Bank Street–Old Decatur Historic District

The Blue and Gray Museum was a large, privately-owned collection of American Civil War artifacts in Decatur, Alabama, in the United States. The museum was also home to a number of non-Civil War artifacts including U.S. General Joseph K. Mansfield's ivory-handled Colt 1851 Navy revolver, shako military hats that dated to the Mexican–American War, Lt. Charles E. Warren's 1810–1840-era sword, and letters from Ulysses S. Grant, John C. Calhoun, Ormsby Mitchel, and P.G.T. Beauregard.

The Southern Railway Depot is a historic building in Decatur, Alabama. The depot was built in 1904–05 along the Southern Railway line. Decatur had become a transportation hub of North Alabama by the 1870s, with its connections to the Tennessee River, the east–west Tuscumbia, Courtland and Decatur Railroad (later operated by the Memphis and Charleston Railroad and the Southern Railway), and the north–south Louisville and Nashville Railroad. The Southern's last train through the city was the Tennessean (Memphis-Washington, D.C., discontinued, 1968). The last train by the L&N, and the train with the last route going south toward Alabama's largest cities, was the Pan-American, (Cincinnati-New Orleans) which ended in 1971. Other L&N trains passing through were the Azalean (Cincinnati-New Orleans) and the Humming Bird (Cincinnati-New Orleans). The depot last functioned as a passenger station in 1979, when Amtrak cancelled its (Chicago-St. Petersburg / Miami) Floridian service. The station is built of brick painted white, with quoins on the corners. The building has a rectangular central section with narrower wings stretching along the tracks. The central section has a hipped roof, while the wings have gable roofs; both have deep eaves with decorative brackets. The main entrance is covered by a porte-cochère with arched openings. The depot was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

The Battle of Decatur was a demonstration conducted from October 26 to October 29, 1864, as part of the Franklin-Nashville Campaign of the American Civil War. Union forces of 3–5,000 men under Brigadier-General Robert S. Granger prevented the 39,000 men of the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General John B. Hood from crossing the Tennessee River at Decatur, Alabama.

Decatur (dɪˈkeɪtə(r)) is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City", it is located in northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake, along the Tennessee River. The population in 2020 was 57,938.Decatur is the core city of the two-county large Decatur metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 156,494 in 2020. Combined with the Huntsville Metropolitan Area, the two create the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area, of which Decatur is the second-largest city. Like many southern cities in the early 19th century, Decatur's early success was based upon its location along a river. Railroad routes and boating traffic pushed the city to the front of North Alabama's economic atmosphere. The city rapidly grew into a large economic center within the Tennessee Valley and was a hub for travelers and cargo between Nashville and Mobile, as well as Chattanooga and New Orleans. Throughout the 20th century, the city experienced steady growth, but was eclipsed as the regional economic center by the fast-growing Huntsville during the space race. Decatur now finds its economy heavily based on manufacturing, mining, cargo transit, chemical, and high-tech companies such as Vulcan Materials, Daikin, Toray, and United Launch Alliance.

The State Bank Building, Decatur Branch, commonly known as the Old State Bank, is a historic Jeffersonian-style bank building in Decatur, Alabama, United States. It was recorded by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1934 and 1935. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 24, 1972, due to its architectural significance.

The Dancy–Polk House (also known as the Col. Francis Dancy House) is a historic residence in Decatur, Alabama. The house was built in 1829 for Colonel William Francis Dancy, an early settler in the area, who later moved to Franklin, LA. It is the oldest building in Decatur, and one of only four to survive the Civil War (the others being the Old State Bank, the Rhea–McEntire House, and the Todd House in the Bank Street–Old Decatur Historic District). Dancy came to North Alabama from southern Virginia, and built a Georgian house popular in his homeland. The two-story frame house has a double-height portico with four Doric columns on each level. The house was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1978 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

The Princess Theatre is a 677-seat performing arts venue in Decatur, Alabama. The art deco-style building was originally built in 1887 as a livery stable. In 1919, the building was transformed into a silent film and vaudeville playhouse. In 1941 the Princess received its art deco redesign. A bright neon marque which displays the name was installed around the same time. Local architect Albert Frahn painted the interior in burgundy and gray, with glow-in-the-dark murals. Outside the doors, the floor is paved with terrazzo in a map of Alabama, that marks the Tennessee River and City of Decatur. In 1978, the city of Decatur purchased The Princess after it closed as a movie house. The city gave the theatre a $750,000 renovation, and the stage was again open as the premier performing arts venue for the Decatur area. The building was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1981.

The East Old Town Historic District, near Decatur, Alabama, is a historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.The listing included 37 contributing buildings and a contributing site on 30 acres (12 ha).It includes Greek Revival, and Bungalow/craftsman architecture.The district includes NW Church Street to NW Wilson Street.

The New Decatur–Albany Historic District is a historic district in Decatur, Alabama. The district encompasses the commercial district of the former town of New Decatur (briefly renamed Albany). It lies south of the Bank Street-Old Decatur Historic District and east of the New Decatur–Albany Residential Historic District. New Decatur was founded in 1887 as a planned town and suburb of Decatur. The town was renamed Albany in 1916 and merged with "Old" Decatur in 1927. The district contains 48 buildings centered on 2nd Avenue. Buildings from the late 19th century exhibit more decorated styles, including examples of Romanesque Revival, Victorian, and Renaissance Revival architecture. Early 20th century structures are more restrained, with decoration coming from the building's materials rather than being applied. A few Art Deco and Streamline Moderne buildings dating from the 1920s to 1940s also appear in the district. Notable contributing properties include the Princess Theatre, an Art Deco cinema-turned-theater, and the Cotaco Opera House, built in 1890.The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. The Decatur Light, Power, and Fuel Company complex was added to the district in 1999, but subsequently demolished.

The Rhea–McEntire House, also known as the Rhea–Burleson–McEntire House, is a historic antebellum Greek Revival mansion located along the shoreline of the Tennessee River's Wheeler Lake in Decatur, Alabama. The house was constructed prior to 1836, and was used as headquarters by both Union and Confederate forces, alternately, during the Civil War. Contrary to local legend, the Battle of Shiloh was not planned in this house nor used as headquarters by Albert Sidney Johnston in early 1862. Johnston's headquarters were located in a small building attached to the McCartney Hotel across the railroad tracks from the Burleson mansion. Extant primary-source records back up this assertion. The official records, most of which are now housed at Tulane University, indicate that General Johnston's headquarters during the time he reorganized his Confederate forces in Decatur in March 1862 were at the McCarty (sic) Hotel. They also indicate that planning for attacking Grant's forces at Pittsburg Landing (the Battle of Shiloh) was done by Johnston's subordinate, General Beauregard, in Corinth, Mississippi. The list of major buildings in Decatur, Alabama that survived the Civil War were the Dancy-Polk House, the Old State Bank, The McCartney Hotel (demolished in the 1920s), and the Burleson House that later became known as the McEntire House. The most likely reason they were spared is that they were all inside the perimeter of the breastworks built by the Union in 1864. Everything outside the breastworks for an 800-yard (730 m) radius was leveled to provide a clear field of fire for the artillery defending the Union position on the banks of the Tennessee River. The Burlesons owned the house during the Civil War. Dr. Aaron Adair Burleson served as the president of the Tennessee and Central Alabama Railroad that later became part of the Nashville and Decatur Railroad. During the Civil War Dr. Burleson was a physician in the Confederate Army. The home was sold to Jerome Hinds, a former Union soldier from Illinois, in 1869. After the Hinds, the home was used as a boarding house and hotel before standing empty for a period. It was purchased on April 5, 1895 by R. P. McEntire. The house was also used as the second temporary courthouse, during the construction of the first permanent courthouse in Decatur, in Morgan County.The house was documented with large-format photographs by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1937.

The Cotaco Opera House, also known as Masonic Building, was the first opera house constructed in the state of Alabama. It is located at 115 Johnston Street in historic downtown Decatur, Alabama. In 1889, the city of Decatur was the largest city in North Alabama, out-sizing Huntsville. It had become increasingly apparent that the city was in need of a theater to showcase its fine arts. The Opera House was built on a 100 by 140 foot site that ran south from Johnston Street and fronting on the east side of 1st Avenue. It was built by the Cotaco Opera House Company, which was incorporated on September 16, 1889.

The Norfolk Southern Tennessee River Bridge is a lift bridge operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway over the Tennessee River at Decatur in the north central part of Alabama in the United States. While it is owned and operated by Norfolk Southern, the majority of the railroad traffic over the bridge is from another company, CSX Transportation. There has been a railroad bridge or ferry at this location since the late 1850s. The bridge is on the Norfolk Southern mainline between Sheffield, Alabama and Chattanooga, Tennessee and the CSXT mainline between Birmingham, Alabama and Nashville, Tennessee (S&NA North Subdivision). This bridge also serves as a vital link between North Alabama and Greater Birmingham/Central Alabama. The Port of Decatur, which serves as an intramodal terminal for many industries in the region, benefits from the bridge's important location inside Decatur.