What makes a neighborhood historic? Sure, the homes can be interesting to gaze at on the drive home, depicting architectural styles of bygone eras, but there’s just a little more to it than that. It’s the lives led by the occupants of those homes that make it so, and how their actions led us to the present day. In particular, the Old Town Historic District tells one of the many stories of Huntsville’s development.
Designated by the City of Huntsville in 1974 as a Historic Preservation District and listed to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, Old Town resides southwest of the Five Points intersection between Pratt Avenue and the Twickenham Historic District. Homes dating to 1828, with the majority dating from 1880 to 1929, occupy this historic neighborhood. The western half of what is now Old Town was incorporated into the city in 1843.
One attractive draw of the area was the accessibility to transportation and employment. Residents of Old Town could easily walk to downtown Huntsville, the Huntsville Depot and the city’s first cotton mill on Jefferson Street. Imagine a time when automobiles were not necessary for day-to-day life. With such convenience, who wouldn’t want to live there?
“Old Town is the only complete section of Huntsville which displays a true Victorian character, including Queen Anne, Second Empire and Eastlake architectural styles,” City of Huntsville Preservation Planner Katie Stamps said. “The highly decorative embellishments, bright colors and craftsmanship represent everything there is to love about historic architecture. These charming homes illustrate Huntsville’s growth with the establishment of a merchant class neighborhood.”
th Century, which is demonstrated through the changing design style of the homes from Victorian to Colonial Revival, and then the Craftsman and Minimal Traditional styles that were prevalent from the 1920s to the 1960s. While the trends changed with the times, the character and preservation of history in these homes remain, thanks to the work of the Huntsville Historic Preservation Commission (HHPC).
Commission Member Katie Davis detailed how the initial allure of Old Town’s proximity to significant locations in Huntsville still hold true to today’s residents.
“Old Town began as a place where people could conveniently walk to important places, and that factor has stood the test of time for current residents,” she said. “One can still stroll to downtown with ease, walk the streets at night at a slower pace as if in a dream of times past waving to your neighbors. It’s more than just the architecture that makes Old Town special, it’s the community, the events and the sense of belonging that is uniquely Old Town.”
In 2013, the Old Town National Register nomination was resurveyed to ensure properties that had reached fifty years of age were evaluated for historical contributing status within the district. This updated nomination affirmed Old Town as one of the nation’s foremost cultural resources worthy of preservation.
