Galleries: More from the Decatur, Alabama historic districts

A supplement to the article, Don’t dodge Decatur’s historic downtown, which has 20 photos from the Bank Street and Old Decatur Historic District and the New Decatur-Albany Historic District.

The city has two distinct historic downtowns that are about a half a mile apart. Both provide excellent streetscapes, especially in the summer and fall when the trees and potted plants are green.

Bank Street and Old Decatur Historic District

For the district’s application to the National Register of Historic Places, click here.

The c. 1832 bank building is now home to The Old State Bank museum:

The lovely Old Decatur downtown stretches for four big blocks from the bank towards the southwest. Other than that 190-year-old bank, most the other historic buildings on Bank Street were constructed between the boom years of the 1880s and the 1910s.

The War Between the States was not kind to Old Decatur. The Union Army burned most of the buildings. They spared the bank and the c. 1829 Dancy-Polk House, which is found just across Railroad Street and the tracks:

In 2004-2005, the Collin Stevenson Pedestrian Bridge was built above the tracks:

The bridge makes it easy to get a good look at the nearly 195-year-old house. Cross the bridge to read the historical info signs. You can also visit the small Etta Freeman Park.