10 Coolest Small Towns, Ala.

By Anne Kristoff
August 6, 2007
0709_rttuscumbia
courtesy GAS Studios
A little bit hip and a little bit homey, these up-and-coming towns guarantee a fun detour on your next road trip. You'll be browsing the local real estate pages before you know it.

Tuscumbia, Ala.
Population: 7,856
Nearest City: Birmingham, 113 miles
"At first I wasn't sure I could make a living here," says photographer and designer Robert Rausch; the area native moved back in 2001. "But every week I was meeting another incredible person." Rausch opened Stellar Idea, a design firm, and GAS Studios, one of several galleries that host an artists' monthly open house on a rotating basis (109-A W. Sixth St., 256/383-7183). Tuscumbia boomed as a rail center starting in the mid-1800s but declined after World War II; as with many towns, sprawl diverted life away from the old downtown. Around 2000, Harvey Robbins, who made millions in flooring and plastics and hated to see his hometown suffer, began buying buildings, including the one now housing The Palace Ice Cream and Sandwich Shop (100 S. Main St., 256/386-8210, Harvey's milkshake $3.50), and others that he rents to artists and small-business owners. Robbins also built the ColdWater Inn (712 Hwy. 72W, 256/383-6844, coldwater-inn.com, from $89), and funded a renovation of the 10-acre Spring Park, where there's an occasional 51-jet fountain show. "Just like any town, we've had our history, both good and bad," says Robbins. "What matters is how you end up in the end."

Plan Your Next Getaway
Keep reading

10 Coolest Small Towns, Mo.

Parkville, Mo. Population: 4,059 Nearest City: Kansas City, Mo., 10 miles As Jennifer Stanton is telling how she ditched her corporate job in 2003 to open Wines by Jennifer in a circa-1903 house, the Park University clock tower chimes: "That's my mantra to remind me to slow down and enjoy life," she says (405 Main St., 816/505-9463, winesbyjennifer.com). On Wednesday's Diva Night at Jeff and Lynn Anderson's River Rock Reserve, ladies enjoy fun stuff like free neck massages with their River Bottom cocktails; by day, the space reverts to a café (6325 Lewis St., 816/505-3663, riverrockcoffee.com). "We're just 10 minutes from downtown Kansas City," says Jeff, "but I feel like any minute someone's going to ask me to help with a barn raising." Didier Combe, the proprietor of Café des Amis, thinks Parkville is like a village in his native France: "After the last dinner is served, we often sit on the deck with friends and guests" (112½ Main St., 816/587-6767, cafedesamiskc.com, rack of lamb $26). Over at The Power Plant Restaurant and Brewery, Angelo Gangai gives his beers historical monikers like Southbound Nut Brown, named after the trains that roll past (2 Main St., 816/746-5051, powerplantbrews.com). One caramely ale, Steamboat Stout, makes a dandy float when poured over vanilla gelato from The Sweet Guy (10 Main St., 816/505-2788, thesweetguy.com). At Bentley Guitar Studios, Mark Bentley has been teaching folks--and now their kids--guitar for nearly a decade (122 S. Main St., 816/746-9772, bentleyguitars.com). The Saturday jam sessions here have become so popular, they've taken over the sidewalk.