Change Happens Here. Tell the Story.
Courageous. Visionary. Rebellious. Montgomery is steeped in history, tested by rebellion, and always courageous and changing. Montgomery is more than you imagined. Find the latest press information on Alabama’s Capital City below.
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Civil Rights Movement
Martin Luther King Jr. and his family lived here in Montgomery from 1954 to 1960 while he served as pastor of the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church. During the Bus Boycott, Martin Luther King Jr. became a leader in the community and was elected as president to a newly formed group, the Montgomery Improvement Association. In 1956, terrorist who tried to intimidate the protesters of the boycott bombed the parsonage where he and his family lived. Dr. King’s involvement with the boycott gave him the credibility he needed to become a national leader for the Civil Rights Movement.
Montgomery Bus Boycott
On December 1, 1955, a seamstress, Rosa Parks, captured the world’s attention by refusing to give up her seat, for a white man, on a city bus. Her arrest was the catalyst necessary to stage a protest condemning the city’s segregation laws and thus beginning the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which paved the way for the civil rights movement.
Downtown Revitalization
Already, the first phase of the Riverwalk is complete, with a beautiful Riverwalk Amphitheatre and Riverwalk Stadium, which is home to the class AA Montgomery Biscuits. In 2008, downtown Montgomery welcomed the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel and Spa at the Convention Center along with an adjacent 1,800 Montgomery Performing Arts Centre. Across from the convention complex is a new Alley Entertainment District complete with restaurants, bars, lofts and retail spots.
Alabama Shakespeare Festival
The Alabama Shakespeare Festival (ASF), located on the grounds of the Blount Cultural Park, is the sixth largest Shakespeare festival in the world and attracts more than 200,000 annual visitors from all 50 states and more than 60 countries. ASF operates year-round, producing 14 world-class productions annually, including three works of William Shakespeare. The remainder are classics of the stage - works by playwrights such as Moliére, George Bernard Shaw, Anton Chekhov, Tennessee Williams, Thornton Wilder, and Eugene O'Neill, along with musicals and new works commissioned by the Festival.
First White House of the Confederacy
While Montgomery served as the Capitol of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis served as President. He and his family resided in this house which contains period furnishings and many of Davis' personal belongings.
