The Little Lion of Big Springs Park - Huntsville, AL

According to the marker:
The Little Lion of Big Springs Park
Gift of J.F. Hummel
to the park for
"As long as children...play in the park"
Circa 1900
Refurbished and restored by
The Historic Huntsville Foundation
August 7, 1995

Huntsville Moonwalk

In downtown Huntsville next to Constitution Village is the Huntsville Moonwalk. The footsteps of astronaut Alan B. Shepard are preserved along with the steps of several local kids. This was dedicated on the 25th Anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landing on July 20, 1994.

Huntsville Madison County Veterans Memorial Aviator Statue

The Huntsville Madison County Veterans Memorial Foundation dedicated this Aviator Statue on Veterans Day, 2015. The statue's face was modeled after Marine Captain Trey Wilbourn who died in Desert Storm. The bronze statue was created by local sculptor Dan Burch.

For the full story:
whnt.com/2015/01/19/huntsville-mother-eagerly-awaits-dedi...

Christmas Tree at Huntsville's Big Springs Park

Seen at Huntsville's Big Springs Park in 2015, where several local companies and organizations have decorated trees.

Huntsville Turntable & Blue Boxcar

Located at the Huntsville Depot Museum is this vintage railroad turntable. Just to the right is the depot's roundhouse which has been converted to an event venue. Also shown here is a blue boxcar.

Saturn 1B rocket at dusk

Millions have seen this Rocket at the Alabama Welcome Center and rest area along Interstate 65 near the Tennessee border. I happened to see it very early in the morning and I was surprised at how well it came out despite being so dark and from a car going 70mph. Specifically, this one is SA-211 and was never actually used by NASA on a flight mission.

Old Scott County Jail - Huntsville, TN

This historic jail built in 1907 is on the National Register of Historic Places and is located on the other side of a parking lot from the county courthouse. The crenelated wall is made by five by four by three foot blocks of local red sandstone. The jailers quarters are on the first floor. Maximum security prisoners are on the third floor, which was added in 1922.

A replacement jail was built in 1963. Later after a few prisoners escaped, this building was renovated to be the jail again. No prisoners had ever escaped, which is what you would expect from this place, which has the appearance of an impenetrable fortress.

This jail did finally close down in late 2008 with the building of a modern Justice Center a couple of miles away. In the mean time, the city isn't sure what to do with their historic structure. At the time of the closing, it was the second oldest county jail in use (after the Bledsoe Co. Jail in Pikeville). For more info: www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/jul/27/historic-scott-co-jail-...

I saw a picture of this jail from the late 70s. Since then, the front awning has been added, but back then they still had a soda machine out front.

Happy Halloween!

A couple of years ago, I saw this pumpkin, dressed up, if you will, as the one eyeball character from Monsters, Inc. in a store window at Bridge Street town center in Huntsville

Huntsville, TN Town Spring

Whenever I visit any small town large enough to have a town square, I usually get out of my car and walk around for a while. Usually, I have a mental list of the buildings I want to see and photograph, but I walk around long enough that I make sure there is nothing important I missed. Every once in a while you find something you don't expect to see in the central business district of a city.

Huntsville is a small town, but is large enough to be the county seat of Scott County. A short boulevard leads to the courthouse, with various important buildings surrounding it. Behind the courthouse is a parking lot, and behind that is a small park with a picnic table and an sign with an arrow pointing to the town spring, which I decided to check out.

Normally, when I think of a spring that a town has centered around, I think of the Tennessee cities of Jamestown or Greeneville where water bubbles out of the ground. However, as I walked down the large concrete stairs, I was pleasantly surprised to see a 10 foot tall waterfall. There's enough water flowing here that you could expect a small creek to be the source of the water here, but apparently the water is underground before it gets to this point. Then, the water flows out to become a small tributary of the New River. It's a nice cool spot on a hot summer day.

One of my Favorite Halloween Costumes ever

A couple of years ago, I was visiting Huntsville's new upscale mall, the Bridge Street Town Center and a Halloween Costume contest was going on. This lady gets an A+ for her Tippi Hedren look from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.

Huntsville Depot

Built in 1860, the Huntsville train depot is the oldest in Alabama. During the Civil War, the depot was used as a prison for Confederate Soldiers, when Huntsville was occupied by the Union in 1862. (Some of their graffiti has been preserved on the walls.)

The Depot served as division headquarters and passenger station on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. The line is now part of Norfolk Southern Railroad. The last passenger train came in on March 30, 1968.

The depot is listed ont eh National Register of Historic Places, and looks to be an impressive museum (although I was unable to see the inside.) It is part of the EarlyWorks system, along with Constitution Village.