Meet the Downtown Advocate of the Year
By Abigail Harrison, DHI Communications Coordinator
Our Advocate of the Year award recognizes an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to the revitalization and success of Downtown Huntsville. The Advocate of the Year is selected by the DHI Team, and the individual or organization must meet a certain criteria. When deciding the past year’s advocate, our team had one clear choice in mind.
Donna Castellano is the Executive Director of the Historic Huntsville Foundation. She has a strong love for Huntsville history and is committed to researching and bringing long-needed recognition to stories that were marginalized or forgotten. Donna is an important member to the downtown community, and we are proud to name her our Downtown Advocate of the Year!
This week, I chatted with Donna to learn more about her and the work she is doing in downtown:
What was your first experience like in downtown?
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I worked (briefly) at a law firm in downtown Huntsville. I grew up in Birmingham, where we didn’t have a courthouse square. So my first experience would have been walking around the square trying to figure out the difference between “North Side,” East Side,” South Side,” and “West Side” Square.
What’s your favorite thing about Downtown Huntsville?
I love how Downtown Huntsville is still evolving—that we are consciously thinking about what we want downtown to be and how downtown should represent our values as a city. Downtown is a place where everyone should feel welcome, should feel at home, should feel connected. Stakeholders—like the Historic Huntsville Foundation—have a special responsibility to make this a reality.
Do you have a special memory of downtown?
The first Sidewalk Arts Stroll (now the Friday Night Art Walks!) that Dianne Burch and I launched in 2006. We had this crazy idea that if we created an arts marketplace on the courthouse square, people would get out of their houses on a Thursday night and come to downtown Huntsville to shop, mingle, and get a bite to eat. Our first event was in June 2006. We had 60 or so artists, and early attendance was slow. I dipped into a restaurant (Papou’s) for a quick dinner. My son (16 at the time) called me on my cell and said, “Mom, where are you? Do you see all the people?” I walked outside and the sidewalks were full. We did that event for nine years—the hottest Thursday nights in the world—because Dianne and I became addicted to the sight of art vendors and downtown sidewalks filled with people.
How long have you been with the Historic Huntsville Foundation?
I started volunteering with the Historic Huntsville Foundation in 2004. I have been a board member, board chair, and now executive director. The only thing I’ve never done in this organization is ring up sales in Harrison Brothers Hardware.
Does the Historic Huntsville Foundation have any exciting projects coming up?
So glad you asked! We are taking our Daniel Brandon “Brick by Brick: The Legacy of Henderson and Daniel Brandon” exhibition from the Historic Huntsville Museum to the streets! HHF will soon debut a heritage trail that highlights the buildings constructed by the Brandons in downtown Huntsville. This trail shows how Black entrepreneurs built our modern city and recognizes the Brandons as peers of noted architects/builders such as George Steele and Edgar Love.
Do you have a favorite project that you have worked on with your organization?
The marker dedication in October 2021 for Huntsville’s Black suffragists in William Hooper Councill Memorial Park. Bringing recognition to Mary Binford, Ellen Brandon, India Herndon, Lou Bertha Johnson, Celia Love and Dora Lowery taught me that it’s always the right time to do the right thing.
What makes downtown special from a historical perspective?
From the Big Spring to the Madison County Courthouse, we have Huntsville history from its early settlement to the space age.
How does it feel to be named Downtown Advocate of the Year?
It’s incredibly humbling and greatly unexpected. All of us have a role to play in the making of a downtown that reflects our city’s aspirations. It’s not always easy, but it’s the most rewarding work you can do.