17 replies to this topic

[Southron]

Please post historic photographs and postcards of the Urban Alabama of yesteryear...

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Leading off with some from Old Mobile:

Bienville Square


The Bienville Hotel (demolished) once graced Bienville Square




The Cawthon Hotel (demolished, now a parking lot) also graced Bienville Square


The Cotton Exchange (burned)


Post Office and Federal Building (P.O. demolished 1968, federal bldg. still in use)


GM&O Terminal (restored and in use)


Government St. looking east (all demolished)


Raphael Semmes Monument


Monroe Park (destroyed)


Father Ryan Park


Customs House and First National Bank buildings on right(demolished to build what is now the AmSouth building)

Antebellum Customs House demolition, 1963



Great resource for historic photos of Mobile:  Mobile Then and Now

[Southron]

A few of Montgomery:

County Courthouse (demolished)


Post Office (demolished)


Bell Building (still in use)


Jefferson Davis Hotel (now senior housing)


Exchange Hotel (demolished in 1974) was a Court Square landmark for decades


Court Square

[Blazer85]

Some of Birmingham:

Edited by Blazer85, 02 April 2007 - 09:37 AM.

[convulso]

it really hits you when you see so many of these pics back-to-back: damn shame about all of the demolitions. thank god for slow economic times of the past - they helped to spare many buildings that otherwise would have been razed, especially in bham.

[Southron]

convulso, on Apr 4 2007, 02:51 AM, said:

it really hits you when you see so many of these pics back-to-back: damn shame about all of the demolitions. thank god for slow economic times of the past - they helped to spare many buildings that otherwise would have been razed, especially in bham.

I agree, it really does hit hard.  It's a shame that we lost so many buildings of character in the so-called "urban renewal" period.  Birmingham lost such landmarks as Terminal Station and the old Tutwiler Hotel; but, thankfully, didn't lose nearly as much as Mobile.  Montgomery lost a number of buildings as well, but not on the scale of Mobile.

Urban renewers demolished two-thirds of old Mobile by the 1970s.  Before WWII Mobile had an architectural stock that rivaled Charleston and Savannah.  Sadly, there is very little of it left.

It sickens me to see that the mentality of those old urban destroyers still exists.  I was shocked to find out that the Birmingham News planned to tear down their old office building.  Some people just don't get it.

Alabama badly needs preservation laws with teeth, tax credits for renovation of historic buildings, a fully-funded Main Street program to help our smaller cities maintain their downtowns, and more.  It's time for us to step up to preserve our architectural heritage.

[tombarnes]

You are absolutely right.  The Main Street programs have been very successful elsewhere- even in neighboring Mississippi.  The picture above of the demolition of the Customs House in Mobile is particularly sad.  With any luck, those days are behind us, but there are people everywhere with little respect for history.  I am astounded sometimes when I walk around downtown Washington and think of the many landmarks lost.  Thanks for this series of pictures.  Very interesting indeed.

[Southron]

^^ Glad to hear that Mississippi has a good Main Street program.  Alabama has a Main Street Program as well, but I was told recently that it's inactive because of a lack of funding.  It never has been funded very well.

Here are a few more old postcards...


Birmingham

Old City Hall


Terminal Station, demolished in 1960's



Tutwiler Hotel, demolished




Mobile

Battle House Hotel, under renovation



1889 Courthouse, demolished in 1958



Van Antwerp building, still in use


Van Antwerp building with old courthouse in background


Bienville Square aerial


Royal Street


St. Joseph Street



Government Street




Montgomery

Greystone Hotel, under renovation to be a Hampton Inn


Whitley Hotel


Gay Teague Hotel/Frank Leu building, demolished in 1997


City Hall, still in use


Old Post Office, now part of federal court complex


Dexter Avenue 1950's

[HSVTiger]

Downtown YMCA Huntsville, then and now, built in 1910, restored and renovated in 2001





1800 Courthouse


1918 First Alabama Bank, still in use


Shipping cotton at Ditto Landing/Tennessee River


Monte Sano Hotel


Russell Erskine Hotel, just recently renovated to it's former glory




Dallas Mill, sadly burned down but this area is targeted for re development


This motel is still around, not as a motel but cheap housing


The art deco Times building, undergoing renovation now

Edited by HSVTiger, 06 April 2007 - 02:35 PM.

[tombarnes]

I know that the Gay-Teague Hotel/Frank Leu Building was demolished a few years ago.  Is the Whitley offices or apartments now?  The Russell Erskine- is that now condos?  I'm really enjoying your post card series.

[Southron]

tombarnes, on Apr 6 2007, 10:35 PM, said:

I know that the Gay-Teague Hotel/Frank Leu Building was demolished a few years ago.  Is the Whitley offices or apartments now?  The Russell Erskine- is that now condos?  I'm really enjoying your post card series.

The Whitley Hotel, now Troy University-Montgomery's Whitley Hall, was converted to administrative offices and classrooms.  I believe the first floor lobby retained its original configuration.

[HSVTiger]

tombarnes, on Apr 6 2007, 10:35 PM, said:

I know that the Gay-Teague Hotel/Frank Leu Building was demolished a few years ago.  Is the Whitley offices or apartments now?  The Russell Erskine- is that now condos?  I'm really enjoying your post card series.

Yes the Russell Erskine is now senior citizen apartments, has been for many years. The recent renovation
brought the building back to it's original look and details. The only thing missing is the sign on the top.

Albert Russel Erskine (January 24, 1871 – July 1, 1933) was an American businessman. Born in Huntsville, Alabama, he worked in a number of manufacturing industries before joining the Studebaker motor car manufacturing firm in 1911. He served as Studebaker's President from 1915 until it the firm encountered severe financial problems in 1933, when he committed suicide by shooting himself. He is buried at the Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville.

[atwalker]

Postcard Birmingham, a non-commercial site found at http://atwalker.com/pcb contains over 500 old Birmingham postcard images, many with more recent photos.

[Southron]

atwalker, on Apr 8 2007, 07:30 PM, said:

Postcard Birmingham, a non-commercial site found at http://atwalker.com/pcb contains over 500 old Birmingham postcard images, many with more recent photos.

Interesting postcards there.  Thanks for the link, atwalker.

Welcome to UP and the Alabama forum!    

[Southron]

A few from Selma:

Streetcars in 1905


Hotel Albert, demolished in 1969


Broad Street



Courthouse


Post office


Baptist church

[EvanK]

Gotta get a little Gadsden on here.  Gadsden has lost many of its great old buildings, not to demolitions but to fires.  2 fires in history have hit downtown, the largest being the fire on July 4th, 1892 which damn near burned half of downtown.

Gadsden City Hall (burned)





Looking down S.4th Street - The building on the right still stands.  It was the original building for the Gadsden Times newspaper.



Downtown




Old Etowah County courthouse (burned)






Bellvue Hotel (burned)



Printup Hotel (still standing, but 3rd floor burned and tower was ruined)





Hotel Reich (still standing - rennovated in the 1980's and is now a residential building)





Downtown 1950's



Downtown w/trolley



Union Station



More downtown









This forum software is driving me nuts.

[EvanK]

Some riverboatage, which used to be Gadsden's bread and butter in the early days.









And finally, just a quick nod to Gadsden's industrial past.

[Southron]

^ Thanks for the good work, Evan.      It looks like a good number of Gadsden's downtown buildings are still around.  What percentage would you guess are still there?  

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Here's a ca. 1850s view of Court Square, Dexter Avenue and the state capitol in Montgomery.

[EvanK]

Southron, on Dec 15 2008, 11:01 AM, said:

^ Thanks for the good work, Evan.      It looks like a good number of Gadsden's downtown buildings are still around.  What percentage would you guess are still there?  

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Here's a ca. 1850s view of Court Square, Dexter Avenue and the state capitol in Montgomery.

I wouldn't know an accurate percentage, but I can say with confidence that Gadsden was never much of a "tear it down" kind of city.  What buildings downtown that did not burn are mostly preserved.  Had it not of been for all of the fires, many of the city's 19th century buildings would still exist.  Historical preservation is big here now.  Unless the existing stock is hit with another fire or takes a direct hit by a tornado, it's likely many of them will still be standing 100 more years.  There is a big local drive underway now to restore the Pitman Theater downtown.  It was built in the early 1940s and is where To Kill A Mockingbird had its southeastern premiere.    The old girl just needs some TLC to get it back to its glory days.



This image is from judodad1953 at Flickr.

Below is a shot of the Pitman at the opening of To Kill A Mockingbird.  I don't know why it had the southeastern premiere here since it was neither set nor shot here, but it was.    Just a cool little historical blurb.

Edited by EvanK, 21 December 2008 - 04:33 AM.