Huntsville, AL was a cool city back in the day; poised to be even more culturally exciting

A 911-emergency engineer, a cyber-security expert for the army, and a retired Chrysler logistics guy sitting around a fire-pit drinking beer…These men are very typical tech-savvy Huntsville natives. Whose dad wasn’t a rocket scientist, engineer, or army soldier if you grew up in Huntsville, Alabama?

Huntsville’s Cool Factor

Inevitably conversations between my dad and a few of his buddies veer to “the good-ole-days.” They don’t go on about the decline of the cotton mills that happened almost simultaneously as the Space Race was born. Instead, they dreamily reminisce about how surprisingly cool Huntsville was in the late 70’s to the late 1980’s.

The Get-Away, old Huntsville skate park.

In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s a skateboard park called The Get-Away on Leeman Ferry, long since demolished, was a touchstone for these Huntsville natives. The Get-Away had deep bowls and smooth, velvety concrete ramps, a pro-shop stocked with the best boards out of California, and outsider “Skate-Punk” music blaring from the loudspeakers; The Who, Ramones, the Sonics, and Devo.

The author’s father, standing up on the right. The Get-Away skatepark.

Like a 1980’s teen movie

The Get-Away was run by an irascible, old retired Army sergeant, like the stuff of 1980’s teen movies. My father, now a middle-aged 911 emergency system software engineer, shredded those bowls, on an old-school stiff board with soft, waxy wheels.

The Plush Horse

Ike and Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Little Richard and James Brown.

They talked about the Plush Horse Lounge, atop a hill overlooking a golf course and city below. The Horse was Huntsville’s legendary, hottest nightspot from about 1975 until 1985. It’s said that the Plush Horse dance-floor inspired Saturday Night Fever’s famous movie set. The bouncer/doorman was a swarthy, barrel-chested guy in his mid-60’s, decked out in a three-piece black pin-striped suit. He would escort the prettiest girls to the best tables and size up the waiting crowds.

The Horse hosted some big name acts in its time; Ike and Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Little Richard and James Brown. Things change, as they will; recently the Plush Horse re-opened but as the newest sanctuary of local mega-church Restoration Church. The mirror balls still spin from the ceiling, but the bar is now a coffee shop/worship area.

Church’s Tip Top Cafe

The Tip Top

Then it was the late 1980’s and the 1990’s. From the disco balls of the Plush Horse to the grungy thrill of a late night at Huntsville’s original dive bar – Church’s Tip Top Café.

You could order a steak there during the day for lunch, then late night the place transformed into a jammed-packed dive bar classic, with musical acts like the Goo Goo Dolls, Cracker, and the Black Crows. Other big-name music acts performed at the Tip Top as they made their way through Huntsville, traveling to and from larger cities like Atlanta or Nashville.

Tip Top calendar 1992

The Tip Top was dirty and raw with a diverse, eclectic crowd – southern frat boys, grungy skaters, young professionals, white and black Huntsvillians – all jamming out to music that was cutting edge and new.

An exciting improved cultural footprint

Those cool old Huntsville hot-spots are gone, and lots more have popped up over the years. The city is evolving, becoming more sophisticated and diverse. Always a tech bastion, because of the NASA, Research Park, and Redstone Arsenal influence, the city now often makes the top-ten lists on national media – the best place for STEM jobs, best small cities to raise a family, best cities with green spaces, and on and on.

MidCity Huntsville

With the evolution of the city, a resurgence and interest in music, art, and this city’s cultural footprint are taking shape. A new emphasis on quality cultural entertainment, better music venues, better restaurants, and athletic-leisure entertainment has created a cultural overhaul.

Live music at The Camp, at MidCity

Companies like RCP, the developer behind the MidCity Huntsville development and CityCentre in Downtown Huntsville, are creating entertainment venues and opportunities for artists and musicians that will highlight Huntsville’s cool factor.