Downtown Montgomery: homes, schools, parks and commute

Last checked Oct. 17, 2026. Sources: the City of Montgomery’s Neighborhood Services map layer and ZIP code layer, the Envision Montgomery 2040 comprehensive plan (PDF), the city’s parks directory, the Montgomery Public Schools school zone search, the Alabama State Department of Education’s report card, Zillow Research, The M and OpenStreetMap.

Downtown is the city’s oldest district: Court Square, Dexter Avenue, the State Capitol, the riverfront and the government offices between them. On this page it is the area the city’s Neighborhood Services map assigns to the Downtown Neighborhood Association, which runs from the Alabama River and the riverfront south and east past the Capitol, with Union Street, Clay Street and South Street along its edges. All of it is in ZIP code 36104.

What this means for you

• Zoned high school: Percy Julian High for nearly every point we checked.
• Home value: $57,872 in ZIP 36104 in September 2026, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.
• Nearest interstate exits: I-85 Exit 1 (Court Street and Union Street) and I-65 Exit 172 (Clay Street and Herron Street).

Part of our Montgomery neighborhoods guide.

Where it is

The streets inside the area include Dexter Avenue, Madison Avenue, Monroe Street, Bibb Street, Washington Avenue, Adams Avenue, High Street and Ripley, Decatur and McDonough streets. Court Square sits at the foot of Dexter Avenue, and the Capitol at its head.

The city’s Envision Montgomery 2040 plan, adopted July 25, 2020, says the central neighborhood has seen “a renewed focus” since Riverwalk Stadium opened in 2004, naming the Renaissance hotel and conference center, the Alley entertainment district and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. It says the number of full-time downtown residents is rising and that the Columbus Square project, when its five phases are complete, will add “close to 300 new affordable and market rate apartments.” The city finished a Downtown Master Plan in 2007 and is now writing a Downtown Action Plan to set the next decade of projects. It also published a downtown residential housing market study (PDF).

More on what is there in our downtown and riverfront guide.

Schools

We checked 25 points spread across the neighborhood in the district’s school zone search on Oct. 17. Grades are from the state’s 2024-25 report card.

Montgomery Public Schools as a whole earned a C (75). The district also runs magnet schools that take applications from across the city. Zones can change, so enter an exact address in the zone search and confirm at 334-223-6700. More in our schools guide.

Home values

The typical home value in ZIP 36104 was $57,872 in September 2026, down 6.6% from $61,946 in September 2025, according to the Zillow Home Value Index. The index is a modeled typical value for the middle third of homes, not a sale price, and it covers the whole ZIP code, which reaches well beyond downtown. The citywide figure was $149,943, up 1.7%. More in our home prices guide.

Parks and trails

The city’s parks directory places four parks inside the neighborhood:

• Court Square, 1 Dexter Ave., with the historic fountain and a riverwalk link
• Riverfront Park, 355 Commerce St., on the Alabama River
• Kiwanis Park, 400 N. Hull St.
• Rotary Dog Park, 98 Coosa St.

Tuscaloosa Park, 731 Genetta Ct., is just outside the southeast edge. More in our parks and trails guide.

Getting around

• Interstates: I-85 begins at I-65 on the west side of downtown. The nearest exits are I-85 Exit 1 (Court Street and Union Street), I-65 Exit 172 (Clay Street and Herron Street) and I-65 Exit 173 (North Boulevard), as signed on OpenStreetMap’s ramp data.
• City Hall, 103 N. Perry St., is about 0.3 mile from the middle of the area by road.
• Montgomery Regional Airport is about 12 miles by road. Both are road distances measured on the OpenStreetMap network with the OSRM routing engine, not drive times.
• Buses: nine routes of The M pass through the neighborhood: 1 AUM Eastchase, 2 Eastdale Mall, 4 Boylston, 5 McGhee Road, 7 Maxwell AFB, 8 Gunter Annex, 10 South Court St., 11 Rosa Parks/South Blvd. and 12 Smiley Court Gibbs Village. Most start at the Intermodal Transfer Center, 495 Molton St.

More in our getting around guide.

Neighborhood association

The city’s neighborhood directory lists the Downtown Neighborhood Association for this area. Neighborhood Services, 25 Washington Ave., can be reached at 334-625-3422; city service requests go to 311 at 334-625-4636.

Groceries and everyday stores

OpenStreetMap shows few stores inside the downtown neighborhood:

• City Drug, a pharmacy on Dexter Avenue
• Juliette Hampton Morgan Memorial Library, the main branch of the city-county library, 245 High St.

There is no supermarket mapped inside the area. Downtown’s restaurants, bars and the curb market are in our downtown and riverfront guide.

How we drew this area

The edges are the Downtown Neighborhood Association area in the city’s Neighborhood Services map layer. ZIP shares come from the city’s ZIP code layer. School zones are from 25 points inside those edges checked in the district’s zone search. Parks are from the city’s directory; stores, interstate exits and bus routes are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Frequently asked questions

What high school is downtown Montgomery zoned for?

Percy Julian High for nearly all of the downtown neighborhood, with Capitol Heights Middle and Highland Gardens Elementary, according to the Montgomery Public Schools zone search. A few blocks on the edges are zoned differently, so check an exact address.

What is the typical home value in downtown Montgomery?

The Zillow Home Value Index for ZIP code 36104 was $57,872 in September 2026, down 6.6% from a year earlier. It is a modeled typical value for the whole ZIP code, not a sale price.

Which buses serve downtown Montgomery?

Nine routes of The M pass through the downtown neighborhood: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12. Most start at the Intermodal Transfer Center, 495 Molton St.

What parks are in downtown Montgomery?

The city lists Court Square at 1 Dexter Ave., Riverfront Park at 355 Commerce St., Kiwanis Park at 400 N. Hull St. and Rotary Dog Park at 98 Coosa St. inside the downtown neighborhood.