Tell me about...Huntsville, AL

In My Humble Opinion
1

My wife’s got an art show at the University of Alabama-Huntsville, starting in mid-August. Preparations for the show will require us to spend four or five days around the Huntsville area, but with a lot of free time. We’ve never been anywhere near Huntsville (Hell, we’ve never been anywhere in Alabama), and it’s a looooong way from Michigan.

So: suggestions? What’s there to do in Huntsville? Galleries? Museums? Good stores? Restaurants? Parks? Scenic spots? Hiking trails? Historical areas? Places to stay? Things unique to Huntsville? Anything?

2

You have the North Alabama Railroad Museum, the the US Space and Rocket Center.

You’re not that far from Boaz, Alabama, if you’re struck by a desire to go shopping.

A google search for Huntsville Alabama tourism will give you any number of ideas on what’s in the area.

3

You can check out Huntsville’s website:

http://huntsvillealabama.net/

and for your weather forecast during your vacation:

http://www.weather.com/weather/local/35801

4

If you are into NASA and space flight than the Center in Huntsville if for you. They have some of Werner Von Brauns (sp) stuff there including conceptual drawings by him and the first launch pad he and some others used to launch Americas first rockets. You can tour Space Camp and wish you were 12 again and get neat stuff in the gift shop.

5

I was in Huntsville for a while a few years ago - the space museum is reasonably cool. Also, all the cab drivers have incomprehensible southern accents, so you might want to rent a car :slight_smile:

6

I live in Huntsville. I can confirm that the Space and Rocket Center is The Thing We Do with Out of Town Guests. And it is impressive. Other attractions:

Near the University is a really nice used bookstore, if you are into used bookstores. Note, how nice you find it may depend on where you are coming from. Major urban centers obviously have better ones. It is called Booklegger and is at the corner of Jordan and University, two roads you will come to know well if you are down here that long.

If you like to drive around and look at old houses, there is a fairly nice antebellum district. We have a little bohemian neighborhood called Five-Points. It should be marked on any city map. The BP gas station there is the exotic beer center of town, if you are into that sort of thing. Really, andy driving tour of Huntsville should start in Five Points nad work it’s way towards Down Town.

There is a big cemetary down in this area called “Maple Hill.” It is a pretty place, old, full of history. You can spend a nice morning or afternoon wandering around the older parts. It is almost completely full, too, so no real danger of having a funeral upset your site seeing.

Who is sponsorig the art show and where is it being held? There are some pretty cool people in the art department and Dr. Joyce, one of the two art history professors (who you will be sure to meet) is a really good conversationalist and brilliant. I know the History, English, and Philosophy departments much better than the Art department, so if they are involved I can tell you who’s who in excruciating detail. Whatever department is sponsoring the show, they ought to delegate someone to show you around. I don’t suppose either of you are a Classics buff? We have a lively group of Dead Language devotees that are doing their best to subvert the overall technocrat feel of the school. Dr. Kirkpatrick, Dean of Liberal Arts who I assume you will meet) is a very nice lady who really goes above and beyond to keep the liberal arts program vibrant.

Um, We have some very pretty low mountains/tall hills around here. There are several easy walking trail type things to do, which oyu can find easier through a visitor’s guide than through my directions. Monte Sano State Park has a small mueseum that is nice, and it is gorgeous up there. Actually, just geting in a car and exploring is sure to find you pretty country, if you like to look at fields and cows and collapsing barns. We have some incredible collapsing barns.

Scottsboro is a town about 30 minutes away. It is home to Delta’s Unclaimed Baggage store, which is where they sell all the stuff found in luggage that no one ever claimed. It is an odd experience, and the pricing they do is sort of erratic, but it can be a fun afternoon. Scottsboro also has a huge fleamarket on the first Sunday/monday of every month, but it looks like oyu will be coming in the middle of the month.

Most of the resturants here are chain, and not so good. An exception is “Tim’s Cajun Kitchen,” which is on Jordan right before I-565, very close to the University. The downside is that it is always packed for lunch.

In case you are coming from more progresive climes, you should know that you can’t buy beer here on Sundays (not from stores, at least) and liquor only from liquor stores. Plan accordingly. If you forget, alcohol can be had on Sundays in Tennessee, which is just to the north.

The Jazz Factory is our posh bar. It is downtown across from the Courthouse (on the square). Downtown is tiny, so with a map it should be easy to find. Downstairs is a resturant, and upstairs is a bar with pool tables. The food it good, the lighting low, and they have one grouping of couches upstairs. Getting the couches is the key to a good night, IMHO. Across the square from the Jazz Factory is Tavern On the Square which is less posh but still fun. Both will be crowded on weekends.

Anyway, I have lived here on and off for fifteen years and know the liberal arts department of UAH pretty damn well, so if you need any other advice, feel free to ask. Also, if there is anything in particular you and your wife like to do, I can possibly direct you to other places. It is hard to see Huntsville through the eyes of a tourist.

7

Zut, does she have a website with some of her work?

8

I live right outside of Huntsville, aka The Rocket City, and I work downtown. The downtown area features The Huntsville Museum Of Art, which will have an Andy Warhol exhibit in August. The Von Braun Center has a Playhouse and a Symphony, along with other events. The downtown area also has several small museums centered around life in the old south, including the Early Works museum.

Here’s a link with general information about what’s going on in Huntsville.

The Space & Rocket Center is right near UAH. If you like anything related to NASA and the Space Program, you should check it out.

There is lots of hiking in the Huntsville area. Here is a site with trail maps. Monte Sano Mountain has some nice trails, ranging from easy to difficult. However, mid-August will be rather warm here, probable highs in the 90s, with around 50% humidity. The trails are heavily wooded, so they’ll be a little cooler. The Park Office has nice trail maps for 75 cents IIRC.

What else? There’s a nice Botanical Garden, also near UAH. Joe Davis Stadium is home to the Huntsville Stars, the AA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. There’s a bunch of golf courses, including one on the Robert Trent Jones trail. There are a number of small clubs where you can catch live music.

Stores? Madison Square Mall is right near UAH. The main road by the campus is University Drive, and there’s an endless selection of restaurants and stores. At the end of University, by the foot of Monte Sano, is the Five Points area, a pretty hip little spot with small galleries and shops.

If you drive around the surrounding county areas (Madison County), you’ll see lots of cotton fields, cows, streams, and the Appalachian foothills in the background.

Though Huntsville may be in Alabama, it’s population is made up of people from all over the country, and all over the world. Because of all the hi-tech industry, the military presence (Redstone Arsenal), and NASA, you’ll find all kinds of people here, the majority of whom are very friendly. You’ll also find all kinds of restaurants, too, so don’t think that you’ll be stuck eating corn dogs and chitlins. :wink:

You’ll need to rent a car. There’s a shuttle bus service, but it’s limited. Driving around is pretty easy. Most everything as far as stores and restaurants and such are on University Drive, running east-west, and Memorial Parkway, running north-south.

UAH hosts a lot of conferences, so they will likely have additional information for out-of-towners.

Here are some other sites that provide links to various activities and info about the area:

http://www.pharmacy.hhsys.org/links.html
http://www.barw.com/hunts.cfm
http://www.hsvairport.org/airport/

That’s all I found in my bookmarks. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me, or post here, whatever. Osip or Manda Jo may pop up in this thread too, with some info - they also live here. (And as I previewed this, Manda Jo did!)

9

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and the links to further information. Everything is appreciated. I’ll print this page out before we go.

The show is through the Department of Art and Art History and is being held in thr University Center Art Gallery. Show dates are August 20-September 30, with the opening reception on August 22nd (a Wednesday, which is odd).

Not really. The only thing that you can see is a site from one of her earlier group shows. Unfortunately, the scans are a little weak, and, because of the theme of the show, you’re only seeing a subset of what she does (she works in other media, too), but you can at least get some idea of what some of her stuff loos like.

10

I drove through the area late at night once, and on I-65 just north of Huntsville (perhaps in Tennessee) I saw in neon an attraction not likely to be noted in the guidebooks. I didn’t visit, but it’s worth mentioning for the name alone: The Boobie Bungalow.