It is now a high-tech center for aerospace and missile defense.  It was named #1 City in the U.S. in 2009 by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine.

Spared the ravages of the War of Northern Aggression, also known as the Civil War, it has a wide variety of historic districts that include the largest concentration of antebellum homes in the state.

The dream of space travel came to life here at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, on the U.S. Army’s Redstone Arsenal, where scientists and engineers led by Dr. Wernher Von Braun designed rockets to put a man on the moon. Moon rocket engines shook the ground like earthquakes during the 1960s testing phases. A restored Saturn V rocket by Von Braun’s team now dominates the skyline of Rocket City USA, Birthplace of Space.

Professor Jennifer Marsh, a leading figure in collaborative public art, is leading the world’s largest collaborative public art project, in which this 37 story rocket will be wrapped with art contributed from students and others from around the world.

 “Dream Theme” panels expressing the participant’s hopes and dreams for a better tomorrow will be stitched together into a 36,467 square foot wrap.  Check the website for the latest deadlines. The wrapping is scheduled to coincide with the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's announcement of the U.S. intention of "landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth."

It’s the only place in world where you can stand under a “full stack”—the Space Shuttle Orbiter, external tank, and two rocket boosters.

You can also walk beneath the full length of a Saturn V rocket suspended from the ceiling of the massive Davidson Space Center for Space Exploration, which opened last February, 50 years to the hour after the launch of America’s first satellite. 

Artifacts of the space race, Apollo missions, Space Shuttle programs, Space Station and next Constellation project are there for all to see.

The Star Wars traveling exhibit Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination opens to the public June 25, 2010 to September 6, 2010, with costumes, models, and props from all 6 films, including  starship vehicles and prototypes, and a full-size replica of the cockpit  of Episode IV’s legendary Millenium Falcon.

For an out-of-this-world experience, nothing tops the US Space Camp and Aviation Challenge. Space Camp’s Mission is to use the excitement of the U.S. Space Program to inspire interest in study of math, science, and technology.

High-tech programs that include astronaut training and simulated Space Shuttle and International Space Station activities are offered for students from fourth grade through high school.

There are also programs for adults, educators, corporate groups and parent/child pairs. Over half a million students have participated since Space Camp began in 1982.

The Huntsville historic district includes Old Town’s fashionable homes of the early merchants, bankers, and attorneys. Many were seized by Union soldiers in the Civil War. One of largest collection of antebellum homes in the South—over 65 structures—is found in Twickenham, the early name of the town.  

The Five Points neighborhood has 20th c. middle class homes--Victorians, 1920s and 1930s bungalows, Cape Cods, and 1950s and 1960s ranches.

Volunteer clerks from the Historic Huntsville Foundation run the 19th century downtown landmark Harrison Brothers Hardware Store. This popular tourist attractions is Alabama’s oldest operating hardware store.

With a hand-cranked cash register and a pot bellied stove, it’s the place to buy things like marbles by the scoop, soaps and salves, old-fashioned candies, whirly-gigs, and antique silverware, bundled in groups of 12.

Across the street is the Schiffman Building, ca. 1845. Actress Tallulah Bankhead was born on second floor.

dessert selection

Burritt on the Mountain was originally the 167 acre retirement estate of homeopathic physician Dr. William Henry Burritt, who used the laws of nature to create one of first examples of green building in the nation. 

The Burritt Mansion is now surrounded by authentic 19th century farmsteads and rural structures.

You can see a Saddlebag house-- with a chimney in the middle and porches both sides, one for morning and another for afternoon shade from the Alabama sun...

or a dogtrot house, with an open area, or dogtrot, between the two living areas.

Burritt also features the oldest log structure in Alabama.

At Alabama Constitution Village, interpreters in period clothing take you back to what Huntsville was like in 1819.  

Ask the blacksmith how to use a courting candle. 

The cabinetmaker, who doubled as the toymaker, may demonstrate a gee-haw whimmy diddle.

Huntsville Depot

You can climb aboard locomotives, start the engine of Huntsville’s first ladder truck, ride a trolley around the track, and listen as robotic ticket vendor Andy Barker tells about the old days at the Huntsville Depot, one of America’s oldest remaining railroad structures and passenger depot for a century.

 It still has graffiti written by Civil War soldiers when this was a union encampment and temporary prison.  The depot was the first public building in Huntsville with rest rooms, then known as “retiring rooms”.

Talking Clock, Children's Museum

Gin some cotton, hear a talking clock, strolls through mines, and walk the gangplank of a 46’ keelboat at The Children’s Museum, the South’s largest hands-on history Museum. Hear folktales from the Talking Tree, play giant size instruments, listen to a talking clock, and try on 19th century-style costumes.

Sci-Quest Hands-On Science Center

Children also enjoy the pulleys, mirrors, and other devices at the Sci-Quest Hands-On Science Center. The sounds emanating during our visit indicate that the most popular exhibit is the burping man.

America’s largest seasonal butterfly house can be found at Huntsville’s 130 acre Botanical Garden. Special exhibits include a fall Scarecrow Trailand December’s Galaxy of Light.

The Huntsville Museum of Art houses a growing collection including a menagerie of silver animals by the Italian luxury jeweler, Buccellatti . It recently acquired the Sellars Collection, adding historical depth to collection with 406 works of art by America women—the largest single collection of its kind,  created mid-19th century through mid-20th century, when women’s art received little recognition.

Bridge Street Town Center

Grab a cone of gelato. It’s a taste of Italy as a gondola glides through the 10 acre lake at the fashionable Bridge Street Town Center, in a former cotton field 6 miles from downtown, 2 miles from Space and Rocket Center. There's something for all---street performers, kid’s train, carousel, benches with wifi hotspots, shopping, dining, the first Westin Hotel in the state, and a fabulous spa—even a view of the Saturn rocket across lake. 

Monaco Pictures entertainment complex

Monaco Pictures has opened an upscale movie theater/ lounge/restaurant for a one-of-a kind movie experience. The upscale balcony level, with lounge and Enomatic wine tasting room is reserved for guests over 21.

Greenbrier Restaurant

Get an authentic taste of the South at the unpretentious Greenbrier Restaurant, set amidst cotton fields on Old Highway 20, once the mail road between Decatur and Huntsville. Country musicians used to sing from the top of the building to attract business.

Greenbrier Restaurant

Sip sweet tea as you feast on fried catfish, oysters, crabcakes, and hush puppies, along with barbeque, slaw, and corn dogs. Still hungry? Ice cream is just 25 cents with a meal.