Walking Tour of Downtown Montgomery Alabama

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Union Station, also known as Montgomery Union Station or Montgomery Union Station and Trainshed, in Montgomery, Alabama was built by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and opened in 1898. Erected of brick and limestone on a high bluff along the Alabama River, the station also served passenger trains of Atlantic Coast Line, Western Railway of Alabama, Seaboard Air Line, Central of Georgia, and Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad. The station had six tracks under a 600 foot shed, with a coach yard on the south end of the station as well as a Railway Express Agency facility. The station's design segregated passengers by race and incorporated Romanesque Revival elements. It was the largest and most elaborate station in Alabama and an excellent example of late 19th century architecture. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

2. Confederate Military Prison

Between April and December 1862, a Confederate prison holding 700 prisoners—most of whom were captured at the Battle of Shiloh—was located near this historical marker, in between the Alabama River and Tallapoosa Street. The building was a cotton depot and only 40 feet wide and 200 feet long. Living conditions were very poor; the men did not have blankets and only the ground or wooden planks to sleep on. Rodents and disease compounded these problems. As a result, almost 200 men died before the prisoners were moved to Tuscaloosa.

3. The Legacy Museum

Built at the site where enslaved persons were imprisoned prior to being auctioned in the 19th century, this museum offers exhibits that share the history and legacy of the domestic slave trade, as well as post-slavery issues related to racial inequality. The museum follows the history of enslavement and shows its connection to lynching, the convict lease system, segregation, economic inequality, and the persistence of racial discrimination. The museum is located at the site of a former "slave jail," a holding space between the docks where enslaved persons entered the city and the market where families were separated and auctioned prior to the end of chattel slavery in 1865. In recognition of the fact that Alabama had the second-largest enslaved population of any U.S. state, the museum includes a variety of exhibits that investigate the role of Montgomery and Alabama in the domestic slave trade and the legacy of enslavement.

4. Murphy House

This historic home was built by commission merchant John Murphy, a native of Scotland, in 1851. It is one of the finest Greek Revival homes in the city and during the Civil War, was an important social center for the South. Confederates of note including Jefferson Davis and William Yancey attended gatherings here. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, the home was converted to office space for the Montgomery Water Works and Sanitary Sewer Board in 1970.

5. Hank Williams Museum

Opened in 1999, this museum honors the most famous and revered country singer in American history: Hank Williams (1922-1953). The museum features the most complete collection of William's memorabilia in the country. Items on display include Williams' clothing (boots, hats, suits, ties, etc.), guitars, a Steinway piano, sheet music, the Baby Blue 1952 Cadillac, and many other items. The museum opened thanks to the efforts of a local named Cecil Jackson, who was one of Williams' biggest fans.

6. Montgomery’s Slave Markets and First Emancipation Observance Historical Marker

This historical marker was erected in 2001 and its two sides represent significant milestones in Montgomery's history. The first side shares the history of this location as home to the Artesian Besin Slave Market. The second side commemorates the first observation of a ceremony commemorating the end of slavery which was led by former slaves at this location in 1866.

7. Rosa Louise McCauley Parks / The Bus Stop Historical Marker

This historical marker was dedicated in 2008 and marks the location where Rosa Parks boarded a Montgomery bus on December 1, 1955. On that day, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give her seat to a white passenger. A secretary of the Montgomery National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) with a long history of defending the civil rights of Black women in previous years, Parks was a highly regarded member of the Black Montgomery community. Although she was not the first Black woman in Montgomery to challenge segregation that year, news of her arrest led to a mass meeting that inspired Black citizens to boycott the city bus system the following week. When city leaders refused to work with local pastor Martin Luther King, Jr., the Black community launched a boycott that lasted 381 days. Thanks to the economic power of the Black community and a successful court challenge, the Montgomery Bus Boycott ended segregation in Montgomery. In retrospect, the bus boycott also served as a model of successful activism through non-violent strategies of resistance. It is important to note that Rosa Parks was a seasoned civil rights activist at the time of her arrest, and her leadership inspired a young Martin Luther King Jr. She remained active and is sometimes referred to as the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement.”

8. Rosa Parks Museum and Library

Opened in 2000, the Rosa Parks Museum and Library honors the civil rights activist who stayed seated on a bus and took a stand for equality. It is located on the site of the old Empire Theatre near the bus stop where Parks was arrested in 1955 for courageously refusing to give up her seat. The Rosa Parks Museum, owned by Troy University, is a major landmark in the revitalization of downtown Montgomery. The interpretive museum occupies the first floor of a building that also contains the Troy-Montgomery Campus Library.

9. United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama; Browder vs. Gayle (1956)

This federal courthouse was the site of several landmark cases, including Gomillion v. Lightfoot in 1958. The case found that electoral districts were designed to reduce the potential influence of Black voters, thus violating the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Two years prior, the courthouse was home to Aurelia S. Browder v. William A. Gayle, a pivotal case that led to the end of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The U.S. District Court ruled that bus segregation violated the Fourteenth Amendment. The ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court, a decision that provided African American plaintiffs with the legal power to challenge segregation in public transportation.

10. Montgomery Greyhound Bus Station and the Freedom Riders Museum

At this location on May 20, 1961, a racially integrated group of young civil rights activists calling themselves the Freedom Riders faced violent attacks outside this former bus station. Martin Luther King Jr. and many other civil rights leaders came to Montgomery to support the students and the Freedom Ride continued from this bus station on May 24th as the activists boarded a bus bound for Jackson where they would face more violence but also draw the nation's attention to the injustice of segregation and depth of racism. While these young people were forced to stop their demonstration, hundreds more continued the Freedom Rides throughout the South. When the Freedom Riders arrived at the Montgomery Bus Station, an angry mob violently attacked them, with white member Jim Zwerg receiving the most injuries. As the Freedom Riders continued their journey, just outside of Anniston Alabama, one of the buses was firebombed and an angry mob attacked those who tried to flee. Passengers on the second bus were beaten nearly to death in Birmingham Alabama. The Freedom Riders were held hostage by Bull Conner, Birmingham's Public Safety Commissioner, and could not leave the city for five days. Today, the Montgomery Greyhound Bus Station is a powerful symbol of the civil rights movement and the courage of nonviolent civil rights activists who used interstate buses to travel to segregated cities in the South and advocate an end to segregation in public transportation. The Montgomery Bus Station was closed in 1995; there is currently a museum inside the old station.

11. St. Peter Catholic Church

St. Peter’s was the first Catholic Church built in Montgomery. And since its beginning in 1834, the church has unceasingly provided an active Catholic presence in Montgomery. From the eve of the Civil War to the dawning of the civil rights movement, St. Peter’s location has enabled the church to be a witness to monumental events that have shaped Alabama and the nation’s history. The 180th Anniversary of the church was held on April 25, 2014.

12. Civil Rights Monument at the Southern Poverty Law Center

Located outside of the Civil Rights Memorial Center, this memorial honors the men and women who lost their lives during the Civil Rights movement, including Martin Luther King Jr., between 1954-1968. It is located across the street from the Southern Poverty Law Center, which created the memorial. Artist Maya Lin, the creator of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D., designed the memorial. It consists of a circular Black granite table with the names of those who died inscribed on it. Water flows across the top. Behind is a curved Black granite wall featuring a famous quote of Martin Luther King Jr.: "We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." Visitors are welcomed to touch the names as they contemplate the nation's struggle for equality.

13. Alabama Department of Archives and History

The Alabama Department of Archives and History is the state's official repository of archival records. Founded in 1901, it was the country's first publicly funded, independent state archives agency. It houses local and state government records, newspapers, maps, church and synagogue records, military records, and many other items. The building also houses the Museum of Alabama, which tells the story of state from prehistoric times to today.

14. First White House of the Confederacy

The First White House of the Confederacy was believed to have been built in 1825, but was not made famous until it became the primary residence of President Jefferson Davis and his family. This house was located right outside the capitol of the Confederate States of America in Montgomery, Alabama. This landmark was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. After being placed on the Historic Places list, it has opened up to the public to show what that time period was like and to give more information about Confederate President Davis and family.

15. James Marion Sims Statue

Located on the grounds of the Alabama State Capitol building stands the statue of James Marion Sims, one of the more controversial figures in modern medical history. Sims is considered the "father of gynecology" for his medical and surgical advancements in the field of gynecology. Among his leading accomplishments, Sims developed new ways to treat women suffering from incontinence caused as a result of tearing during labor. These innovations came at high price, however, as he experimented on dozens of enslaved women. As such, though he is credited for making advancements in women's health, his legacy is forever connected to the physical and mental pain he inflicted on the enslaved women who were the victims of his experiments. While this statue remains and is protected from removal by a recent state law intended to make it nearly impossible to remove Confederate monuments, in April 2018 the other statue of Sims was removed by officials in New York City from its prominent location in Central Park to the cemetery where Sims is buried in response to concerns from local citizens. That same month, a protester was jailed for a performance near this statue depicting one of the many operations conducted.

16. Alabama State Capitol

Built in 1851, the current Alabama State Capitol is the state's fifth capitol building. It was designed in the Greek Revival style and incorporates elements of the Beaux Arts style as well. The building is historically significant on a national level for two main reasons: it was the site of the first capitol of the Confederacy during the Civil War, and the end point of the Selma- Montgomery March that ended on the steps on the west side of the building on March 25, 1965. The march, which began on March 7 and led by Martin Luther King and several other leaders of the movement, highlighted the racial injustices still in place in the South. It was a seminal moment in the Civil Rights Movement, helping pave the way for the Voting Rights Act which was signed into law on August 6, 1965. For these reasons, the capitol was declared a National Historic Landmark.

17. Albert L. Patterson Statue

Born sometime between 1891-1897 (the exact year is not known) in Tallapoosa County, Albert L. Patterson rose to become one of Alabama's prominent political figures during the first half of the 20th century. He served as an officer in France in World War I, became a teacher and later a principal, and then earned a law degree. The day after winning the Democratic primary for Attorney General on June 7, 1954, he was assassinated in Phenix City by a member of the local mafia, which opposed his efforts to eradicate organized crime in the city. The city had a long history of illegal gambling, prostitution, and alcohol sales, so Patterson was considered a serious threat to the mafia's interests. His murder however spurred state and local officials into action; they took down the local crime syndicate in six months and indicted over 700 people, charging politicians, business owners, and members of law enforcement with crimes. Patterson was replaced on the ballot by his son, John Patterson, who later won the Governorship of Alabama in 1958 with the support of the Ku Klux Klan. As a result of John Patterson's virulent racism and tacit support of white supremacists who led a reign of terror against African Americans in the early years of the civil rights movement, the legacy of the Patterson family remains tied to racial discrimination more than efforts to end corruption in government.

18. Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church

Established in 1877 by former slaves, this congregation was has played an integral role in the long civil rights movement of the past century-and-a-half. Martin Luther King Jr. was the pastor of the church from 1954 to 1960, and its name now reflects his influence. The congregation was established as the Second Colored Baptist Church in 1877. The congregation later changed its name in honor of Andrew Dexter. in 1978, the name was changed to Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, the 20th pastor of the church. During his time in Montgomery, Dr. King led the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

19. Posey's Parking Lot, Staging Ground of the Montgommery Bus Boycott

During the Montgomery Bus Boycott, this corner was home to a parking lot that served as a staging ground for cars driven by civil rights activists. Known at the time as "Posey’s Parking Lot” this was one of two major African American community transportation centers during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The historical marker was unveiled by the Alabama Historical Association on December 1, 2010, the anniversary of Rosa Parks’ arrest.

20. St. John's Episcopal Church

Originally constructed in 1855, St. John's Episcopal Church is one of three post-Civil War Gothic churches in the state based on the designs of Frank Willis and Henry Dudley, who were both prominent architects in the 19th century. The church features many interesting decorative elements including ceiling medallions painted in 1869 and chime bells dating to 1885. The church is notable for its association with Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, and his family, who attended services here during between February-May 1861 when Montgomery was the capital of the Confederacy during early months of the Civil War. The church also hosted the Secession Convention of Southern Churches in 1861, which formally separated Episcopalian churches in the South from the United States.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Walking Tour of Downtown Montgomery Alabama

Created by Heather Browning on March 7th 2018, 9:01:40 pm.

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Description

This walking tour begins at Montgomery's historic railroad depot and winds downtown to the state capitol before turning back towards the starting point. Along the way, you will see a host of historic buildings and sites related to the Confederacy to the Civil Rights Movement. Highlights include the Rosa Parks Museum and sites related to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the state capitol, the first White House of the Confederacy, and the Hank Williams Museum.

Entries on This Tour

Walking Tour of Downtown Montgomery Alabama

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