Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/12999
Barber Village Motorsports Museum Photo Credit: Birmingham CVB The bus of Rosa Parks, located at the Rosa Parks Library and Museum Photo Credit: Montgomery CVB 1963 bombing that killed four young girls; Kelly Ingram Park, whose sculptures commemorate the civil rights demonstrations that took place there; and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. The Civil Rights District also is home the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, located inside the historic Carver Theatre for the Performing Arts; the Fourth Avenue Business District; Alabama Penny Savings Bank, the state’s first Black-owned bank; and A.G. Gaston Gardens, a for- mer motel and civil rights meeting space. MONTGOMERY Alabama’s capital is a key destination on the state’s Black Heritage Trail, which extends from Selma through Lowndes County to Montgomery and from Montgomery to Tuskegee. A Civil Rights audio tour created by Alabama Public Television features several local landmarks, including the spectacular Civil Rights Memorial, Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church (where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was pastor) the Parsonage Museum in the King family home, and the Rosa Parks Library and Museum. The Governor’s Mansion and Union Station — which houses the Visitor Center and Depot Gift Shop — are two of Montgomery’s most notable architectural landmarks. Local cultural attractions include the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in Blount Park, which hosts the famed Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and the F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum. The city’s largest meeting venue is the Montgomery Convention Center, with 73,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space and a 1,800-events performing arts theater. The center is connected to the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa, which offers another 25,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and a 14,000-sq.ft. ballroom. The recent $29 million con- vention center expansion is part of a major develop- ment of the downtown riverfront that also includes the Riverwalk Amphitheater and the Riverwalk Stadium. ARKANSAS Outdoor enthusiasts should find plenty to keep them occupied in Arkansas, which is nicknamed The Nature State. Among the natural treasures helping it earn that moniker are 250 scenic hiking trails, more than 600,000 acres of lakes and three national forests covering more than 2.9 million acres. 52 Black Meetings & Tourism May/June 2010: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com