Commercial

Meadhaven
an adjunct of Baptist Hospital South, built in 1962 from a generous contribution of Arthur Mead. Initially it was a 40-bed nursing home; a decade later it was converted to hospital use, still later to psychiatric beds. Today its grand porch for rocking chairs has been filled in, its lawns […]

Meadhaven

 in Commercial  tagged baptist / meadhaven / south
Davis Building
now part of the Troy University Montgomery campus. It was built by mogul Horace Davis circa 1959, when his Davis Motor Co (Pontiacs & Cadillac’s) held forth directly across the street, and its prime first floor tenant was GMAC.  For two decades, this structure held the home offices of the […]

Davis Building

 in Commercial  tagged davis / troy
Greyhound 1
Oh, how sad you are, Greyhound. What a comedown from the grand bus system I knew as a boy! Back then, bus stations were in impressive buildings located within walking distance of the train depot, to facilitate passenger transfers. In all the larger towns they boasted covered loading, and often […]

Greyhound Bus Station

 in Commercial  tagged bus / greyhound / station
Cloverdale Shopping Center 1
on South Court, ancient and decrepit –but still vibrant. It was the centerpiece of Folmar & Flinn’s vast Cloverland Housing development of the late 1940s –a stunning achievement for that era. Of course, the sidewalk covers were added later. The TruValue hardware store you see was the Cloverland Grocery anchor […]

Cloverland Shopping Center

 in Commercial  tagged cloverdale / mall / shopping
FedEx Offices
in Gunter Industrial Park are in the section that serves as front door to the park. This is one of the first and most successful industrial parks in Alabama. It was developed on land ceded back to the city by DoD in 1973, when Gunter AFB was downsized and became […]

FedEx Offices

 in Commercial  tagged fedex / offices / shipping
Bonnie Crest
at 1410 Federal Drive, features an 18-hole golf course which was opened in 1938. The club is presently facing difficulty, and while it still operates as a private club, its course was recently opened for public play. This entrance drive stands directly opposite the Beard Building. -Charles Humphries

Bonnie Crest Country Club

 in Commercial  tagged bonnie / crest / golf
Lakeview Center
sits on Eastchase Lane, out behind the Eastchast shopping city. It is a 4-story, 100,000+ square foot, Class-A office building, the first of four structures planned to form a 30-acre “office campus” at this site. The building houses (among others) the corporate offices of the Jim Wilson Associates that built […]

Lakeview Center

 in Commercial  tagged eastchase / lakeview
Sterling Bank
at 4121 Carmichael Road has been there since 1989. Sterling is a division of Synovus Bank, one of the largest “community banks” in the southeast. It has holdings in five states (primarily Georgia), and each of its many divisions has a different name. Thus, Sterling appears as a “local” bank […]

Sterling Bank Headquarters

 in Commercial  tagged bank / sterling
Eastdale Mall
This mall opened in 1977, Aranov’s pride and joy, and despite numerous remodeling, it still exudes a certain 1970’s charm. Notable for its ice skating rink, and for its still operating 8-screen movie theater. A sister of University Mall in Tuscaloosa, it boasts four anchor department stores –100 outlets total […]

Eastdale Mall

 in Commercial  tagged eastdale / mall
Yancey Law Office
located at the corner of Washington and Perry Streets, directly across from the old Courthouse. From here the firebrand, William Lowndes Yancey, trumpeted for States Rights, and became the South’s leading advocate for secession. Lincoln credited Yancey with starting the Civil War. Yancey wrote Alabama’s Ordinance of Secession. Standing on […]

Yancey Law Office

 in Commercial  tagged historic registry / law / yancey
Jackson Hospital
Today (top), and circa 1920 (bottom view). It began as Highland Park Sanitarium in a row of houses on Forest Avenue. In the upper view you can see the bridge which connected the old building to the doctor’s offices on the left. Around 1975 the bridge held the quite-famous Ponte […]

Jackson Hospital

 in Commercial  tagged hospital / jackson / Ponte Rouge
Elite Cafe 5
The site of Montgomery’s renowned Elite Cafe (pronounced E-lite) at 121 Montgomery Street. It opened in 1910 and during its 1940s-‘50s heyday, it was known region wide. In that era, all the guests at the numerous masked balls would reassemble here after the dance was over and continue the revelry […]

Elite Cafe

 in Commercial  tagged cafe / dining / elite
Real Estate Financing
The Perry Street home of the onetime Real Estate Financing Inc, a creation of Edwin Auerbach Sr. Ed returned to his insurance business after WW-II and found a tremendous need for financing of a pent-up housing market. Backed by his mother-in-law, he was able to grow a new business that […]

Real Estate Financing Inc

 in Commercial  tagged estate / financing / regions
Bishop Parker
at 152 Coosa Street (across from the stadium) was built as a Schloss & Kahn wholesale  grocery warehouse in 1905. Its current use signals the 1995 return of that venerable old furniture store to the downtown area whence it came. BP founder Charlie Parker was my wife’s uncle. -Charles Humphries

Bishop Parker Warehouse

 in Commercial  tagged bishop / parker / warehouse
Bus Council
The headquarters is at 2 North Jackson Street, sits right behind the huge Gordon Persons Building, very appropriate since Persons was the last businessman governor we’ve managed to elect. The Council represents over 5,000 Alabama businesses, and was formed in 1985 with the merger of the Alabama Chamber of Commerce and […]

Business Council of Alabama

 in Commercial  tagged business / council
John Knox
at 4401 Narrow Lane Road, opened in 1970 as a new concept in elder-care. It was built by the East Alabama Presbytery, using some kind of Federal grant, offering “Christian care” assisted living apartments for retired people. A highly rated skilled nursing facility was added in 1976, and a dementia […]

John Knox Manor

 in Commercial / Religious  tagged elder / john / knox / manor
Winter-Loeb
at 105 Tallapoosa Street was a 1903 collaboration between architect Frank Lockwood and contractor Algenon Blair. The keystone arch theme almost gives it a whimsical feel. The Winter-Loeb wholesale grocery company was organized circa 1895 by immigrants Isaac Winter and his brother-in-law, Jacques Loeb. My wife’s grandfather, Edward Eugene Langham, […]

Winter-Loeb Building

 in Commercial  tagged loeb / winter
MCC
…founded 1903, is situated on Narrow Lane Road at the head of Fairview Avenue. Their present handsome clubhouse (pictured) is pseudo Greek Revival, called that because its exterior is synthetic stucco on Styrofoam. Their first club, built 1905, was on Carter Hill at the head of Narrow Lane. Their second […]

Montgomery Country Club

 in Commercial  tagged club / country / mcc