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Interesting Facts
- It's "Unforgettable" once you've heard that Nat King Cole was born at the Cole-Samford house on St. John Street in Montgomery.
- Off we go into the wild blue yonder ... The famous Wright Brothers gave early flying lessons in Montgomery!
- Montgomery was the city that pioneered the United State's first electric trolley. Named the Lightning Route, this transportation system made its successful maiden run in 1886.
- It may be a little difficult to believe, but it is true! Montgomery is home to one of the world's largest Shakespeare festivals. The Alabama Shakespeare Festival is the only American theatre invited to fly the same flag that's flown outside of England's Royal Shakespeare Company. More than 300,000 visitors frequent this attraction each year.
- Downtown Montgomery is proud to be home to the former home of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. This house now serves as a museum that bears the famous couple's names. Zelda, a Montgomery native, met Fitzgerald at a local dance club in 1918. A free tour will offer some insight into the life of the beloved author of The Great Gatsby.
- If you enjoy learning about the past, Montgomery's capital complex is just the place for you. It was at this site, now marked by a 6 pointed brass star, that Jefferson Davis took his Presidential oath for the Confederacy and telegraphed his "Fire on Fort Sumter" order that marked the beginning of the Civil War.
- In Dec, 1955, a black lady named Rosa Parks sat in the first row of seats in the black section of a city bus. After some white men boarded, the driver ordered Ms. Parks to give up her seat and move to the back of the bus. She refused and was arrested. In protest, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, initiated by some black leaders including Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., commenced on Dec 5, 1955. In Nov, 1956, the Supreme Court's ruling that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional ended the boycott.
- Your Cheatin' Heart! Country music legend Hank Williams Sr. was born in Alabama and a museum that documents his life is in Montgomery. The prize possession of the museum is the 1952 blue Cadillac convertible in which Williams died while riding to a performance in Ohio. The singer is buried in Montgomery's Oakwood Cemetery where a marble memorial in the shape of two large music notes and a cowboy hat marks his grave.
- Montgomery, the capital of Alabama, lies in the central part of the state along the banks of the Alabama River. Along with being the third largest city in Alabama, it is also one of the state's most interesting cities, historically.
- With an average temperature of 67.2 degrees, you can bet that Montgomery offers plenty of time to explore the great outdoors, southern style!
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