heavy dishes like lasagna on our menu,” Nick says, “because we stay true to the cuisine of Northern Italy.

“We have a beautiful bar pizza on the bistro side of the restaurant that we do on the Go EXCURSIONS Mobile at EXCURSIONSGO.com

A specialty cocktail from the master mixologists at the bar.

grill, and the few pastas we do have are very light, with housemade sauce. Everything is created here, including all of our desserts.”

While the vibe might be a throwback to the classic, Rat Pack-era and the food might be very traditional northern Italian, what surprises some new visitors is the restaurant’s dedication to the men and women of the American military.

Nick is a veteran himself, having served more than four decades in the armed forces. A Vietnam veteran, he’s lived all over the map, from time in the Pacific to years in Europe.

Nick’s Ristorante is a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business. The sense of “family” here extends not just to the ownership and the staff, but to all those who have served our country and come in to sit and be served as a thank you. Nick opens the restaurant early to host events on certain days, whenever groups need a place to gather.

“We have a lot of regulars and within that, a lot of our customers are military,” he says. “We support Wounded Warriors, Still Serving Veterans, Veterans United and many other veterans groups.”

Many restaurant owners could look

around the room and notice familiar faces. At Nick’s the clientele can see the devotion and near fanaticism some hold for his choice cuts of rib eye and super creamy risotto right on the bistro wall. The cheekily named Mafia Club was set up a few years ago, and it is, according to Nick, “about as good of a return on investment as you’re ever going to find.” Be sure to ask Nick or one of his team members about this tremendous offer.

Nick explains, “people love bringing business groups or large parties in here. It takes the hassle out of splitting a check or the awkwardness of paying. You just tell your server that you have a Mafia Club membership. They take your name and number, and you just sign—no credit cards or cash required. It comes directly out of your account.” ❖ NICK’S RISTORANTE

10300 Bailey Cove Road SE Huntsville, AL 35803 256.489.8280 nicksristorante.com Reservations recommended

EXCURSIONS 51

DINEHUNTSVILLE

Nick's Ristorante

For a complete list of restaurants in Downtown Huntsville, see page 25.

FUN & CASUAL  HUMPREY'S BAR & GRILL

See their ad page 53 103 Washington Street 256.704.5555  HILDEGARD'S GERMAN CUISINE

See their ad page 55 2357 Whitesburg Drive S

256.512.9776

Phuket

 PHUKET

BEAUREGARD’S

LUCIANO

See their ad page 57.

475 Providence Main Street 256.489.1612

•1420 Paramount Drive 256.429.2600 •975 Airport Road 256.429.3600

964 Aiport Road 256.880.9920

 ROSIE’S MEXICAN CANTINA

See their ad page 55.

•6196 University Drive 256.922.1001 •7540-A Memorial Pkwy S 256.382.3232 ALABAMA SMOKEHOUSE

2612 Jordan Lane 256.715.8300

BAUMHOWER'S RESTAURANT

4250 Balmoral Drive SW 256.881.8878

BIG ED’S PIZZERIA

903 Memorial Pkwy N 256.489.3374 BIG SPRING CAFÉ

2906 Governors Drive 256.539.9994 BISTRO 6K

6000 Memorial Parkway 256.382.5108

CAFÉ 302

2700 Winchester Road 256.852.3442 CHARRITO'S BAR & GRILL

7 Town Center Drive NW 256.217.8868 CHOPCHOP FRESH SALADS

6125 University Dr NW 256.203.2839 DRAKE'S

4800 Whitesburg Drive, Ste. 14 256.517.8588

Tom Chapman EXECUTIVE CHEF, NICK’S RISTORANTE Executive Chef Tom Chapman has been at the helm of a tiny kitchen sending out serious steaks for a few years now. His mother was the first to instill a love of food, and he later lived abroad while in the service, cultivating a passion for international cuisine.

“The first chef I trained under was Italian, and I’d say that’s my strength, he says. “My philosophy is to take elegant cuisine and make it approachable.”

For Chapman, the steaks steal the show, but he’s also very proud of the seafood flown in bi-weekly.

“If you’ve ever watched Deadliest Catch,” he laughs, “those are the Siberian King Crab legs we serve here.

Each is around 16 inches long and the meat is so sweet, so tender. We sell a lot of them.”

For our steaks, “we have a spice blend that Nick and I worked to create,” says Chapman. Adding, “our seasoning is seven ingredients: salt, pepper, garlic, smoked paprika, ground oregano, cinnamon and coffee grounds,” he says. “The coffee grounds add a robust flavor that we find compliments a steak very well.”

52 EXCURSIONS

Denotes our sponsors—see their mobile profiles at EXCURSIONSGO.com

eat, drink

AND BE MERRY Our seasonal menu offers a variety of dishes made with the finest locally sourced ingredients.

Reservations are recommended.

We also reserve private dining rooms.

101 Washington Street | Downtown Huntsville | 256.704.5555 MON - THU 5pm - 10pm | FRI - SAT 5pm - 11pm | BAR OPENS at 4pm thebottlehuntsville

thebottlehsv thebottledowntown.com

Enjoy $3 Mimosas, $4 Bloody Mary’s, & Live Music EVERY Saturday & Sunday! humphreysbarandgrill

humphreysbar

256-704-5555 | humphreysdowntown.com 103 Washington Street, Downtown Huntsville MON - THU 11am - 12am | FRI 11am - 2am | SAT 10am - 2am | SUN 10am - 12am

EXCURSIONS 53

DINEHUNTSVILLE

Rosie's Mexican Cantina

HIldegard's German Cuisine

EARTH AND STONE WOOD FIRED PIZZA

HENRY'S MUSTANG CAFE

ORIGINAL PUBLIC HOUSE

SCENE RESTAURANT & LOUNGE

2600 Clinton Ave W 256.489.9539

2500 Jordan Lane NW 256.517.1288

3310 Memorial Pkwy 256.469.3005

370 The Bridge Street 256.327.8347

FARM BURGER

LITTLE ROSIE'S TAQUERIA

PAPA GYRO'S

SCHNITZEL RANCH

4781 Whitesburg Drive 256.882.0014

4925 University Dr NW 256.489.9050

1851 University Drive 256.535.0840

GIBSON’S BARBECUE

MASON DIXON BAKERY & BISTRO

•3319 Memorial Pkwy S 256.881.4851 •8412 Whitesburg Drive 256.882.0841

2358 Whitesburg Drive S 256.213.7545

PHIL SANDOVAL'S MEXICAN RESTAURANTE

930 Bob Wallace Ave SW 256.270.7392

HAPPY TUMMY

2211 Seminole Drive 256.348.8132

MIYAKO JAPANESE RESTAURANT

10013 Memorial Pkwy SW 256.880.9879 OL HEIDELBERG RESTAURANT

6125 University Drive NW 256.922.0556

6125 Univeristy Drive NW 256.489.5711 PIEOLOGY PIZZERIA

365 The Bridge Street 256.801.8132 PINTS & PIXELS

TACO MAMA

301 Pelham Ave SW, Ste C8 256.519.6262 TENDERS

• 800 Holmes Avenue 256.533.7599 • 527 Wynn Drive 256.721.3395

115 Clinton Ave. East, 3rd Floor

256.970.4844

Chef Sergio Artiga ROSIE’S MEXICAN CANTINA Sergio Artiga’s love for food began in his mother’s kitchen in El Salvador. There he learned the simplicity of letting “food be food.” Freshness and proper preparation allow the flavor of the simplest ingredients to be the star of each dish.

Because of his love for simple, fresh ingredients, Chef Sergio considers Rosie’s combination fajitas one of his favorites. “Rosie’s fajitas are made from the finest ingredients, incredibly fresh,” Chef Sergio says. “We cut our own meats every morning, produce arrives daily and our tortillas are handmade and prepared to order. The flavors are extraordinary!”

Never choosing to eat alone, Artiga enjoys dining with friends and family. “Meal time is the time for a cocktail, relaxing with great company and anticipating wonderful food,” says Chef Sergio. “Buen provencho!”

Rosie’s Mexican Cantina serves honest handmade Tex Mex cuisine, prepared from scratch each day.

Guests can experience traditional favorites such as chili rellenos, handmade tamales and Texas-style enchiladas along with house specialties unique to Rosie’s.

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Rosie’s Mexican Cantina 6196 University Drive NW, Huntsville, AL 256.922.1001 7540 Memorial Pkwy SW, Huntsville, AL 256.382.3232 rosiesmexicancantina.com

Named the “Best Mexican Restaurant in Huntsville,” Rosie’s Cantina is a fun and festive atmosphere for casual family dining. Serving honest, handmade Tex-Mex favorites as well as innovative house specialties, Rosie’s atmosphere is filled with unique works of art, antiques from Old Mexico and upbeat music. Enjoy lunch or dinner indoors or out year round or relax fountain-side beneath beautiful Mexican architecture. A full service bar features Rosie’s famous Margarita Menu, an extensive collection of Mexican beers, tequilas, select wines and martinis. Our Mambo Taxi is legendary! Locally owned and operated since 1995, Rosie’s is a Huntsville tradition.

Join us and experience “Flavors Fantasticos!”

Lunch Specials daily until 4 pm Dinner Specials Friday and Saturday HOURS OF OPERATION:

Mon - Thurs 11 am - 9:30 pm Fri - Sat 11 am - 10:30 pm See their mobile profile at EXCURSIONSGO.com

PHOTO:

On the Menu Specials of the House Appetizers Barbeque Chicken Nachos Famoso Shrimp Burrito Mexican Lasagna Shrimp Quesadillas Texas Style Enchiladas Deluxe Queso with Sizzling Fajitas spicy beef Chipotle con Queso Drinks Famous Mambo Taxi Desserts Signature Margaritas Rosie’s Fried Ice Cream “Skinny” Martinis Tres Leches

Denotes our sponsors—see their mobile profiles at EXCURSIONSGO.com

Hildegard’s German Cuisine 2357 Whitesburg Drive, Huntsville, AL 256.512.9776 hildegardsgermancuisine.com @hildegards.germancuisine

Authentic German Cuisine at its Finest Interested in trying a local favorite? Come try the best German food in Huntsville at Hildegard’s German Cuisine on Whitesburg Drive. From their House Specials and imported German sausages and beer, to their hand-breaded schnitzels and house-made desserts, Hildegard’s German Cuisine is where the locals go to have a fantastic, home-cooked German meal with the best service in town. The rich gravies, savory sauces and perfectly seasoned sides are scratch-made: the portions are generous and the price is right.

You will never leave Hildegard’s hungry!

HOURS OF OPERATION: Tues - Sat 11 am - 8:30 pm Weekend reservations recommended Happy Hour is every Wednesday from 4 – 7 pm See their mobile profile at EXCURSIONSGO.com

On the Menu Crispy, Pan-Fried Schnitzels Served plain or with toppings and gravies Imported German Sausages Beef Roulades & Red Wine-Marinated Sauerbraten Spatzle, Sauerkraut, Red Cabbage, German Potato Salad, & other scratch-made side dishes Black Forest Cake, German Chocolate Cake, Apple Strudel, Blueberry Cheesecake & other house-made desserts

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DINEHUNTSVILLE BREAKFAST & COFFEE HOUSES

TERRANOVA’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT

1892 EAST RESTAURANT & TAVERN

G'S COUNTRY KITCHEN

1420 Paramount Drive, Ste. A 256.489.8883

720 Pratt Ave NE 256.489.1242

2501 Suite 5 Oakwood Avenue 256.533.3034

THE BOOT PIZZERIA

CONNORS STEAK & SEAFOOD

GRANVILLE'S GOURMET RIBS AND BBQ

ANGEL'S ISLAND COFFEE

200 Oakwood Ave NE 256.585.3550

7538 South Memorial Pkwy 256.319.3424

HOUSE OF KABOB

ANOTHER BROKEN EGG CAFÉ

1212-A Sparkman Drive NW 256.489.9202

2722-D Carl Jones Drive 256.883.2915

11505 S Memorial Pkwy 256.489.1771 THE BRICKHOUSE

7 Town Center Drive NW 2356.585.1599 VINTAGE CIGAR LOUNGE

355 The Bridge Street 256.585.2345 WALTON'S SOUTHERN TABLE

4901 Whitesburg Drive 256.203.2979 WEST END GRILL

6610 Old Madison Pike, #109 256.722.8040

345 The Bridge Street NW 256.327.8425 D&L BISTRO

7500 Memorial Pkwy SW, Ste. 124 256.881.7244 MEZZA LUNA

2724 Carl T Jones Drive SE 256.650.2514 THE MELTING POT

340 The Bridge Street, Ste. 202 256.327.8888

 GRILLE 29

See their ad on page 3 and read more about them on page 49.

445 Providence Main Street 256.489.9470

ANAHEIM CHILI

2030 Cecil Ashburn Drive SE 256.489.5531 BETTY MAES RESTAURANT

1222 Grace Street NW 256.325.5189

 NICK'S RISTORANTE

BIG SPRING CAFE

Read more on pages 50-51.

10300 Bailey Cove Road #1 256.489.8280

2906 Governors Drive SW 256.539.9994

 RUTH'S CHRIS STEAK HOUSE

• 3210 Governor’s Drive 256.533.8808 • 7540 Memorial Pkwy SW 256.885.3550

See their ads pages 1 and 57.

720 Gallatin Street at Twickenham Place 256.539.3930  THE BOTTLE

See their ad page 53 101 Washington Street 256.704.5555

2306 Whitesburg Drive S 256.533.2607 NEW ORLEANS LUNCHBOX

4000 Holmes Ave NW 256.830.0081 STANILEO'S SUB VILLA

LUNCH SPOTS FINE DINING

LYN’S GRACIOUS GOODNESS

BLUE PLATE CAFÉ

CHICKEN SALAD CHICK

975 Airport Rd SW 256.213.1067

605 Jordan Lane 256.837.7220 TIM'S CAJUN KITCHEN

114 Jordan Lane NW 256.533.7589 TOYBOX BISTRO

511 Jordan Lane 256.513.8469 VENICE PIZZA

6610 Old Madison Pike NW 256.270.8584 VIET HUONG VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT

930 Old Monrovia Road 256.890.0104 WHICH WICH

2710 Carl T Jones Drive 256.882.9424

BEIGNET CAFE

2246 Winchester Road 256.929.4402 BLUE PLATE CAFÉ

• 3210 Governor’s Drive 256.533.8808 • 7540 Memorial Pkwy SW 256.885.3550 CAFÉ 153

355 The Bridge Street, Ste. 121 256.251.5190 DOWNTOWN GROUNDS COFFEE

109 Gates Ave. 256.535.6564 EDITH ANN’S TASTE OF HOME

11243 Memorial Pkwy SW 256.489.0881 JAMO’S CAFÉ

413 Jordan Lane 256.837.7880 MERIDIAN STREET CAFE #2

7900 Bailey Cove Rd SE 256.883.9881 OLD TOWNE COFFEE SHOPPE

511 Pratt Ave 256.539.5399 ❖

Chef Tukky Phornroekngam Phuket

Far from her homeland, Chef Tukky has made a name for herself in the states, having been voted one of the Best Chefs in the Tennessee Valley in 2009. She says it’s her familiarity and artistry with exotic ingredients that make her such a successful chef.

“I love to use kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass, Thai basil leaves and any herbs that are essential to Thai cuisine,” Chef Tukky says.

Though it’s hard to nail down a favorite, Tukky says it’s a toss-up between what she would order for dinner at Phuket. “Our grilled ribeyes are delicious, and any of the curry dishes are great,” says Chef Tukky, who has one more piece of advice for diners. “I love having a Lychee Martini or a Thai Tea Martini with my meal,” she says. “You’ll be surprised how well they compliment the Thai dishes.”

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PHOTO: BRENT BOYD

If you’re in the mood for absolutely authentic Thai dishes, Phuket will not disappoint. Head Chef Tukky Phornroekngam is a masterful Thai Cuisine Chef, certified by no less than the government of Thailand. How’s that for authentic?

Phuket 475 Providence Main Street, Huntsville, AL 35806 256.489.1612 PhuketExperience.com @PhuketHSV

Ruth’s Chris Steak House 720 Gallitin Street, Huntsville, AL 35801 At Twickenham Place 256.539.3930 ruthschris.net @ruthschris.hsv

The Premiere Thai Restaurant in Huntsville Serving the best Thai cuisine in town, Phuket has made a name for itself with its tremendous menu that ranges from sushi, curry entrees, rice dishes and noodle bowls to pad Thai, satays, steaks, seafood and more. Stop by today and indulge in an affordable and irresistible lunch or dinner at Phuket and taste the difference for yourself!

HOURS OF OPERATION: Mon - Fri 11 am - 2 pm Sun - Thurs 5 pm - 9 pm Fri - Sat 5 pm - 10 pm

Ruth’s Chris Steak House delights guests with their customaged, USDA Prime steaks, served with the signature sizzle. In addition to dinner service in the beautifully appointed dining room, the Twickenham Place restaurant offers a nightly happy hour in the bar/lounge and private dining accommodations for up to 50 guests.

Reservations recommended Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence 2015 Winner HOURS OF OPERATION: Dinner: Daily 4 pm - 10 pm

See their mobile profile at EXCURSIONSGO.com

See their mobile profile at EXCURSIONSGO.com

On the Menu

On the Menu

Appetizers: Phuket Lettuce Wrap, Fiery Grilled Beef Salad Sushi: Snow Crab Roll, Rainbow Roll Entrees: Pad Thai Seafood, Grilled Rib Eye, Salmon Green Curry Gluten-Free Menu: Satay Chicken, Thai BBQ Chicken, Jungle Chicken Curry Vegetarian Menu: Tofu Lettuce Wraps, Mixed Vegetables Stir Fry, Drunken Noodle Tofu

Crab Stack: Colossal lump blue crab, avocado, mango and cucumber (pictured above)

Denotes our sponsors—see their mobile profiles at EXCURSIONSGO.com

New York Strip: This USDA Prime cut has a fullbodied texture that is slightly firmer than a ribeye Creamed Spinach: A Ruth’s favorite, chopped spinach in a New Orleans cream sauce Ruth’s Chris Chopped Salad: A Ruth’s Chris original, tossed with lemon basil dressing and topped with crispy onions

EXCURSIONS 57

Explore Madison

H

HENRY DAVID THOREAU WROTE: Let me live where I will, on this side is the city, on that the wilderness. Not too many years ago this applied to the City of Madison—Redstone Arsenal and Marshall Space Flight Center to the east, cotton fields and gravel roads to the west. Today, the City of Madison, a suburb of Huntsville and the fastest growing city in the state of Alabama, is a rare and eclectic combination of historic charm and progressive innovation.

Over the last two decades, the population of Madison has grown rapidly, from approximately 5,000 residents to almost 50,000! With all this growth came the demand for high-quality services, restaurants, retail, parks and green space and family recreation opportunities. However, care has been given to ensure Madison maintained its aesthetic beauty and consistent, highquality growth. Attention to details such as meticulous zoning, green space protection and recruitment of quality businesses has defended the harmonious subsistence of progress and preservation, earning the City of Madison a spot on Money Magazine’s “100 Best Places to Live” list.

Madison’s character is found in its rolling hills, family58 EXCURSIONS

friendliness, graceful trees, recreational opportunities and excellent schools. With regularly scheduled festivals and events, Madison is a place to connect with others. During the first weekend in October, more than 20,000 citizens and visitors take pleasure in a truly southern tradition—Madison Street Festival—which offers numerous opportunities to shop the wares of eclectic artisans and vendors. The healthy business climate is augmented and maintained through Madison’s labor force. Industry draws on a highly educated population with nearly 70 percent holding bachelor’s degrees and 17 percent with advanced degrees.

While other areas of the country are still emerging from the recent economic decline, Madison’s housing market and business climate have remained healthy and strong. The further expansion of Madison’s western boundary and the addition of over 800 single family homes provide an expansive range of housing prices for new families, professionals and empty-nesters. City partnership with the Madison Chamber of Commerce and active recruitment are a couple of reasons more than 450 shops and restaurants call Madison home.

Explore more at findmoremadison.com

PHOTO: CITY OF MADISON

W H E R E P R O G R E S S M E E T S P R E S E R VAT I O N

E X P LO R E M A D I S O N Admire Our Public Art

The Madison Arts Council teamed with the Madison City Council, city leaders, The Arts Council of Huntsville and Huntsville city leaders to expand the SPACES Sculpture Trail into Madison.

Madison’s participation has grown to eight works displayed with the generous funding from Madison City Council along with help from The Arts Council. You can find the works of art at the following locations: four at Dublin Park, four installed downtown and one at city hall.

Find a Food Truck

PHOTOS: (BOTTOM LEFT) NEJRON PHOTO: (TOP LEFT) MYRA SAWYER| DREAMSTIME.COM (TOP RIGHT AND LEFT AND BOTTOM RIGHT) BRENT BOYD

The food truck scene continues to gain speed in Madison. On-On Tacos, Food Fighter Bustaurant, Badd Newz BBQ and Sugar Belle can be found at Blue Pants Brewery, concerts in the parks, Bob Jones High School and local church events. Back Alley Travelling Bistro, HotBox, Pearl: Vietnamese & Hawaiian Subs and I Love Bacon can be found parked in front of Rocket Republic Brewing Co. Check out Facebook to see where to locate them. It’s worth the chase!

Great Things Are Brewing in Madison

Local breweries in Madison are contributing to the new moniker for this area of the state: The Napa Valley of Craft Beer. Blue Pants Brewery was the first to open its doors in Madison. Rocket Republic Brewing Co.’s taproom offers live music, fantastic food truck cuisine and a place to mix, mingle and challenge someone to a ping pong game. Old Black Bear Brewing Co. relocated its production facilities and opened its tap room and restaurant in historic downtown Madison.

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E X P LO R E M A D I S O N

Keeping it Small-Town

Madison’s growth hasn’t diminished its small-town feel! There is no better time to relish in all that is small-town than at the Madison Street Festival. Held annually the 1st weekend in October, more than 20,000 people gather with friends at concert stages, shop booths filled with unique arts & crafts, sample delicious foods, sweets & local craft beer and enjoy all that is quintessentially Madison. Arrive early for the parade…stay late for the fun! madisonstreetfestival.org

Shop ‘Til You Drop

PHOTO: (TOP) CITY OF MADISON

Beef Jerky Outlet and Shoppes of Madison are located on Highway 72. Shoppes of Madison is anchored by Target and includes Kinnucan’s, Shoe Fly Clothing and casual dining opportunities like Pie in the Sky, Smash Burger and Panera Bread. Just west is Medical Park Station with Dunkin Donuts, Pizza 120, Taziki’s and J Whitener Boutique. The Village Shoppes of Madison, on County Line Road, features a Publix, King’s Olive Oil, Tuesday Morning and several other specialty retailers as well as Cork & Crust Pizzeria + Wine Bar.

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E X P LO R E M A D I S O N

Tickle Your Taste Buds

For a fantastic meal, check out Ted’s Bar-B-Q on Madison Boulevard—they offer a wide range of options including ribs, tamales and, of course, barbecue. Looking for something savory? Stop in to the Beef Jerky Outlet and choose from a wide selection of artisan jerkys, spices, rubs and marinades. They also have a wide selection of jams and jellies. Looking for something sweet? Sallie’s Whistle Stop Sweet Shop is sure to please. Another favorite dining spot is Main Street Café in historic downtown Madison. See a complete list of local eateries in Madison in the Madison Dining section of this publication.

Share a Selfie Using #VisitMadisonAL!

PHOTO: (TOP) BRENT BOYD;

Snap a selfie at a Madison hotspot or landmark and share it with #VisitMadisonAL and be entered to win a monthly giveaway. Selfies that are most shared and favorited will be entered into our drawing. If chosen, you could win a gift certificate from an area merchant! Selfie must clearly identify a Madison location to qualify.

to connect Scan this code ng, shopping, to Madison dinid more at events an on.com findmoremadis

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E X P LO R E M A D I S O N

The Gem of Madison

In 1856, tracks were laid by the Memphis and Charleston Railroad Company; families moved into the region for its fertile farm land; merchants were attracted and a business district founded. Even 155 years ago, people knew a good thing when they saw it. Today, the Madison Station Historic District is the iconic and practical heart of Madison; a dining/arts/entertainment district for residents and visitors.

It combines Madison’s Historic Downtown District with historic homes – grand to quaint – which line the streets nearby. New single family homes surrounding the District provide traditional living in a charming setting, walkable to events and businesses in the District.

A Town within a City

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PHOTO: MYRA SAWYER

Work has begun on the first destination live, work and play regional development in the Tennessee Valley. Town Madison, a $400 million, 500-acre development, is conveniently located along the I-565 corridor, stretching from Wall-Triana Highway to Zierdt Road. Retail, restaurants, hotels and office space will be interspersed amongst luxury apartments, townhomes and single family houses. Designed by Andrés Duany, the internationally renowned American architect, urban planner and founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism, Town Madison is being designed in the new Urbanist style with walkable blocks and streets, housing and shopping in close proximity to one another with accessible public recreation and green spaces. The quality of life currently enjoyed in the City of Madison will be enhanced by all that Town Madison will provide.

Explore more at findmoremadison.com

Get Some Fresh Air

Rainbow Mountain Preserve is located off Stoneway Trail, 1.5mile long Loop Trail follows a generally rocky path along the cliff ridge and east side of Rainbow Mountain. It features beautiful rock formations, such as Balance Rock, excellent views of Madison to the west, fossils, caves and a waterfall. Bradford Creek Greenway provides scenic views of the creek and hardwood forests along the banks. The wetland areas support beavers, raccoons and many species of fish and birds. Gain access via Palmer Road, across from Palmer Park, with paved parking adjacent to the east entrance of the park. Mill Creek Greenway can be accessed via Mill Road. Indian Creek Greenway is located on the border of Huntsville and Madison and can be accessed from Old Madison Pike, near the intersection of Slaughter Road.

PHOTOS: MADISON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE;

Burn Some Calories

Dublin Memorial Park located at 8324 Madison Pike is a fantastic place to get in some exercise while you’re in town. The park features a double-court gymnasium equipped for basketball and/or volleyball with an upstairs walking track, 25-yard, eight-lane heated indoor swimming pool, meeting rooms and administrative offices, paved walking trail, nine soccer fields, nine-hole disc golf course, seven tennis courts, community-built playground, outdoor pool with a diving well and children’s pool.

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E X P LO R E M A D I S O N Come Grow With Us!

Starting a business in Madison is a savvy move for anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit. With a highly educated population, outstanding school system, and lower start-up costs, Madison is a nationally recognized location for growth and prosperity.

The Madison Chamber of Commerce is an institution of leadership and an advocate for its members and the community. Take advantage of their extensive marketing support. Utilize the Chamber’s advertising and social media channels to reach new audiences and explore new opportunities.

Sharpen your business skills with the Chamber’s online learning system and attend award winning workshops. Connect with other business owners as you learn.

Participate in community-wide Chamber events, such as Taste the Spirit of Madison, Business Expo & Kids Day, and Connect. Take part in more focused events such as Business After Hours, Best in Business Awards, and ribbon cuttings. Make this investment in your business and watch new doors open.

Choose Madison and grow with us!

Savor our Variety of Flavors

to connect Scan this code ng, shopping, to Madison dinid more at events an on.com nd fi moremadis

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PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE MADISON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Taste the Spirit of Madison Join us for one of Madison’s largest food events! Great for the Madison Chamber and the City of Madison, this festival showcases the best foods and music that Madison has to offer. Each year, thousands of attendees enjoy our famous food-tasting event, featuring delicious samples from over 25 local restaurants and craft breweries. It’s the perfect marriage of food and drink from the trendiest new restaurants and cutting-edge craft breweries to perennial hometown favorites.

No matter what your tastes, there is something for everyone to enjoy at this wonderfully diverse event. Come share our culture with us!

E X P LO R E M A D I S O N Get on Board for Train Spotting!

Celebrate Our Successes With Us! Connect – Annual State of the City Address The annual Connect Event is where it all starts for the City of Madison. Mayor Paul Finley helps the community understand how far we have come as a city and where to focus our energies moving forward to help Madison reach its goals. With every event, the community becomes more fully engaged in refining and sometimes redefining what it means to be a resident of the great city of Madison.

Madison is at once both high-tech and Southern hospitality. It is the fastest growing city in Alabama and the excitement is palpable.

Its energetic community spirit demonstrates change, diversity and growth.

Come join our thriving community during this time of exciting growth and development. Partner with the City of Madison and the Madison Chamber of Commerce to realize your entrepreneurial vision.

Trains on Main Scavenger Hunt Trains on Main is a permanent, 24/7 outdoor scavenger hunt through downtown Madison created by the Madison Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the City of Madison and the Huntsville-Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Participants hunt for 8 bronze trains by utilizing clue cards, available from the Madison Chamber and City Hall. Once train spotters find all 8 trains, they bring their completed clue cards to the Madison Chamber to collect a prize.

The clues, provided by the Madison Station Historical Preservation Society, educate and inform participants about the colorful history of Historic Downtown Madison as they search for the trains.

Families from all over the country have dropped by the Chamber to pick up their prizes and share their experiences.

Come join the Hunt! Stop by the Madison Chamber or City Hall to pick up a clue card or download one from trainsonmain.com.

Learn about our Local Community and Businesses!

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE MADISON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Business Expo and Kids Day An annual event for over 25 years, Business Expo and Kid’s Day is one of the most anticipated gatherings of the year. It is a free, funfilled day for families and a great way to see what our community has to offer.

Over 60 local for-profit and non-profit businesses gather to showcase their products and services to the Madison community.

Participants visit vendor booths and learn more about each organization’s specialty, then grab a bite at one of our many local food trucks onsite for the event. The theme for 2017 was “Under the Big Top”. Kids loved our Midway games and activities, from Dunk Tanks to Strength Testers, as well as face painting, inflatables, and tours of the HEMSI ambulance and Madison Fire Truck. SARTEC’s highly trained search and rescue dogs were also on-hand to interact with attendees.

Business Expo and Kids Day epitomizes our community spirit and gives us all a chance to applaud the City of Madison and each other in day of fun and excitement.

Go EXCURSIONS Mobile at EXCURSIONSGO.com

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Taste the Flavors of Madison From old-fashioned candy shops to upscale bistros and down-home hangouts, Madison restaurants satisfy any appetite.

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DINEMADISON

ANOTHER BROKEN EGG CAFE

GREENBRIER RESTAURANT

LITTLE LIBBY’S CATFISH

SMASHBURGER

7504 Hwy. 72 W, Ste. A1 256.430.5476

27028 Old Hwy 20 256.351.1800

234 Lime Quarry Road 256.772.0191

8135 Hwy 72 W, Ste. C 256.726.0031

BISHOP’S WESTSIDE PUB & GRILL

GROUNDED COFFEE

MADISON HOUSE OF PIZZA

SMOKEY'S BBQ

12120 County Line Road 256.258.9637

8644 Madison Blvd 256.542.3311

8071 Hwy 72 W 256.721.0300

GUADALAJARA MEXICAN

MADISON STATION BAR & GRILL

SAIGON VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT

8572 Madison Blvd 256.774.1401

8694 Madison Blvd 256.325.1333

8760 Madison Blvd 256.772.0202

HARU

MAIN STREET CAFÉ

12110 County Line Road, Ste. A 256.325.1069 BISON’S BAR & GRILL

8020 Madison Blvd 256.772.4477 BRUEGGER’S BAGEL BAKERY

347 Hughes Road 256.258.0880 BUENAVISTA MEXICAN CANTINA

8217 Hwy 72 W 256.837.8226 CASA BLANCA

7830 Hwy 72 W, Ste. 230 256.864.0360 CHUCK WAGON BBQ

8982 Madison Blvd 256.772.5179 CORK & CRUST PIZZERIA + WINE BAR

12120 County Line Road 256.801.9463 CRICKET’S

3810 Sullivan Street 256.464.3777 EDO JAPANESE RESTAURANT

104 Intercom Drive 256.772.0360 FULIN’S ASIAN CUISINE

8141 Hwy 72 W 256.721.7005

8760 Madison Blvd Ste L 256.270.9677 HUNT CLUB BURGERS N GRILL

10871 County Line Rd 256.542.3266 I LOVE SUSHI MADISON

8429 Hwy 72 256.325.8818 INDIA PALACE

7429 Hwy 72 W 256.325.5189 JUICE BAR MADISON

107 Brookridge Dive, Ste. E-1 256.325.43008 LA PLACITA RESTAURANT

401 Hughes Rd #4 256.464.3994 LAWLER’S BARBECUE

•1079 Balch Road 256.217.1767 • 1047 Jeff Road NW 256.830.8200 • 544 Hughes Road 256.772.0590

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101 Main Street 256.461.8096 MANGIA ITALIAN RESTAURANT

SIDELINES PUB & GRUB

7407 Hwy 72 W 256.945.7806 THE STEM & STEIN

2007 Hughes Rd 256.721.7462

10871 County Line Road 256.325.3779

OLD BLACK BEAR BREWING COMPANY

SAKURA JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE

208 Main Street 256.850.4639 PHO 89

7407 Hwy 72 W 256.325.8889

12090 County Line Road 256.233.6955 SALLIE’S WHISTLE STOP SWEET SHOP

PIE IN THE SKY

104 Main Street 256.325.8838

8141 Hwy 72 W 256.722.2112

TED'S BBQ

RUBY TUESDAY

• 7814 Hwy 72 W 256.830.5050 • 110 Tom Thrasher Drive 256.461.8282

8780 Madison Blvd 256.258.9320 TAZIKI'S MEDITERRANEAN CAFE

105 Brookridge Drive Ste. A 256.724.6554

SAFFRON INDIAN RESTAURANT

WILD BILL’S BAR & GRILL

12090 County Line Road, Ste. J 256.233.1085

9076 Madison Blvd 256.772.8514 ❖

SAM & GREG'S PIZZARIA & GELATERIA

364 Hughes Road 256.772.9888

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E X P LO R E M A D I S O N

Local Favorites

N



1 BEEF JERKY OUTLET 2 LITTLE LIBBY’S CATFISH & DINER 3 OLD BLACK BEAR BREWING 4 ROCKET REPUBLIC BREWING CO. 5 THE HUNT CLUB 6 SALLIE’S WHISTLE STOP SWEET SHOP

Madison Area Hotels 1 BAYMONT INN AND SUITES HUNTSVILLE AIRPORT MADISON

HUNTSVILLE BROWNSFERRY RD

2 BEST WESTERN PLUS MADISON-HUNTSVILLE HOTEL 3 COUNTRY INN & SUITES BY CARLSON, MADISON 4 COUNTRY HEARTH INN 5 ECONO LODGE 6 FEDERAL SQUARE INN & EXTENDED STAY 7 FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON HUNTSVILLE AIRPORT

POWELL RD

8 HAMPTON INN MADISON 9 HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS & SUITES HUNTSVILLE WEST - RESEARCH PARK 0 HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS HOTEL & SUITES HUNTSVILLE AIRPORT q LA QUINTA INN & SUITES HUNTSVILLE AIRPORT MADISON w MOTEL 6 HUNTSVILLE - MADISON e QUALITY INN r WYNGATE BY WYNDHAM HOTELS t VALUE PLACE

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Legend

 Parks and Greenways  Municipal Buildings  Schools

MADISON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (MCC)

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The Tennessee River and vertical-lift bridge at sunset. photograph by BRENT BOYD

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Discover Decatur Referred to as The River City by locals, few cities in the south enjoy a connection to the Tennessee River like this one. Farm-to-fork restaurants, a revitalized downtown, a rich history, a thriving arts and cultural community, unique shops for discovering hidden treasures and pure southern charm make this town a destination by many from around the world.

Welcome to Decatur!

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The Union Depot (as it looks today) was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

DECATUR

A Brief History of The River City B Y J O H N A L L I S O N , M O RG A N C O U N T Y A RC H I V I S T P H O T O G R A P H S C O U RT E S Y O F M O RG A N C O U N T Y A RC H I V E S , D E C AT U R , A L A B A M A

D

ecatur, Alabama’s history has been entwined from its beginning with that of the Tennessee River.

The river has sustained the area’s residents with life-giving water and nourishment ever since the first PaleoIndian peoples arrived in the area up to 11,000 years ago. Decatur’s particular location is due to its position at the head of the Muscle Shoals, a rocky area in the river and an obstacle to river traffic in the days before the Tennessee Valley Authority tamed it with a series of dams in the 1930’s.

Early Residents

Archaeological evidence at the quad site on the north bank of the Tennessee River at Decatur indicates that people 72 EXCURSIONS

seasonally camped along the river for thousands of years, hunting, fishing and gathering mussels, a dependable source of food. Many rock shelters and riverfront camp sites and at least one mound were excavated in the Decatur area by WPA workers in the 1930’s. These excavations and others yielded thousands of artifacts, including several types of projectile points unique to the area. After construction at Decatur’s Riverwalk Marina revealed ancient human remains in 1999, local people put up a monument commemorating the site.

The area’s earliest residents in historical time were Cherokee and Chickasaw. These people occasionally clashed over control of the Tennessee Valley but for the most part a truce existed in the sparsely populated

area. No major settlements were recorded in Morgan County during this time, although nearby chiefs exercised great influence over commerce and travel. A series of four Native American interpretive walking trails are being constructed at Point Mallard Park that tell stories of the lives of these early residents of the Decatur area. The Chief Doublehead and Chief Black Fox walking trails, opened in May 2016, highlight the lives of Cherokees. The Chief Big Foot (Creek) and Chief Colbert (Chickasaw) trails will be completed in the next few years.

The Treaty of Turkey Town in 1816 ceded Cherokee rights to the area south of the Tennessee River, and in 1818 the U.S. Government officially opened the land to white settlers for purchase. Some whites

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D E C AT U R H I S TO RY indicative of the promise of wealth in the young community.

The Old State Bank

Decatur Parks and Recreation unveiled four American Indian Interpretive Walking Trails in 2016 to honor Decatur’s Native American history.

known as squatters had already illegally settled on the land. Most Native Americans in the area who remained after white arrival blended into the local population, their heritage passed down through private family oral tradition.

Decatur Established

In 1818 the Alabama Territorial Legislature established Cotaco County, renamed Morgan County after Revolutionary War General Daniel Morgan in 1821. In 1820, entrepreneur Dr. Henry Rhodes began a ferry service at the site of today’s Rhodes Ferry Park in Decatur. Later that year, President James Monroe promoted the establishment of a town at this ferry crossing, at the last consistently navigable point on the Tennessee River above the Muscle Shoals. Tradition holds that the President requested the town be named for U.S. Naval hero Commodore Stephen Decatur, who had died after a duel in March 1820.

Rhodes, along with Jesse Winston Garth, McKinney Holderness, Isaac Lane and George Peck founded the Decatur Land Company. They purchased patents for land and laid out the original plan of the town. Settlement began as new residents bought lots and established businesses in the new river town. The beautiful Palladian-influenced Dancy Polk House, built in 1829 by Col. Francis Dancy, is the oldest standing structure in Decatur and is Go EXCURSIONS Mobile at EXCURSIONSGO.com

Decatur’s most iconic landmark is the Old State Bank. The Greek revival structure was originally built as a branch of the Bank of Alabama. The Alabama General Assembly established the staterun bank system, with other branches in Montgomery and Mobile, in 1830. Its creators hoped that the Bank would be able to provide investors with the capital to spur development and provide a source of revenue for state government. After a brief period of apparent prosperity, flaws in the system were exposed during the nationwide financial panic of 1837.

By 1840 the Decatur Branch had an outstanding debt of one million dollars.

The Bank’s charter was revoked in 1842.

In the years to come the bank served as a private residence, as a hospital during the Civil War, as a boarding house and tavern, as a bank again and as an American Legion hall. The Bank has served as a museum and civic hall since 1934. In 1982, it was restored to its original configuration, including a first floor cashier’s cage and a second floor apartment furnished in the Federal style of the 1830s and 1840s.

Early Railroad in Decatur

In Decatur’s history, the railroads are second only to the Tennessee River in significance. The Tuscumbia, Courtland

and Decatur Railroad was the first rail line west of the Alleghany Mountains.

The brainchild of investor and Lawrence County planter Benjamin Sherrod, the TC & D was designed so that travelers and cargo on the Tennessee River could move easily and dependably around the treacherous Muscle Shoals. The railroad was chartered in 1832 by less than 100 stockholders, most of them prominent planters from Morgan, Lawrence and Colbert Counties. Early progress was slow, but by December 1834 crowds welcomed the “Fulton,” the railroad’s first steam locomotive as it rolled into Decatur from Tuscumbia. The little railroad struggled to turn a profit, but Sherrod stuck with his dream, shoring it up with infusions of capital until his death in 1847.

The TC &D’s most famous passengers were displaced Cherokees on the “Trail of Tears.” A new Alabama Historical Commission marker at Rhodes Ferry Park commemorates the passage of the Ridge, Deas and Whiteley detachments of Cherokee people from Georgia and Tennessee through Decatur in 1837 and 1838. A National Park Service trailhead is also in development that will include narrative panels that explain the history of Cherokee removal, the railroad’s role and the “witness structures” in Decatur that stood in 1838.

The TC & D was incorporated into the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, and in 1855 the first railroad bridge

The Depot as it appeared in 1905

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Union soldiers dig trenches on Bank Street, 1864.

across the Tennessee River at Decatur was completed. The location of this river crossing on the South’s most important rail artery from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Coast added to Decatur’s importance.

By 1860 Decatur was also a terminus of the Nashville and Decatur Railroad, making the River City one of the more important crossroads of rail and river travel in the Southeast. This promising distinction unfortunately led to Decatur’s destruction during the Civil War, as the city changed hands as many as nine times between the Union and Confederate armies.

The Civil War

Decatur’s unique geographic position made it a prime staging location for campaigns during the War. Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston gathered his forces here in March of 1862 before marching to the battle of Shiloh, where he was killed. In April, Union forces under Col. John Turchin took Decatur and burned the strategic railroad bridge.

In 1864, Union troops forced most of the city’s inhabitants to leave so that the city could be fortified to protect one of General Sherman’s crucial supply lines for his Georgia campaign. In the process most of 74 EXCURSIONS

The Civil War exhibit in the Morgan County Archives

the town’s structures were demolished. The Old State Bank, the Burleson-McEntire House, the Dancy-Polk House and a handful of others survived destruction.

In October 1864, John Bell Hood and the Army of Tennessee surrounded Union troops at Decatur. Hood wanted to cross the river at Decatur for a quick route to the Union supply depot at Nashville, but strong Union fortifications and Union gunboats above the Muscle Shoals made an assault on Decatur too costly. Hood lost as many as 500 men assaulting the works at Decatur before heading west. Hood’s delay gave Union forces time to prepare for his arrival in Tennessee, where his army was nearly annihilated at the battles of Franklin and Nashville.

The story of Decatur’s role in the war is dramatically illustrated by a Civil War Walking Trail and by a major exhibit in the Morgan County Archives.

“Boom Times” and the Two Decaturs

Decatur and the surrounding countryside was thoroughly destroyed by the war’s end. After a period of great struggle, the town began to rebound in the 1870s and 1880s with the rebuilding and expansion of the rail lines that passed through the area and the resumption of trade along

the Tennessee River. The Memphis and Charleston rebuilt the railroad bridge in 1866 and later became the Southern Railway. The Nashville and Decatur Railroad was incorporated into the Louisville and Nashville (L&N) in the 1870s and located a massive car repair works at Decatur that employed up to 3,000 workers. The railroad expansion attracted many businesses to Decatur during this period. In 1887, the Decatur Land Improvement and Furnace Company laid out the city of New Decatur, south and east of the old city and contiguous to it. The new development, backed by both Northern and Southern investors, sought to become “The Chicago of the South.”

Modern water, electric and sewer services began to be laid out, along with rail branch lines to factories along the southern bank of the river.

A yellow fever epidemic broke out in 1888, severely limiting new investment and stunting the massive growth that the investors anticipated. An obelisk in the city cemetery honors the doctors who perished treating those afflicted by the epidemic.

Still, the new town’s development was impressive. In spite of many leaders’ efforts to unite the two cities, much animosity developed between them, and residents

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Dedication of the Cherokee Trail of Tears historical marker.

D E C AT U R H I S TO RY

Burleson-Hinds McEntire House The Princess Theatre was built in the 1880s.

Dancy-Polk House

PHOTO:

The Princess Theatre was built in the 1880s.

voted to change the name of New Decatur to Albany in 1916. Many wealthy migrants to New Decatur built stately mansions in the area that is now the nationally registered Albany Historic Neighborhood.

The crown jewel of the neighborhood was a beautiful public green space now known as Delano Park, improved over the years with a dramatic rose garden, gazebo and other features.

Decatur’s railroad growth was accompanied by the construction of three new train depots, one of which remains standing. Decatur’s Union Depot, so named because both the Southern Railway and the L & N boarded passengers there, was built in 1905. The Depot was in operation until 1978. It sat empty from then until 2015 when work began to renovate the space into a railroad museum and offices for the Decatur Police Department.

The railroad also spurred the growth of Old Town, Decatur’s oldest neighborhood, just west of the Union Depot. Old Town was racially integrated, and as the turn of the twentieth century approached it became home to a number of AfricanAmerican owned businesses. Black professionals and business owners joined churches and civic organizations that Go EXCURSIONS Mobile at EXCURSIONSGO.com

Morgan County Archives Building

provided leadership for the Old Town community. A new gateway marker placed on Vine Street at the entrance of the neighborhood tells the stories of this unique neighborhood.

New Decatur’s business district became the commercial heart of the town, with dozens of businesses, restaurants, hotels and theatres. The historic Princess Theatre was originally built in the 1880s as a massive stable, and later converted into a vaudeville theatre and movie house. It was thoroughly remodeled into its current art deco form in 1941.

The two Decaturs were finally united in 1927, as business leaders united to lobby for the location of the “Bee Line Highway” (U.S. 31) bridge at Decatur. The opening of the Keller Memorial Bridge was a major event and cemented Decatur’s importance as a crossroads of water, rail and road travel. Today’s Hudson Memorial Bridge, named for Captain “Steamboat Bill” Hudson is located at the spot of the original bridge, demolished in 1998.

Wild Steamboat Days and the River Tamed The completion of the Muscle Shoals Canal in 1890 increased steamboat travel on the Tennessee River. Legendary Captains like the infamous Simp McGhee

The Old State Bank

made names for themselves on the river and in increasingly wild port towns like Decatur. One of Decatur’s oldest and finest restaurants on Bank Street is named for the captain. Liquor flowed in the bars and gaming houses near the water. Violence often erupted in “Dead Man’s Alley” behind Bank Street between Lafayette and Church. Even after prohibition, bootlegging and speakeasies proliferated.

One local fixture of the vice community was Kate Lackner, a madam who ran a large “sporting house” at the corner of Market St. that entertained customers from the 1880s until the 1940s.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited Decatur in 1932 and declared that poverty in the Tennessee Valley would be a major focus of federal efforts during the “New Deal.” The Tennessee Valley Authority built a series of dams that finally tamed the river and provided hydroelectric power to millions. Decatur billed itself as “the TVA Town” and recruited businesses with the promise of cheap electricity and easy transportation.

Today, Decatur continues to be known as a prime spot for industry, with industries like United Launch Alliance, Daikin America, 3M and many others located along the river. ❖ EXCURSIONS 75

The Old State Bank anchors the historic downtown district

Adventures Await From golf courses to museums and historical sites, Decatur/Morgan County has the perfect agenda for every traveler.

The Old Decatur and Albany Historic Districts of Decatur make up the largest concentration of Victorian era craftsmen and bungalow homes in Alabama. Often referred to as “The Painted Ladies,” some date to the early 1800s, while others were constructed around the turn of the century. Both are listed in the National Register of Historical Places.

A detailed tour map and brochure are available at the Decatur Visitor Center on 6th Ave. • The Old Decatur Historic District embraces over 116-acres with houses ranging in age from 1829 to the

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present. Styles vary from the French-influenced Empire period to the Edwardian Cottage and beyond.

• The New Decatur-Albany Historic District was founded by northern businessmen in the late 1800’s and was named after the New York state capital. le reflects early 20th century trends such as Colonial Revival, California Cottage, Dutch Colonial and Frank Lloyd Wright influences.

Blue & Gray Museum of North Alabama Located at Parhams Civil War Relics on Historic Bank Street, the Blue & Gray contains one

of the country’s largest private collections of Civil War era relics. {723 Bank Street, Decatur.

256.350.4018. Open Mon – Sat, 10 am – 5 pm. After hours group tours can be arranged.

Admission: $5 adults, $3 students, children 4 and under free with adult. rparhamsrelics.com}  Carnegie Visual Arts Center

A not-for-profit organization, the center is a cultural, educational and communityservice organization providing an environment to promote learning, creation and appreciation of the visual arts. It also preserves one of the area’s

historical buildings and serves as a multi-purpose community resource. Check website for latest events. {207 Church Street.

NE, Decatur, 256.341.0562, carnegiearts.org}

Cook Museum of Natural Science The Cook Museum of Natural Science is currently under construction in downtown Decatur.

The new 60,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility will serve the people of North Alabama and the Southeast as an educational destination as well as a premier tourism attraction.

The museum will be an interactive immersion into North American biomes, from deserts

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PHOTO: BRENT BOYD

Alabama’s Largest Victorian Era Historic Districts

D E C AT U R AT T R AC T I O N S Weaponry of a bygone era preserved at the Blue & Gray Museum

Created in 1887, Delano Park features a variety of gardens and sculptures

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Tour Hartselle’s Historic Depot

to oceans, to arctic tundra and hardwood forests. Each exhibit will be a part of a narrative explaining how the natural world works. Key features of the new museum will include: educational programs, live animals and aquariums, mounted wildlife from across North America, collections of rocks minerals, fossils, shells and coral, native plant landscaping, café with outdoor patio, three classrooms, theater and museum store. For more information please visit their website, cookmuseum.org.

Hartselle’s Historic Depot and Downtown Sixty-nine of the buildings in the central business district of Hartselle, including the Hartselle Depot, have been nominated for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places because of their architectural and historic significance.

The Depot, built in 1914, includes Historical displays

provided by the Hartselle Historical Society. The popular downtown shops offer such items as imported Mexican pewter, art work by local artists and craftspersons, linens, soaps and all kinds of antiques, from glassware to large furniture items. {110 Railroad St. SW, Hartselle; 800.294.0692, 256.773.4370; hartsellechamber.com}

Indoor Ice Skating Point Mallard Park offers a regulation-size indoor ice rink.

The rink is open throughout the year with public skate sessions, private parties, basic skill skating lessons, private instructions for the more advanced, youth and adult hockey classes, adult “pick-up” hockey and other cool activities. Within the complex are stadium seating for special events, meeting facilities, a pro shop, arcade games, skate rental room, concession stand, ice rink viewing area, rental lockers and a dressing

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room with showers. Also serves as the home ice for the Point Mallard Ducks, a NA3HL team. {256.341.4910, pointmallardpark.com}

Mooresville This tiny community, located just two miles north of Decatur, is older than the State of Alabama. Formed in 1818, the entire 12 blocks of the oak-lined village is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

President Andrew Johnson worked here while serving as a tailor’s apprentice. Prominent structures include the 1820s Stage Coach Inn and Tavern and the 1840 town post office which remains in use today.

The town was the site of a Walt Disney movie (Tom & Huck) about the adventures of Tom Sawyer. {Off I-565 at Exit #2.

800.648.5381. mooresvilleal.org}

Morgan County Archives Located in the 1927 Tennessee Valley Bank Building in the Bank Street Historical District of Decatur. Holdings total approximately 1,500 cubic feet of archival and manuscript materials including the original estate and guardianship case files, birth and death ledgers, marriage records (1819-1930), tax records dating from the 1920s, county commission records, circuit court records and newspapers. Genealogical materials include census, family histories and bible records.

The Morgan County Archives features two new state-of-theart permanent exhibits on the Scottsboro Boys Trial in Decatur and the Civil War in Morgan County. {624 Bank St. NE, 256.351.4726}

Old State Bank The Old State Bank was one of three banks authorized by The Alabama General Assembly in EXCURSIONS 77

D E C AT U R AT T R AC T I O N S

Free exhibits all year long at Carnegie Visual Arts Center

1832. Few structures can boast as varied a past as the Bank.

Since its construction, the building has weathered two depressions and a Civil War, and has served as a hospital, guardhouse, bank and dance hall. Named to the National Kids are sure to enjoy Register of Historical the talkingPlaces tree atin 1972, the Classic Revival arEarlyWorks. chitecture of the Bank is symbolic of the period in which it was built. The building is decorated with antique pieces from the Federal and Empire period. It is the first stop on the Civil War Walking Tour of Decatur. Founders Park and Daikin Amphitheatre are also located on the Old Bank property. {925 Bank Street NE, 256.341.4818}  Point Mallard Park

Point Mallard is designed to provide family recreation opportunities throughout the year. A 35-acre water theme area (open daily summer 78 EXCURSIONS

Take in a show at the Princess Theatre for Performing Arts

months) offers America’s first Wave Pool, the Duck Pond and Squirt Factory kid’s pools, Lazy River Ride, two new drop slides and more! The Park also features a scenic 18-hole, par 72 championship golf course; a 25-acre wooded campground, the Strike Zone driving range and batting cages, lighted tennis courts, ball fields, a recreation center; amphitheater, and an indoor Ice Skating complex (open year round). Call for seasonal facility hours. {256.341.4900. pointmallardpark.com}  Princess Theatre for the Performing Arts

The Princess began as a livery stable in 1887; was transformed into a vaudeville playhouse named the Princess in 1919; and, following a 1941 face-lift, emerged with the art deco style that remains today and features a brilliantly lit neon marquee. Listed in the

National Register of Historic Places, the 677-seat theatre now serves as Decatur’s performing arts center. {112 Second Ave. NE, Decatur. 256.350.1745. princesstheatre.org}

Union Depot Museum The restored depot links the historic downtown to the city’s oldest neighborhood and to the city’s historic center of its African-American cultural heritage. Today, the museum portion occupies the foyer and west passenger waiting room (for artifact display), a second portion of the same waiting room (theater) and the ticket office (model train display).

The entire loading area has been restored and is open to the public for amazing train watching with the nearest main track only 12 feet from the loading dock. {pin Show Map {701 Railroad St, Decatur}

Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge Established in 1938 as an experimental home for waterfowl, the Refuge encompasses 34,500-acres of preserved woodlands. The Givens Wildlife Interpretive Center serves as the welcome center for the Refuge and is also one of the South’s largest educational centers for waterfowl and wildlife study.

The center features a large glass-enclosed observatory and is open to self-guided tours with displays, pamphlets and wildlife films. The Givens Center is open free to the public daily {Highway 67, 256.350.6639. fws.gov/wheeler}

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PHOTOS: DECATUR/MORGAN COUNTY CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU PHOTO:

Cook Museum of Natural Science coming to Downtown Decatur

TRAILS AND TOURS Point Mallard Indian Interpretive Trail

Decatur, decaturcvb.org The Civil War Walking Tour is located in the Old Decatur and New Albany Historic Districts, just off the southern bank of the Tennessee River near downtown Decatur. Covering 13 blocks, the self-guided walking tour chronicles events surrounding Confederate General John Bell Hood’s attempted advance across the Tennessee River, a four-day battle that took place in October of 1864.

North Alabama Birding Trail Morgan County, decaturcvb.org Decatur-Morgan County is part of the central loop of the North Alabama Birding Trail, which features over 50 designated stations that allow visitors to observe the birds in their native habitats. There are eighteen stations located along the central loop, includ-

Catch a wave at Point Mallard Park

ing eight within the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in Morgan County. The Refuge embraces both banks of the Tennessee River and is home to more than 300 species of birds.

Amen Trail Morgan County, decaturcvb.org The Amen Trail is located in Decatur and throughout

Morgan County. Many of the churches are at least 100 years old, on its original site and still hold services today. This selfguided tour recognizes churches that define the heart of Decatur and Morgan County’s rich and diverse cultural and spiritual heritage. Two of the 19 churches listed on the Amen Trail are also a part of North

PHOTOS: PHOTO: DECATUR/MORGAN COUNTY CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU

Decatur, decaturcvb.org The Point Mallard Indian Interpretive Trail is a 5.5 mile natural walking trail through the wooded areas of Point Mallard Park. Divided into four trails, all connected throughout the park, we honor local Cherokee Chiefs, Doublehead and Black Fox, Creek Chief, Bigfoot and Chickasaw Chief, George Colbert. The Walking Trail will celebrate Indian culture in Morgan County and the Tennessee River area, as well as provide a beautiful walking experience for all to enjoy. The Trail also includes a children’s amphitheater for educational experiences and performers.

Battle for Decatur Civil War Walking Tour

PointMallardEXCURSIONS AD.indd 1

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10/4/16 9:53 AM

EXCURSIONS 79

D E C AT U R AT T R AC T I O N S

Enjoy the visual spectacle of the Alabama Jubillee Hot Air Balloon Classic Memorial Day weekends annually

Alabama’s Hallelujah Trail, which was published in The National Geographic’s Driving Tours of Appalachia.

APPALACHIAN RECREATION— GOLF, FISHING, MARINAS AND MORE

Morgan County is the focal point of all outdoor recreation on the 67,100-acre Wheeler Reservoir (Wheeler Lake) on the Tennessee River. It’s the largest lake in the region, stretching approximately 60 miles. Wheeler Lake is basically a wide river until it flows

through the City of Decatur, after which it widens considerably and takes on more of the appearance and characteristics of an impoundment.

Decatur has played host to many national fishing events, including the Bassmaster Top 150 Tournament, Bassmaster Invitational, Wal-Mart FLW and the Crappie USA National Championship.

Wheeler presents a mixture of deep drop-offs and shallow banks; narrow tributaries and wide open spaces. There is flooded timber, grass beds and seemingly bottomless depths; quiet coves, brushy sloughs and wave-washed cliffs. Wheeler represents the southern most point for the natural habitat of smallmouth bass, making the area home to many lunkers.

Largemouth bass, spotted bass, crappie, stripe and catfish are all popular game fish. Wheeler

Lake is on the Alabama Bass Trail and is considered one of the country’s best fisheries for catfish.

MARINAS Ingalls Harbor 256.341.4930, decaturparks.com The marina is also one of the sites on the Alabama Bass Trail. Includes fishing boat launch, parking and green space suitable for family gatherings and festivals. Future additions include a riverboat docking area, visitors center and Tennessee River Heritage Museum. {701 Market Street, NW. Mile Marker #303.5}

Riverwalk Marina 256.340.9170, decatursports.com Includes private slips and boathouses, public launching ramps, vending area, Hard Dock restaurant, boat sales

C ARNEGIE VISUAL ARTS CENTER Passionately promoting art for all!

• Free Exibits to the public year round • Art on the Street downtown at 3rd Friday’s and Market on Bank from Mar to Oct • Carnegie Carnival Mardi Gras on Feb 10th-Carnival Frolic 13K, Kid’s Parade, Dog Parade, & Evening Parade with over 30 floats 207 Church St. NE Decatur, AL Tue - Fri 10 AM - 5 PM Sat 10 AM - 2 PM 256-341-0562 www.carnegiearts.org

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PHOTOS: PHOTO: DECATUR/MORGAN COUNTY CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU

Please stop by and visit us in historic downtown Decatur. There is always something new and inspiring going on at the Carnegie.

and dockside gas/oil. {Located on the north bank of the Tennessee River on Hwy. 31.

Mile Marker #305}

Brickyard Landing 256.350.1449, brickyardlandingmarina.net Includes 240 dry docks, boat repair, waterfront marina store, dock side gas/oil. No public launch ramp. {Located on the south bank of the Tennessee River on Hwy. 20.

Mile Marker #303.5}

Jay Landings Marina & RV Park 256.350.4722, jaylandingsmarina.com Includes wet-slips, vending, RV sites and public launching for a fee. {Located on the south bank of the Tennessee River on links Hwy.at20.

Mile Hit the an area Marker #302.5} golf course

GOLF COURSES Point Mallard Park - Decatur

PHOTOS: DECATUR/MORGAN COUNTY CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU

Tee times: 256.341.4921, Pro shop: 256.341.4925 Redesigned by South Carolina golf course architect John LaFoy, the course features 18 manicured Tiftdwarf Bermuda greens designed to

United States Golf Association specifications Tee time reservations may be made up to three days in advance and group or company outings are welcome. Recognized as “The Best Public Course to Play” by the Tennessee Valley Golf News and as one of the best three public courses to play in the state by members of the Dixie Section of the Professional Golfers Association of America. Point Mallard golf course facilities include a modern clubhouse with a pro shop, restaurant and shower and restroom areas. Open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas. 15 percent Discount for Senior Citizens.

Cedar Ridge - Decatur 256.353.4653 Rolling terrain and lakes make for a challenging day on this public course. Par 72 link encompasses 18-holes and some 5,913-yards. Open year round.

Quail Creek - Hartselle 256.784.5033, quailcreekgolf.com An 18-hole, par 71 course laid out on 6,007 yards on Nat Key Road. Open year round. ❖

Hone your skills at one of Decatur’s golf courses

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EXCURSIONS 81

S H O P D E C AT U R

Shop Decatur From the most popular national stores to local boutiques, art galleries and antique stores, get your shopping fix in Decatur INDIGO’S

 TENNESSEE VALLEY PECAN CO. 806 Bank Street, 256.353.1880

306 2nd Avenue SE, 256.580.5044

 THE CUPBOARD 504 Bank Street NE, 256.686.4500

KATHLEEN’S FINE ART & INTERIORS

ALBANY FRAMING

221 2nd Avenue SE, 256.355.7226 THE ANTIQUE BASKET

305 2nd Avenue, 256.353.8181 ARTIST WITHIN

409 Bank Street NE, 256.355.8825

BANK STREET ARTS AND ANTIQUES

818 Bank Street NE, 256.353.6505 BEHIND THE GLASS

714 Bank Street NE, 256.351.2333 CLOUD 9

THE PAPER CHASE

209-B 2nd Avenue, 256.345.6348

706 Bank Street, 256.355.8993

JAR & COMPANY

THE SASSY OWL BOUTIQUE

211 2nd Avenue SE, 256.355.7616

LITTLE FEET BOUTIQUE

312 2nd Avenue 256.580.5103

DECATUR SHOPPING ACADEMY SPORTS & OUTDOORS

LOCAL COLOR ART HOUSE & STUDIOS

APPLE LANE FARMS

MEL’S SWEET TREATS

401 14th St SE Suite 4D, 256.560.0910 MICHAEL MASON BRIDAL

719 Bank Street NE, 256.340.8898

MIRANDA ALEXANDER INTERIORS

1205 Wimberly Drive SW, 256.340.7800

CHELDEN’S GIFT EMPORIUM

SPROUTS

1111 Corsbie Street SE, 256.340.1116

CRICKET BY THE CREEK

HOLLY’S

206 2nd Avenue, 256.301.3013

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502 Bank Street NE, 256.306.0007

MARTIN’S FAMILY CLOTHING

1241 Point Mallard Pkwy SE, Ste 301 256.353.7300

MORGAN PRICE CANDY COMPANY TAMMY EDDY ANTIQUES AND INTERIORS

2019 6th Avenue SE, Ste. 4, 256.350.3977

1820 6th Avenue SE, 256.308.0490

COTTAGE HOUSE

707 Bank Street NE, 256.355.4533

1820-O 6th Avenue SE, 256.353.1394

LYNN’S HALLMARK SHOP

BIG LOTS

712 Bank Street, 256.686.2099

GLEE INTERIORS

2407 6th Avenue SE, 256.355.7401

2150 Beltline Rd SW, 256.350.2812

THE COMIC SHOP

1735 6th Ave SE, 256.350.2992

KOHL’S

23027 US HWY 20, Tanner, AL 35671 256.351.7803

708 Bank Street NE 256.355.6941

719 Bank Street NE, 256.306.9892

1241 Point Mallard Pwky SE, 256.353.2242

LEE’S SHOES, BOOTS & CLOTHING

710 Bank Street NE, 256.355.0332 704 Bank Street, 256.686.1609

KIRKLAND’S

1815 6th Avenue SE, 256.351.0225 1517 6th Avenue SE, 256.350.9963

HOBBY LOBBY

OLD NAVY

1113 Corsbie Street SE, 256.353.0305

STAPLES

817 Beltine Road SW, 256.353.0373 TARGET

1235 Point Mallard Pkwy SE 256.898.3036 ❖

303-A Beltline Place SW, 256.353.1998

JIMMY SMITH JEWELERS

PHOTO:

DOWNTOWN DECATUR

2036 6th Ave SE, 256.353.2512

Explore more at decaturcvb.org

Ginger Cobl

REVOL

Owner

WÜSTHOF

504 Bank Street NE Decatur, AL 35601 tel: 256-686-4500 gcobl@hotmail.com http://ShopTheCupboard.com

DECATUR FAVORITE

STAUB

YUMMY STUFF

POTTERY

FOR HER

FOR HIM

FOR EVERYONE

Tennessee Valley Pecan Co. 806 Bank Street, Decatur, AL 35601 256.353.1880 tnvalleypecan.com Founded in 1942, Tennessee Valley Pecan Company is a small town business that operates from the historic business district of Decatur, Alabama.

Tennessee Valley Pecan Co. provides unique pecan gifts for holidays, social events, special occasions or for a personal reward.

Stop in and shop for plain pecans, toasted pecans, candied pecans, gift tins and gift baskets while enjoying some of our famous Bushytail Coffees and pastries. So delicious, with 70 plus years in business, Tennessee Valley Pecan Co. is the choice of southern kitchens everywhere.

Order from them online, too!

See their mobile profile at EXCURSIONSGO.COM to view their Facebook page, get directions, hours, link to their website and more.

@tnvalleypecan

Denotes our sponsors—see their mobile profiles at EXCURSIONSGO.com

International Brands and Unique Finds for the Discerning Chef to Cooking Enthusiasts and Everyone in Between.

Trunk Shows with Product Representatives Cooking Demonstrations with Celebrity Chefs

The Cupboard 504 Bank Street NE, Decatur, AL 35601 256.686.4500 shopthecupboard.com @shopthecupboard

EXCURSIONS 83

Out and About in Decatur From farm-to-fork fine dining and upscale bistros in historic downtown to down-home hangouts on the river, Decatur delivers on flavor and atmosphere.

84 EXCURSIONS

Explore more at decaturcvb.org

Simp McGhee's

DECATUR FAVORITE

Simp McGhee’s 725 Bank Street NW, Decatur, AL 35601 256.353.6284 simpmcghees.com @simpmcghees

Fine Dining with a Cajun Twist RESTAURANTS  BANK STREET GRILL

719 Bank St, NE 256.686.4202  MOE’S BAR B QUE

202 E. Moulton Street, Ste C 256.686.4112  SIMP MCGHEE’S

725 Bank Street NW 256.353.6284  THE RAILYARD

209 2nd Ave SE 256.580.5707

PHOTO: (OPPOSITE) BRENT BOYD

ALFONSO’S PIZZA

BB PERRINS BARBECUE

608 Holly Street NE 256.355.1045 BIG BOB GIBSON’S BAR.B.Q

1715 6th Ave SE 256.350.6969 CAFE D AZURE

2216 Kooken Ave 256.355.4806 CAHOOTS

117 Main St W, Hartselle 256.751.4723 CAMINO REAL

2504 6th Ave NE, 56.353.6727 CANTON HOUSE

2400 6th Ave SE 256.350.0211

609 14th Street SE 256.350.8868

ARD'S SEAFOOD MARKET

CASA SANTIAGO

1216 Beltline Rd 256.301.4600

2812 Spring Ave SW 256.552.9499

AUNTIE ANNE’S

C F PENN HAMBURGERS

1801 Beltline Rd SW 256.393.2559

121 E Moulton Street 256.355.0513

Denotes our sponsors—see their mobile profiles at EXCURSIONSGO.com

There are many tales told of Simp McGhee, the infamous river boat captain of Decatur at the turn-of-the-century.

His boisterous ways, unconventional operations and blustering manner made him a most picturesque legend of the Tennessee River.

Nestled into a corner of historic Bank Street, just a stone’s throw from the Tennessee River, lies the heart of fine dining in Decatur. Simp McGhee’s exudes old-fashioned charm while offering fresh Cajun seafood and beef selections sure to please all palates.

Enjoy live music and their rustic historical atmosphere while you dine or relax. You may also dine under the stars on their pet-friendly sidewalk café.

HOURS OF OPERATION: Mon - Thu 5 pm - 9 pm Fri - Sat 5 pm - 9:30 pm; Sun closed View their mobile profile at EXCURSIONSGO.com

On the Menu (changes seasonally) Appetizers: Crawfish Eggrolls, Matt’s Tuna Tartar, Mushroom Caps, Fried Green Beans Dinner Entrees: Crystal Shrimp, Tenderloin Au Poivre, Maple Leaf Farms Duck (pictured), Filet Mignon (pictured) Desserts: Derby Pie (pictured) and others

EXCURSIONS 85

O U T&A B O U T D E C AT U R

3rd Fridays Downtown 3rd Fridays Downtown (March through October) offer an opportunity for the community to gather in the Historic Downtown Decatur District to learn the history of the city, support local merchants and enjoy diverse forms of entertainment. photograph by BRENT BOYD

86 EXCURSIONS

See a complete events calendar at EXCURSIONSGO.com

The Railyard

DECATUR FAVORITE

The Railyard 209 2nd Avenue SE, Decatur, AL 35601 256.580.5707 therailyarddecatur.com @therailyarddecatur

CHONGWAH EXPRESS

GUADALAJARA GRILL

1801 Beltline Rd SW 256.341.0440

1801 Beltline Rd SW 256.301.9991

CITY CAFÉ

GYRO UNO

101 1st Ave SE 256.353.9719

324 2nd AVe SE 256.686.4100

CORNER CAFÉ

JAVA JAAY COFFEE HOUSE

1123 Somerville Rd SE 256.822.1414

1713 6th Ave SE 256.351.8555

CURRY’S

JW STEAKHOUSE

115 Johnston Street SE 256.350.6715

45 Marco Dr 256.355.5560

, DOWNTOWN DAWGS

K MAY DOUGHNUTS

119 E Moulton Street 256.227.3575

1815 6th Ave SE 256.686.2240

FRANCESCO’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT

LA CASITA MEXICAN RESTAURANT

2613 Highway 31 S. 256.584.6770

620 AL Hwy 67 256.580.5609

FULIN’S ASIAN CUISINE

LA HACIENDA

1241 Point Mallard Pkwy SW 256.355.3588

1000 Beltline Rd SW 256.552.7772

GREEN LEAF THAI BISTRO

LAS VIAS

1614 Beltline Rd SW 256.686.0777

2224 6th Ave SE 256.686.3344

Denotes our sponsors—see their mobile profiles at EXCURSIONSGO.com

Friendly, Casual Dining at Its Best The Railyard is Downtown Decatur’s hottest spot for delicious food, craft beer, craft cocktails and great times.

Featuring farm-to-fork southern comfort food creations by Chef Bill Harden.

Owner, Tyler Jones, brings his love and knowledge of the local history back to the heart of historic downtown Decatur.

The blending of great food and historic atmosphere creates a truly one of a kind tavern that will quickly become your favorite spot to frequent in Decatur, Alabama.

HOURS OF OPERATION: Everyday 11 am - 9 pm View their mobile profile at EXCURSIONSGO.com

On the Menu (changes seasonally) Appetizers: Bourbon Glazed Pork Belly Bites, Charcuterie Board, Stuffed Jalapenos, Cheese Fritters Lunch Entrees: Tennessee Valley BBQ Shrimp & Grits, Chorizo Meatloaf, Short Rib Pasta, Grilled Grouper Dinner Entrees: Grilled Venison, Roasted Quail, Balsamic Glazed Scallops, Coffee Rubbed N.Y. Strip

EXCURSIONS 87

O U T&A B O U T D E C AT U R

Bank Street Grill

Moe's Bar B Que

LET’S DO LUNCH

THE BRICK DELI

BUFFALO WILD WINGS

SMOKEY C’S BAR-B-QUE & WINGS

435 Holly Street NE 256.340.1317

112 E Moulton Street 256.355.8318

945 Wimberly Dr. SW 256.301.5454

3075 Hwy 20, Priceville 256.353.7787

LUCCIA'S COCINA MEXICANA

TIO JUAN MEXICAN GRILL

EDDIE’S OLD TOWN SOCIAL

THE BRICK DELI & TAVERN

1702 Beltline Rd SW 256.560.2476

1318 6th Ave SE 256.306.9992

109 2nd Ave NE 256.686.2005

112 E Moulton Street 256.355.8318

MELLOW MUSHROOM

TWIST GRILL & BAR

GENO'S PUB

THE GRIDIRON

202 E Moulton Street 256.355.5161

1101 6th Ave NE 256.355.3150

1015 6th Ave SE. 256.355.9998

103 2nd Ave. SE 256.351.7300

MI HACIENDA

VITTONE’S

HARD DOCK

404 6th Ave NE 256.353.3233

109 2nd Ave NE 256.686.2828

3755 US Highway 31 256.340.9234

YNOT'S WATERING HOLE

MINNIE LEE’S SOUL FOOD CAFÉ

WHISK’D CAFÉ

107 2nd Ave NE 256.445.7001

1051 Grant Street SE 256.580.5909

HIGHWAY 67 ROADHOUSE

NASH BBQ

WHITTS BARBECUE

1203 Courtyard Cir 256.260.0512

2532 Spring Ave SW 256.350.2748

ROOSTERS

1820 6th Ave SE 256.350.0886

BARS & GRILLS

TAQUERIA EL PALOMINO

6 POCKETS BILLIARDS

1410 6th AVe SE 256.355.4464

1819 Bassett Ave SE 256.686.3171

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2941 Point Mallard Pwky SE, Ste. V, 256.308.1045 O’CHARLEY’S RESTAURANT & BAR

2148 Beltline Rd. SW 256.355.0505

3417 US Hwy 31 256.560.5146

SPECIALTY SHOPS MORGAN PRICE CANDY COMPANY

1735 6th Ave SE 256.350.2992

SAM'S SPORTS GRILL

1208 Beltline Rd SW 256.686.4111 SHORTY'S BAR & GRILL

MEL’S SWEET TREATS

401 14th St SE Suite 4D 256.560.0910❖

1313 Point Mallard Pkwy, 256.432.0401

Explore more at decaturcvb.org

DECATUR FAVORITE DECATUR FAVORITE

Bank Street Grill 719 Bank Street NE, Decatur, Alabama 256.686.4202

Moe’s Original Bar B Que 202 Moulton St E, Decatur AL 35601 256.6864112 moesoriginalbbq.com @mobdecatur

@BankStreetGrill

A Southern Soul Food Revival

A New Vibe in Historic Downtown Bank Street Grill is a popular spot for locals who enjoy great food, great service and a warm and cozy place to relax and visit with friends. Dine in or out on their patio and enjoy live music. They take great pride in their handcut steaks and grind their own beef for their 100% all-beef burgers. Select from their vast collection of premium bourbons or wines by the bottle or glass while nibbling on one of their award-winning appetizers.

The owner and staff are proud of their reviews and rating on Facebook and aim to make everyone feel right at home.

View their mobile profile at EXCURSIONSGO.com

On the Menu Appetizers: Asian Fried Shrimp, Seared Tuna, Golden Fried Cheese Curds Deep Fried Reuben Rolls, Chicken Wings Entrees: 8 oz. Filet Mignon, 16 oz. Ribeye, 8 oz. Tuna Steak, 8 oz. Salmon Steak, 8 oz. Chilean Sea Bass Burgers & Wraps: 1/2 lb Burgers grilled to order, Grilled Chicken Breast Sandwiches, Grilled Chicken and Shrimp Wraps, Po-Boy’s and much more!

Denotes our sponsors—see their mobile profiles at EXCURSIONSGO.com

Moe’s Original Bar B Que serves up an award-winning, all-things-southern, BBQ experience. Our fast-casual eatery and catering company offers Moe’s award-winning Bamastyle BBQ offerings including pulled pork, ribs, wings, chicken and turkey in addition to catfish and a Shrimp Moe-Boy sandwich, not to mention an array of southern sides prepared fresh daily. The full premium bar serves frozen concoctions including the famous Bushwacker, southern-style cocktails, wine and plenty of craft beers on tap. Large party takeout orders and full-service catering with delivery are also available.

HOURS OF OPERATION: Mon - Wed 11 am - 12 am Thu - Sat 11 am - 2 am; Sun 12 pm - 8 pm View their mobile profile at EXCURSIONSGO.com

On the Menu Redneck Nachos: House fried tortilla chips, queso, choice of meat with red sauce, white sauce onion, tomatoes and jalapeños.

Stuffed Potatoes: Baked potato with butter, cheese, choice of meat, topped with red sauce, white sauce and green onions.

Sundays: Kids under the age of 10 EAT FOR FREE!

EXCURSIONS 89

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Decatur Favorites 1 BANK STREET GRILL 719 Bank St, NE 256.686.4202 2 CARNEGIE VISUAL ARTS CENTER 207 Church Street NE, 256.341.0562

90 EXCURSIONS

3 DECATUR VISITOR CENTER 719 6th Ave SE 256.350.2028 4 MOE’S BAR B QUE 202 E. Moulton Street, Ste C 256.686.4112 POINT MALLARD PARK Located on large map to right 2901 Point Mallard Drive SE 256.341.4900

5 PRINCESS THEATRE CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS 112 2nd Ave NE 256.350.1745 6 SIMP MCGHEE’S 725 Bank Street NW 256.353.6284

8 THE CUPBOARD 504 Bank Street NE 256.686.4500 9 THE RAILYARD 209 2nd Ave SE 256.580.5707

7 TENNESSEE VALLEY PECAN CO. 806 Bank Street NE 855.353.1880

Explore more at decaturcvb.org and on Facebook and Instragram @decaturcvb

Decatur/Morgan County Area Map

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For more information, see decaturcvb.org and

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Attractions and Historic Districts

7 INGALLS HARBOR/PAVILION 802-A Wilson St NW

1 ALBANY HISTORIC DISTRICT

8 MORGAN COUNTY ARCHIVES 624 Bank St. NE

2 BLUE & GRAY MUSEUM OF NORTH AL 723 Bank St.

9 NORTH ALABAMA BIRDING TRAIL 3121 Visitors Center Rd

3 CIVIL WAR WALKING TOUR 925 Bank St. NE

0 OLD DECATUR HISTORIC DISTRICT

4 COOK’S NATURAL SCIENCE MUSEUM 133 4th Ave NE 5 DELANO PARK & SPLASH PAD 825 Gordon Dr SE

q OLD STATE BANK 925 Bank St. NE w WHEELER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE 3121 Visitors Center Rd

6 HARTSELLE’S HISTORIC DEPOT 110 Railroad St. SW

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Accommodations See map to left for the following:  DOUBLETREE BY HILTON DECATUR RIVERFRONT

 MOTEL 6  STUDIO 9

See map above for the following: 1 AMERICAN INN 2 BEST WESTERN RIVER CITY HOTEL 3 BAYMONT INN & SUITES 4 COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT 5 HAMPTON INN 6 HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS 7 IN TOWN SUITES EXTENDED STAY 8 QUALITY INN 9 LAQUINTA INN 0 MAGNOLIA MOTEL

q MICROTEL INN & SUITES w NITEFALL MOTEL e ECONO LODGE r STAY LODGE EXTENDED STAY t BUDGET INN y COMFORT INN u DAYS INN i SUPER 8 MOTEL o RED ROOF INN p EXPRESS INN a LACON MOTEL s QUAIL CREEK GOLF RESORT d POINT MALLARD PARK & CAMPGROUND

f HOME 2 SUITES BY HILTON g RESIDENCE INN (opens 2018) EXCURSIONS 91

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