Montgomery: The City
Although 1993 saw Alabama's state flag finally replace the Confederate flag over the white-domed Greek Revival State Capitol at the top of Dexter Avenue, downtown Montgomery still bears reminders of its white supremacist past. A bronze star marks the spot where Jefferson Davis was sworn in as president of the Confederacy on February 18, 1861. Other "attractions" in this vein include the Alabama Department of Archives and History , next door, notable only for the lavish use of marble in its interior (Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat 9am-5pm; free), and the First White House of the Confederacy , 644 Washington Ave, the temporary home of Jefferson Davis, now crammed with sentimental Confederate oddments (Mon-Fri 8am-4.30pm; free).On a different note, Montgomery was jammed with mourners in 1954 for the funeral of 29-year-old country star Hank Williams , who died of a heart attack on his way to a concert on New Year's Eve 1953. An Alabama native from Butler County, Williams was as famous for his drink- and drug-sustained lifestyle as he was for writing honky-tonk classics like Your Cheating Heart and I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry . His hit single at the time of his death was I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive . The Hank Williams Memorial , a large white-marble headstone complete with song lyrics and an image of the singer, dominates the Oakwood Cemetery Annex, 1304 Upper Wetumpka Rd, near downtown; Hank's statue stands at Lister Hill Plaza on N Perry Street. There's also the Hank Williams Museum , at 118 Commerce St, complete with the 1952 Cadillac in which he made his final journey (Mon-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 1-4pm).
Reminiscent of the grounds of an English stately home, the stunningly landscaped Blount Cultural Park gives some credence to the city's claim to be a regional center for the arts. Situated off Woodmere Boulevard, ten miles southeast of the city, it's home to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival (Aug-Nov; tel 334/271-5353 or 1-800/841-4273), which also performs contemporary works in the sumptuous Renaissance-style Carolyn Blount Theatre. The equally slick Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts (Tues-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm; free) spans more than two hundred years of American art.
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