Montgomery
is the capital of Alabama. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. Montgomery has a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city in Alabama, after Birmingham.
Montgomery’s central location in Alabama’s Black Belt makes it a processing hub for crops such as cotton, peanuts, and soybeans. Montgomery has long had large metal fabrication and lumber production sectors. Due to its location along the Alabama River and extensive rail connections, Montgomery has and continues to be a regional distribution hub for a wide range of industries.
Some of Montgomery/Prattville’s Largest Employers:
Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base
The State of Alabama
Montgomery Public Schools
Baptist Health
Hyundai Motor Manufacturing
Alfa Insurance
The City of Montgomery
Jackson Hospital
Rheem Water Heaters
Regions
Local Area Attractions
The Montgomery Zoo is a 40-acre zoo located on the north side of Montgomery. The zoo was established in 1935 at Oak Park as the Oak Park Zoo. It grew and thrived there until the 1960s. In 1972, the Zoo was re-established and moved to its current located in north Montgomery.
The Mann Wildlife Learning Museum opened in January of 2003 next to the zoo. It was originally opened three years earlier in Opelika. The museum features mounted displays of North American wildlife including deer, bear, skunk, grouse, quail, cats, birds and fish.
The Civil Rights Memorial is a memorial to 40 people who died in the struggle for the equal and integrated treatment of all people, regardless of race, during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. The memorial is sponsored by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The names included belong to those who died between 1954 and 1968. Those dates were chosen because in 1954 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in schools was unlawful and 1968 is the year of Martin Luther King’s assassination. The monument was created by Maya Lin who created the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The Museum of Fine Art features several art collections. The permanent collection includes examples of 19th- and 20th-century American paintings and sculpture, Southern regional art, Old Master prints and decorative arts. It is also home to ARTWORKS, a participatory art gallery and studio for children.
The current building was designed by the Montgomery architectural firm of Barganier, Davis, and Sims and opened in 1988.