#14

So ever since I was about 13 and really started getting into my shopping obsession, I have loved local businesses. Coming from a descently sized city, small shops, restaurants, and other businesses give a sense of community and a small town feel. The service is usually fantastic and many have much more to offer than the large chain stores. Also, it is comforting to me to know that my money is going toward a local citizen and his or her business and not some large, multi-million corporation.
Although I did my best to support local businesses before this English class, I especially do now. I was familiar with many of the businesses of Montgomery, but not so many in Tuscaloosa. Keeping this blog nearly forced me to get out and explore this town. The more I did, the more I realized how much Tuscaloosa really has to offer, from the arts to restaurants. I feel Tuscaloosa is more a part of me now that I am much more familiar with it and have found favorite places. I also have realized how many spots I love in Montgomery. Actually writing about somewhere I like, such as Old Cloverdale, really got me to think and increased my liking of it even more!
I am now much more aware of where I am going and what I am doing in my community, and will definitely continue to do my best to support it and become a part of it.

Westervelt Warner Museum

Early in the semester, I had to go to the Westervelt Warner Museum for a class paper. I did not know much about the museum at all and had no idea how to get to the place which is about a fifteen minute drive from campus. However, once I finally found it, I was pleasantly surprised.

The museum is located deep in a beautiful Tuscaloosa neighborhood, Northriver, near the Northriver Yacht Club and looks over Lake Tuscaloosa. The outside of the museum is not what you would expecct, it looks much like a house. The inside resembles a home as well with numerous rooms, each filled with pieces of American art and devoted to a different time period. The museum has a very cozy, relaxed feel which I really liked, for I felt as though I could take my time and not have a security guard standing over me every second. Not only does the Warner Museum contan paintings and sculpure, but it also has furniture from different time periods, another aspect that sold me on the place for I love antique furniture.

I did not catch Mr. Warner when I visited, but I have been told that if you introduce yourself he will guide you through the museum and inform you of each piece's history. Also, I have been told it has one of the most impressive collections of art of any museum in the United States.

Shakespeare Festival

Montgomery, AL is lucky to be home to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. The area is beautiful with numerous ponds and walking trails. On one side there is a large art gallery with a great cafe inside that looks over a large pond always full of ducks and swans. Just last year, the gallery hosted a tour of French impressionists paintings. Pieces of art included works from the Louvre and artists such as Manet (not to be mistaken with the famous Monet) and Renoir. On the other side is the theatre. It constantly hosts well-known plays, now Romeo and Juliet and the production of one my favorite books, The Count of Monte Cristo. The plays are held in a very small theatre called the octagon, similar to the university's Galloway Theatre.

I love to go on picknicks there or walk my dog Baxter when the weather is nice. It is definitely somewhere everyone should visit, if not for a play or tour of the gallery's art, at least for the beauty of grounds.

Old Cloverdale

(My Church)

(Sinclair's)

My favorite area of Montgomery is a historic neighborhood near downtown, Old Cloverdale. It is filled with old beautiful homes, parks, churches, numerous independently owned shops and restaurants and even Huntington College. I live in the eastern side of town where everything is very new and a lot of "big name" department stores are migrating. I live very close to a brand new outdoor mall, Eastchase, similar to Birmingham's Summit. Although all of these new shops and businesses are very convenient and some are exciting additions, I still love and prefer Old Cloverdale.


The area is very near a small town inside a city. It is a community. where everyone seems to know everyone else. One of my favorite areas is Mulberry Steet, a long road filled with old homes that have been conserved and turned into boutiques. Another is East Fairveiw Avenue. Part of Huntington College is found there along with some of my favorite restaurants: Cafe Louisa, Tomatino's Pizza, El Rey's Burrito Lounge, and Sinclair's. Aside from businesses, the homes themselves are stunning. Old Oak trees line the wide roads filled with homes from starter houses to mansions. The old churches are just as beautiful. The church that I grew up in is here. I always look foward to going to the area on Sundays and stopping for a homemade cheese biscuit and coffee at Cafe Louisa after the service.


Although some claim that the area is going downhill due to the city's move to the east, many citizens contribute to conserving the historic area and keeping the local entrepeuners in business. The area is truly an asset to Montgomery and I think it is very important to support local areas such as this one.