Huntsville Population 2010: 180,105, #129 in U.S., #4 in Alabama 1950: 16,437 2010 Metropolitan Area: 417,593, #120 in U.S. Setting Huntsville was first settled in 1805 in the area around the Big Spring, an underground spring. Huntsville was a small town until World War II, when the Redstone Arsenal was established there for the manufacture of munitions. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center opened in Huntsville in 1960. Buildings Tallest building: Regions Center, 189 feet (1990) Stores Huntsville has no downtown department stores. Trains There is no Amtrak service to Huntsville. Museums The Huntsville Museum of Art and EarlyWorks Museum Complex are downtown. |  Huntsville has no downtown movie theaters. The Huntsville Symphony Orchestra plays at the Concert Hall of the Von Braun Center (1975). The Broadway Theater League presents touring musicals at the Von Braun Center. Sports The Huntsville Stars, Double-A Southern League affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, moved to Biloxi, Miss., in 2015 and became the Biloxi Shuckers. Map of Downtown Huntsville Huntsville Convention and Visitors Bureau |