Historic Photos and Postcards

[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:

[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]

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.

[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

[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]

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.

[HSVTiger]

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.

[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]

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]

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]

^ 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.