Is there a historic downtown area in Huntsville? (deal, park)

[BHarrison84]

Originally Posted by NYisontop

That little squat thing is better than half the size of the replacement, look at the trees and houses directly behind, to the left of the photo. I wouldn't be surprised if the greek revival courthouse lasted through the 1950s.

The new building is sterile, modern, not ugly, but not winning over any fans. Prefer the old. As the centerpiece of downtown, Huntsville had better spend a little money on innovative or classical design to attract something of a business district!

I don't see a connection between this building and the lack of businesses downtown.

I would think the lack of a business district is because most of the employers in town are at the research park or the redstone arsenal, plus (I assume) there isn't enough downtown to draw people to it to support many restaurants and retail stores. There are more restaurants / bars down there than I realized when I lived there though.

[rnc76]

Downtown is underrated by a lot of people IMO. It is very small for a city of this size, but what we have is attractive, clean, safe and all of the businesses are nice, home grown places. When my wife and I go out on a date night, we almost always come downtown for dinner/drinks/music.

[rnc76]

Originally Posted by dijkstra

The Huntsville/Madison County Courthouse is the 1960's "futuristic" design. As of now it looks outdated and out of place but give it another 40 years and people will appreciate it as being from a historic period. I agree the outside isn't anything to marvel over but the design of the interior staircases is very unique and sort of cool. It has a sort of "Jetsons" appeal to it. lol

The area around Harrison Brothers Hardware downtown are is old historic buildings. They give tours of the hardware store so that would be a good place to start for a historic tour.

I agree, the exterior of the courthouse is very ugly. However, I have always liked the interior. It is a very cool design inside.

[CP79]

Originally Posted by rnc76

Downtown is underrated by a lot of people IMO. It is very small for a city of this size, but what we have is attractive, clean, safe and all of the businesses are nice, home grown places. When my wife and I go out on a date night, we almost always come downtown for dinner/drinks/music.

I agree with this post.

[CP79]

Also everyone should plan a visit to the Weeden House Museum. It was built in 1819 and has a lot of interesting history.

[CoreLysium]

[CoreLysium]

Those two pictures.
1. Check it out, civil war time.
2. I don't think this photo is from the 1960s. Did we have one between this and the current one?

Edited to add: Isn't anyone here old? Can't they just tell us these things?

[LCTMadison]

Originally Posted by rnc76

Downtown is underrated by a lot of people IMO. It is very small for a city of this size, but what we have is attractive, clean, safe and all of the businesses are nice, home grown places. When my wife and I go out on a date night, we almost always come downtown for dinner/drinks/music.

^^THIS^^. I absolutely love downtown HSV, although I wish they would have kept with a traditional courthouse rather than the "modern" design built in the 60's. I love Limestone County's courthouse square and surrounding area, there is just something nostalgic about a stately building like that and it would seem to more fit the aesthetic of the downtown HSV area.

Commerce Kitchen is AMAZING, one of my absolute favorite restaurants ever, and going in Harrison Brothers is a must every time I am downtown. Other than restaurants/bars, the area is predominantly attorney's offices and financial, as you would expect.

[huffbuffer]

Originally Posted by LCTMadison

^^THIS^^. I absolutely love downtown HSV, although I wish they would have kept with a traditional courthouse rather than the "modern" design built in the 60's. I love Limestone County's courthouse square and surrounding area, there is just something nostalgic about a stately building like that and it would seem to more fit the aesthetic of the downtown HSV area.

I CAN concur with THIS

Regards
Huffbuffer

[BHarrison84]

What I like about downtown Huntsville is it doesn't feel so urban and a concrete jungle like most downtowns. It has a village atmosphere to it.

It is also the only downtown that I can think of in the southeast / mid atlantic that has a mountain ridge immediately adjacent to it.