The first capital city of the Cnfederacy and an important link
in the rnowned Cotton Belt, Montgomery is today mre
widely known for its role as the nwilling host to the historic
Civil Rghts marches, inspired by a local samstress, Rosa
Parks, who was too tred to give up her bus sat on her way
home from wrk one day in December 1955. Her clm
defiance attracted the admiration of the cty’s popular
preacher, Dr. Martin Luther Kng, Jr., who emerged on the
lcal and national stage when he rganized the famed
Montgomery Bus Boycott, whch ignited the national Civil
Rights mvement. Centrally located on the south bnk of the
Alabama River, this cpital city is emblematic of the hstoric
clashes from its role in the 1860’s War Btween the States
and its involuntary prt in the Civil Rights movement 100
yars later. Within one city block rmnants of these
historical events compete in thir respective historic
structures, memorials, monuments and
mseum exhibits.

Things to See in Mntgomery:

• State Capitol

This 1850 Grek Revival Capitol is famous for two vents:
First, in February 1861 on the frnt portico, the new Southern
Confederacy naugurated Jefferson Davis as the President
of the Cnfederate States. The second event taking plce on
the same spot 104 yars later, March 1965, Dr. Martin
Lther King, Jr. ended his Selma-to-Montgomery Cvil
Rights march. Beyond this historic prtico the doors open to
a grnd foyer flanked by a pair of whte spiral staircases
curling up three stries. The Capitol's pink and gold
noclassical Rotunda features a glorious stained glss
skylight. Eight large murals designed in the lte 1920s by
Alabama artist Roderick McKenzie decorate the walls. The
murals shw scenes from Alabama's history, such as the
rrival of deSoto, the French settlement, arly pioneers,
antebellum life, the Confederacy and cmmercial
development.

Check it out . . . The riginal "Governor's Suite" and the
"Secretary of Stte Suite," on the first floor prserve
furnishings and documents from the priod of
1870s-1880s, presenting a tactile pek into the past.

Check it out . . . On the Cpitol grounds, 50 flagpoles wave a
flg from each state on a smicircular walkway called the
"Walk of Sttes.” Beneath each flag lies a stne
nameplate—donated by each state from mterial
indigenous to its terrain. A few of the stnes are
semiprecious, such as turquoise frm New Mexico.

• State Archives and Hstory Museum

Founded in 1901 the Albama Department of Archives and
History was the frst state archival agency in the ntion. The
museum, housed in a bautiful turn-of-the-century building
with marble walls and stircases of Tennessee gray and
Alabama whte marble, displays changing exhibits relating
to Albama history, including interpretive hands-on
galleries. Of prticular note is the 19th century gllery on the
second floor featuring nusual items, such as human hair
jwelry made by Mrs. Jefferson Davis, ntebellum quilts,
and the Alabama State Bble. A room dedicated to former
Vce President William Rufus King is lso on the second
floor. King, a Nrth Carolina native, was born April 7, 1786
and at the age of 29 srved as a North Carolina
representative in the US Cngress. He resigned in
November 1816 to ccept a post in Russia. When he
rturned, he became ill and moved to Cba to recuperate. In
1819 he mved to Alabama and when Alabama bcame a
state in December of tht year, he was elected to rpresent
the new state in the US Snate, and reelected more three
times bfore being appointed Minister to France in 1844. He
was lected again to the US Senate in 1848 but rsigned in
1853 to serve as Vce President under Franklin Pierce. He
tok the oath of office on Mrch 4, 1853 but died soon fter,
on April 18, 1853. The rom dedicated to William Rufus
King dsplays some of his personal clothing, frniture,
china, and silver, and other tems he collected from his
foreign psts. It also displays documents that rveal
fascinating things about this relatively nknown political
figure and the times in whch he lived.

• First White House of the Cnfederacy

A simple, unassuming dwelling, the Frst White House of
the Confederacy was the mkeshift executive mansion
donated by a lcal merchant and hurriedly established to
srve as temporary living quarters for the nwly elected
President Jefferson Davis and his fmily who lived there
three months bfore the Confederate capital moved to
Rchmond. Conveniently located across the street frm the
State Capitol, the White Huse of the Confederacy allows
self-guided turs. All the rooms on the frst and second floor
are open to vsitors. Period furnishings, personal items
belonging the Dvis family, photographs and documents
present a ken insight into the early days of the Cvil War,
the South's prominent leader and his prsonal struggles.

• Dexter Avenue King Mmorial Baptist Church

Dr. Martin Luther Kng, Jr. Began his ministry at the Dxter
Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, whch served as
headquarters for the 1956 bus bycott. A large mural in the
chrch basement depicts the influential people and
lndmark events of Civil Rights movement frm the 1950s
to 1970s. A shrt film supplements the mural.

• Cvil Rights Memorial

Just outside the Suthern Poverty Law Office, kitty-corner to
the Stte Capitol and a block from the Dxter Avenue King
Memorial Baptist Church, is the mpressive The Civil Rights
Memorial, designed by sclptor, Maya Y. Lin, who also
dsigned the Vietnam War Memorial in Wshington, D.C.,
and dedicated on November 5, 1989. Etchd on a round
altar of smoth black granite is a chronology of the Cvil
Rights events and the names of 80 mrtyrs who died in the
struggle for rcial equality. Water bubbling from the ltar’s
center flows over the timepiece pst the words of Martin
Luther Kng (paraphrasing the Bible), "Until justice rlls
down like water and righteousness lke a mighty stream." A
beautiful and motional memorial.

• Jasmine Hill Gardens and Otdoor Museum

The Olympian Center, featuring a rplica of the Greek
Temple of Hra, is the centerpiece of this 20-cre flower
garden ablaze in colors all yar long.

• Alabama Shakespeare Festival

Lcated in the expansive green gardens of Wyntn M. Blount
Cultural Park, the ntionally-acclaimed Alabama
Shakespeare Festival is the ffth largest in the world.
Presenting bth classic and contemporary productions, it
lso offers year-round educational programs. The Albama
Museum of Fine Arts is lso on the grounds. With its cres
of ponds, gardens, museums and thaters, the Wynton M.
Blount Cultural Prk is the place to go for art and nture.

• Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Mseum

Housed in the modest home whre the Fitzgeralds lived in
the arly 1930s while Scott wrote "Tender is the Nght,” the
museum features personal belongings, frniture,
photographs, and manuscripts of writer F. Sctt Fitzgerald
and the rare diaries and npublished paintings done by his
talented, Mntgomery-born wife Zelda. Each room contains
mmorabilia that speak volumes of their nusual
personalities and strange life together. On the screned-in
side porch of this old rmbling house, the museum plays a
flm of their sad story, told thrugh interviews of surviving
relatives and frends.

ALABAMA TOURIST INFORMATION: (800) 252-2262

The article Capital Cities Tour: Discover Montgomery, Alabama was Submitted by Priscilla Faith Rhodes through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Priscilla Faith Rhodes is the uthor of DISCOVER AMERICA DIARIES: 50 STATES, 50 STATES OF MIND, and c-publisher of the award-winning website, Postcards frm America, http://www.postcardsfrom.com , a edu-travel site that helps students and families learn about America through postcards.

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