Travel – Montgomery, AL

Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County.^[9] It was named for Continental Army Major-General Richard Montgomery and stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain.

The population was 200,603 at the 2020 census.^[6] It is the fourth-most populous city in the state, after Huntsville, Mobile, and Birmingham, and the 133rd-most populous city in the United States. The Montgomery metropolitan area‘s population in 2022 was 385,460; it is the fourth-largest in the state and 142nd among U.S. metropolitan areas.^[9]

The city was incorporated in 1819 as a merger of two towns situated along the Alabama River. It replaced Tuscaloosa as the state capital in 1846, representing the shift of power to the south-central area of Alabama with the growth of cotton as a commodity crop of the Black Belt and the rise of Mobile as a mercantile port on the Gulf Coast. In February 1861, Montgomery was chosen the first capital of the Confederate States of America, which it remained until the Confederate seat of government moved to Richmond, Virginia, in May of that year. In the middle of the 20th century, Montgomery was a major center of events and protests in the Civil Rights Movement,^[10] including the Montgomery bus boycott and the Selma to Montgomery marches.

In addition to housing many Alabama government agencies, Montgomery has a large military presence, due to Maxwell Air Force Base. It has three public universities (Alabama State University, Troy University (Montgomery campus), and Auburn University at Montgomery), two private post-secondary institutions (Faulkner University and Huntingdon College), several large manufacturers (most notably Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama), and many cultural attractions, such as the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Montgomery is located along two Interstate Highways, I-65 and I-85 (which terminates in the city), as well as several major railroad lines, though the last passenger rail service to call on the city was discontinued in 1995. The Montgomery Regional Airport is also a significant transportation hub, with regular service to major hubs such as Atlanta, Houston-Intercontinental, and Charlotte.

Montgomery has also been recognized nationally for its downtown revitalization and new urbanism projects. It was one of the first cities in the nation to implement SmartCode Zoning.