I'm a local and I never knew the steeple (you can see it in one of the uploaded photos) is known as…read morethe "God Rocket" and is (or at least was) in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest prefabricated steeple in the world. So, Huntsville, since January 1974 (its official dedication), we've had the 43 ft. high Eggbeater Jesus and the companion God Rocket, both designed in the land where everything is supersized, Texas, of course! EG and the GR welcome locals and visitors to downtown Huntsville with "cosmic" proportions. (The official name of the mosaic is "Cosmic Christ.") At Christmas (pre COVID) the church's living Christmas Tree musical production was held within the 7 exterior doors of this sanctuary. The massive First Baptist Church choir, sitting in a huge (elevated and stacked) Christmas tree shape belted out all the Christmas classics. If you haven't attended the living Christmas Tree here, you really should if you get the opportunity, it is always free; however, tickets are required. I believe the renovation of the (original cost was $115,000) mosaic is now complete and some of the previous mosaic tiles have been repurposed in new artwork on display at the Madison County library right around the corner.

Big fan of Egg Beater Jesus. I came. I saw. I bought the t-shirt. Whisk you were here.read more

Thank you, John Hunt, for being the historic pioneer who, in 1805, built a cabin in Big Spring Park…read morewhere he and his family resided, and Mr. Hunt is considered the founding father of this fair city! Mr. Hunt was a Revolutionary War veteran, and you guess it - Huntsville was named for him! It's known as the "Rocket City" and its motto is "Star of Alabama." In 1811, Huntsville became the first incorporated town in what is now Alabama. I was conceived and born here. Mom birthed me at Huntsville Hospital. Crestwood Hospital would have been around at that time at its former location off Jordan Lane north of Bob Wallace across from the former Westlawn Middle School. I heart Huntsville! From its humble beginnings as primarily cotton farmland, which began at what is now MidCity to the west which was considered "the country" back in the day. Huntsville has really grown ya'll. In 2022, the estimated population was 227.5K folks, making it the second most populous metropolitan area in the state after the Birmingham metropolitan area. There were 142K people living in Huntsville when I was in high school. Enough backstory. What's to love about Huntsville? We boasted about the largest number of PhDs per capita for decades, and this may still hold true. This differentiates us from other towns in Alabama. In the early 1940s Redstone Arsenal (RSA) was developed. And the rest is history: NASA, U.S. Army, FBI, Missile Defense Agency, AMCOM and more are located on RSA. The growth from cotton fields to rocket development was phenomenal. And the last two decades have ushered in a huge influx of people. You can barely drive a block without seeing orange construction barrels and cones, along with the ubiquitous crane. Apartment complexes are the latest developments with fewer condos for purchase. This influx has nurtured local restaurants [Cotton Row, Commerce Kitchen, all the Church Street Family eateries/wine shoppes, Green Bottle Grille] and extensive chain restaurants, too. There are craft coffee cards to get stamped, craft brewery cards to get stamped, and more "trails" to follow including real outdoor hiking at Monte Sano State Park, my favorite - Green Mountain, and Ditto Landing. Various entertainment venues are now options in "Hunts Vegas" including Mars, the Orion, the Von Braun Center, and bars with stages both big and small. HSV has the friendliness of a small southern town, with the perks of a larger city. We have rooftop bars, and lovely patios, covered picnic pavilions and sports - the Trash Pandas are always fun at Toyota Field, the Havoc are a blast if you love ice hockey, and we have a soccer [European "football"] team now, and there's always the Dixie Derby Girls, who do roller derby. Don't forget the US Space and Rocket Center and Space Camp, the Huntsville Botanical Garden, the Huntsville Museum of Art, Burritt Museum, the Weeden House, Constitution Hall Park and Museum, Early Works, the Huntsville/Madison County Veterans Memorial Park, the planetarium, and the mixed-use facilities, Lowe Mill, Campus 805, Stovehouse, and MidCity [with more on the way!] You can find events and festivals here: https://www.huntsville.org/events/festivals/ A great destination picnic location is Ditto Landing. Bank fish, or launch your boat and enjoy the beautiful bridge connecting south Huntsville to Lacey's Spring. If nothing in Huntsville "whets your whistle" or you are just itching to get out of town, Nashville is just 90 minutes north, Birmingham is 90 minutes south, Atlanta is ~ 4.5 hours SW, and the white sands of Orange Beach are just 5.5 hours due south. It's a hop and skip down to New Orleans by car, and you can always opt for the train that departs from Birmingham. Just please, please, don't move here - we are getting "full up" with people! Hence the 4 versus 5 stars. Traffic is also really crappy since the infrastructure has not kept pace with the population growth. Another minus for the Huntsville metro area is the dire lack of public transportation. Regardless of various efforts [I'm looking at you "Shuttle" busses and not "Orbit" busses], this is an area Huntsville falls short, especially for those who are wheelchair bound.

I've been in Huntsville for 3 months now and love it. There is so much to do and see here. Of…read morecourse it's the home of the Space & Rocket Center and Redstone Arsenal. Land of opportunity for careers! I've had several interactions with the actual departments of the City of Huntsville as well. One was a frustrating experience dealing with the City Engineer to get my certificate Occupancy for my house. I had to contact the Mayors Office and they resolved the issue within a few hours. Since then no issues. I also have my utilities through the city. Interestingly enough, they combine electric, water, and trash here. Their electric rates have been through the roof during the winter. I guess we will see how it changes in the. Next couple months. Another pro - taxes are cheap and the city offers a homestead tax break for people who own their primary residence in the City of Huntsville.

Downtown Huntsville is actually, great! Why no fifth star? Because it's constantly congested…read moretraffic wise and always seems to have streets blocked off and traffic rerouted for various simultaneous construction projects. Over the years, downtown Huntsville has become a legitimate destination with numerous delicious restaurants, new, sleek hotels, and rooftop dining and bars! Christmas is just not complete without a visit to the Tinsel Trail in Big Spring Park. This massive, free, live decorated tree display is fun to visit! Each, of more than 400 trees, tree is sponsored by a corporation, non-profit, etc., and each one is themed. You can spend a few minutes there or an hour plus! Ice Skating in the Park has been around for several years now. It's in a pop-up ice skating rink behind the Huntsville Museum of Art. On/around the square proper are the Courthouse, Harrison Brothers Hardware Store, the beautiful Church of the Nativity, and Big Spring Park. A few blocks north of the square is the Madison County Veteran's Memorial which is a must see! It really is a lovely park honoring our Veterans with flags, statues, displays and brick pavers engraved with our beloved Veteran's names, Service details, etc. Here, too, you can spend over an hour, or if you are looking for a certain memorial paver, you can find the location on the website. The Huntsville Museum of Art is just southeast of the square and has a free admission day once a month. It's fun to explore the museum and afterwards, eat at Pane E Vino which sits on the edge of Big Spring Park - dining al fresco here is so fun during nice weather! The Twickenham Historic District, Old Town Historic District, and Five Points Historic District are must sees! As the Huntsville.gov website says the Twickenham district is a living museum or architectural styles dating from 1814 ranging from Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne and Bungalow to post-war homes and it is graced by more than 65 antebellum homes. You can tour these districts from your car, on foot and use the HuntsvilleHistoryTours.org to follow along with local tour guides video tours. Alabama Constitution Hall Park/Early Works Museum is another popular downtown destination. Don't forget the Von Braun Center and Mars Music Halls which are great venues for everything from Huntsville Havoc Ice Hockey, Broadway Theatre League performances, to shows by acts like Queensryche. Downtown Huntsville is truly a fun destination for all ages to enjoy!

This organization sets up many events with a lot of moving parts but they rarely respond to…read morequestions from people involved. Weeks go by with zero response to emails or phone calls regarding event deadlines and parameters. You would think greater professionalism would be the norm in an organization that has muscled its way into being the face of Huntsville.

Kind waitress and probably the best pizza I've ever had. The environment was lovely! Definitely…read morewould go again!

Came here for dinner after soccer practice after seeing the Yelp reviews. Clean, much more spacious…read moreon the inside than you would imagine. 97 health rating. Bathrooms were clean which is always a win in my book. The pictures on the wall didn't really have an explanation-would have loved to know more there. Tons of TV around with sports on. We were greeted and immediately seated. John was our server and very attentive despite handling most of the tables. We ordered waters all around, lemonade for the children, root beer (Tap was the only available option-but was definitely the best option! Heads up, no refills) and a virgin seasonal caramel apple ginger beer which was very tasty. The ginger beer could have been stronger but that's my personal preference. We started with the whipped ricotta and toast-the bread was warm and the hint of black pepper with the honey set it apart from others we've tried. We also had the Italian salad-pretty standard and more spring mix heavy than anything but still good. Maybe put the dressing on the side. We ordered Nick the Greek and BYO pineapple/green olive pizzas. Regular crust and housemade marinara sauce. The crust was good-just the right amount of airy and delicious. My only complaint here is the sun-dried tomatoes-and I love sun-dried tomatoes. They are put on top almost as an afterthought-maybe for texture. Rehydrating them may help? The BYO pizza was solid. I was surprised that my child really enjoyed the caramelized pineapple-they are more of a traditional pineapple pizza person. Oh, the Parmesan cheese is served in this cute containers! We finished the meal with a pizzokie-very gooey in the center, crispy edges and delicious ice cream. Overall, a great pizza option for Huntsville. I recognized the owner from the social media pages and while he was working alongside his employees-which I appreciated-he only interacted with "the regulars". It's always a nice touch the have an owner stop by your table, again my personal opinion. Would definitely visit again!

This is the Koi Mural. Huntsville has many cool Murals all around the place. This is another cool…read moreexample of the public art scene in Huntsville. I enjoy all the colors and the design of this public art mural. Go check it out in this cool city.

The Welcome to Huntsville mural is part of the Alabama Mural Trail and was created by Gracie…read moreLennox. As Ashley S., said it is a great photo spot and it one of the most photographed pieces of art in Huntsville. It is really simple and pretty in person and resembles a post card. It's in Big Spring Park and in my opinion, it really brightens up the building on which it is painted which is a parking garage if I recall correctly. The Welcome to Huntsville mural is one of over 14 murals that grace various locations in the Rocket City and Madison County! I highly recommend the Alabama Mural Trail, especially in Madison County!

This mural is a staple of the city and located in Big Spring Park not far from the staircase. It's…read morea great photo spot!

On the back wall of Fountain Parker Harbarger and Associates Insurance Agency on Holmes Avenue (at…read morethe intersection of Holmes Avenue and Washington Street downtown) you'll find the Galactic Mural! The mural's official name is "Celestial Symphony." The wall of the insurance agency on which it is adorned faces a parking lot shared with the Federal courthouse. It features at least eight aluminum planets and was designed by Alabama artist Ms. Jessie Andrews. The cool aluminum planets are a three dimensional pop out from the flat wall mural behind the art installation. Jessie said it took her a year to come up with the idea, make the planets, and put it all together. She installed the mural in four days. I love Celestial Symphony/Galactic Mural and all the murals Huntsville and North Alabama have! Nice job, Ms. Andrews!

This is the Galactic Mural. Huntsville has many cool Murals all around the place. This is another…read morecool example of the public art scene in Huntsville. I enjoy all the colors and the design of this public art mural. Go check it out in this cool city.

This is the Rocket Man Mural.Huntsville has many cool Murals all around the place. This is another…read morecool example of the public art scene in Huntsville. I enjoy all the colors and the design of this public art mural. Go check it out in this cool city.

It was so pleasant to see this painted on the side of an old car wash. It's a beautiful peace of…read moremagical history of what's left of the love in Huntsville Alabama

This is the Love you to the moon and back. Huntsville has many cool Murals all around the place…read more This is another cool example of the public art scene in Huntsville. I enjoy all the colors and the design of this public art mural. Go check it out in this cool city.

Definitely an annual tradition in Huntsville. It started years ago when Joe Lanza put up the most…read morefestive Christmas display in town. Each year he would add something new, whether it was a sleigh with life size reindeer, a carousel of Christmas Carolers, or the Classic Manger with the Happy Birthday Jesus sign. Then one of the neighbors down the street caught the bug and suddenly there were two ornate Christmas displays to make this little loop of a street the most festive in town. Each year was more festive than the last with Santa and live reindeer making appearances and lights draped over the street. Mr. Lanza passed away a few years ago, but his family has kept his traditions alive, including the special radio station, which now is in synch with the lights so that the displays dance with the music. I suggest you get in line right at dark, any night after Thanksgiving. It gets better and more ornate the closer you get to Christmas, but it also gets more crowded. The other houses in the neighborhood have done their best to add to the festivities - bless their hearts - it's not the best time of year to live on Horseshoe Trail if you're even in a hurry to leave your house!

Maybe this was something great in the last, but we drove through and it was about 3 houses with…read morelights. Still nice that someone posted to keep the memory of their neighbor.