Description

To help make the whole area more walkable and to create a vivid sense of connection with Huntsville's past outside of Twickenham, create a self-guided "tour" for pedestrians, with a series of walkways with historical markers (to supplement those already existing) and occasional benches with shade trees, linking sites of cultural significance throughout the Medical District, Big Spring Park, downtown and the depot area. Acknowledge Huntsville's Native American and African American past and natural history to supplement the space and cotton related histories so often noted. Markers, monuments or plaques could explain the Indian tribes that once lived here, convey botanical information about old trees, explain caves and springs, identify the stockyards, recall businesses in the former black business district and churches that are no longer there, and identify the main trails of days gone by. We could memorialize the old neighborhood known as the Grove, teach about the waterways flowing through town, tell where the railroad tracks go, show the types of architecture replaced by Urban Renewal, or show a map of the initial survey lines, for some examples. To remember buildings now gone we could have a pictorial plaques at places like the site of the old Carnegie library, and one at the court house to depict the old courthouses. An effort like this could help unify the different parts of downtown as well as the people of downtown in two ways: by encouraging people to get out and circulate, and by enhancing their collective sense of local history. As we improve downtown for the future, we can also preserve memories of Huntsville's past in a tangible, healthful way that is free and open to the public. (This photo shows a pictorial plaque in Birmingham's Civil Rights District.)