Exploring Montgomery

The storytelling continues… a collection of stories and photos from Exploring Montgomery!

Residential

William Britton — The attractive home of Dr. William Britton . . . at 3260 Bankhead Avenue out in the Edgemont District of Old Cloverdale. Dr Britton and his wife, Margaret Mead Britton, lived here when I moved to Montgomery in 1951. The house remained in that family for 50+ years. I enjoy […]

Dr. William Britton Residence

March 27, 2016 in Residential tagged britton / mead / william

2nd spencer longshore — This is the second Spencer Longshore House . . . and this one is at 3284 Bankhead Avenue. The first one, a standout two-story Federal Style at 3285 Bankhead, was posted earlier. Spencer liked Bankhead, but as he aged, the two-story climb became burdensome, so circa 1963 he built this long, […]

Second Spencer Longshore House

March 13, 2016 in Residential tagged coastal / longshore / spencer

Spencer Longshore — The beautifully kept Spencer Longshore House . . . at 3285 Bankhead Avenue. It was designed in the late 1930s to resemble the Federal Style popular along the Atlantic Coast during the 50 years following our Revolutionary War. However, the “broken-scrolled pediment” framing the entrance is a holdover from the […]

Spencer Longshore House

March 13, 2016 in Residential tagged colonial georgian / federal / longshore / spencer

Knox Hall — …on South Perry is said to be the finest example of a Greek Revival mansion in Montgomery. Its architect, Stephen Decatur Button, was from Connecticut, and he also designed the 1847 Capitol here. It was built in the 1840s but underwent a restoration in 1981. Knox Hall was one of […]

Knox Hall

March 12, 2016 in Residential tagged greek revival / knox hall / mansion

Edgewood — …at 3175 Thomas Ave is Federal Style, was built as early as 1821 on a plantation several miles from the tiny settlement of Montgomery. In 1855 it was bought by Peachy Gilmer, brother of Gov Gilmer of Georgia. I think that would make Peachy bro-in-law to Alabama’s first two govrenors. […]

Edgewood

March 6, 2016 in Residential tagged edgewood / federal style / historic registry / oldest

Ordeman Townhouse — Purchase of this house by the Landmarks Foundation in 1967 signaled the birth of the Old Alabama Town Historic District in Montgomery. This residence, still in its original location, serves as the anchor piece of the district. The house, built circa 1850 by architect Charles Ordeman in the newly fashionable […]

Ordeman Townhouse

March 3, 2016 in Residential tagged historic registry / italianate / old alabama town / ordeman

Gov Shorter House — …at 305 S Lawrence, adjacent to the County Courthouse, was built ca 1855 in the Italianate Style. But it was extensively remodeled in 1890 (Victorian), and again in 1910 (Colonial Revival). Poor house. Alabama Gov John Gill Shorter lived here 1861-62, and this was the official Governors Mansion for those […]

Gov. John Shorter House

March 1, 2016 in Residential tagged governor / mansion / shorter

Margaret Booth School — As sad as it is now, Sayer was a grand address in its day. The imposing American Four-Square structure (obviously added to on the side and rear) served Margaret as home and school from 1914 until her death in 1953. It stood as tall in the education of girls in […]

Margaret Booth School

February 29, 2016 in Education / Residential tagged girls / margaret / school

Tyson Manner House — This house stands at the corner of High and McDonough Streets in mute testimony to its will to survive. It was constructed in 1888 in what was then a very fashionable neighborhood by a successful young Lowndesboro planter come-to-town in 1877, named Archibald Pitt Tyson. It is of many styles, but […]

Tyson Maner House

February 27, 2016 in Residential tagged helen keller / maner / tyson / victorian

…at 221 South Court Street is typical ante-bellum Greek Revival. It was built in 1845 by the same John Figh as is mentioned as contractor for several other buildings covered herein, for his personal residence. But Figh sold it even before he moved in for the princely sum of $5,800. […]

Lomax House

February 24, 2016 in Residential tagged colonel / lomax / tennent

Gov Thomas Jones House — The huge scale of the adjacent ACC office building makes the Jones Victorian-style home look like a dollhouse. The house was built ca 1855, but Thomas Jones acquired it in 1866, right after the war. He purchased it from a local lawyer, Daniel Troy. Troy owned the house for only […]

Gov. Thomas Jones House

February 22, 2016 in Residential tagged governor / historic registry / jones / mansion / thomas / victorian

…built in 1835 for William Sayre, one of the founders of First Presbyterian Church, Montgomery’s first organized church. It is perhaps “Federal Style Colonial”, with Italianate detail added circa 1850. The house originally stood at the corner of Bibb and Lee Streets, and was moved to its present location in […]

First White House of the CSA

February 22, 2016 in Residential tagged confederacy / historic registry / house / jeff davis

Alabama_Governor's_Mansion — This 1907 house, located on South Perry Street, has been Alabama’s Governor’s Mansion for almost 60 years now-despite numerous attempts to move it elsewhere to escape a decaying neighborhood. At ”Big Jim” Folsom’s urging, the State bought the place in 1950, paying $100,000, the most that had ever been paid […]

Governor’s Mansion

February 22, 2016 in Government / Residential tagged governor / mansion

…the one with the unique built-in Gazebo, stands on Goldthwaite Street at the foot of Martha, another of those grand old homes that made up the once proud Cottage Hill District. I’m told that the structure dates to 1895, and that Walker was from Tuskegee (where his great uncle, […]

B W Walker House

February 22, 2016 in Residential tagged house

…was built in 1909 as a white clapboard by banker Louis Moore. Warren Tyson owned it in 1923 and converted it to the then popular Tudor Style. I believe that Felder was the city limit line about then. The renowned Helen Keller stayed here often, as her sister, Mildred Keller, […]

Moore-Tyson House

February 22, 2016 in Residential tagged house

Teague House — …was built in 1848, and is on the corner of Perry and High Streets. It has been described as Montgomery’s quintessential “Southern Mansion”, even though it had been built as a townhouse, not as a plantation mansion.. In 1865, after the surrender, Yankee General James Wilson rode in and took […]

Teague House

February 22, 2016 in Residential tagged greek revival / teague

Four Sisters Houses — The houses are on Perry Street, diagonally opposite First Baptist. The original owner, Dr W.O. Baldwin 1818-1886, highly successful banker and respected physician, spent his entire life in Montgomery. Even so, Baldwin opposed the war, not because he didn’t believe in the cause, but because he thought the South would lose. […]

Four Sisters Houses

February 22, 2016 in Residential tagged baldwin / four / hale / italianate / sisters / victorian

…was built by local judge Frederick Rice in 1855. After its ardiouus journey from its former site on Monroe Street, the poor structure was resituated on a lot at the corner of Court and High Streets, but its vast array of outbuildings was lost in the relocation. It now backs […]

Rice-Semple House

February 22, 2016 in Residential tagged historic registry / relocated / rice / semple

Murphy House — …at 22 Bibb Street, the present-day offices of the Montgomery Water Works, was built in 1851 for John Murphy, a cotton broker who moved here from Virginia and quickly amassed a goodly fortune. He built this outstanding example of Greek Revival architecture as evidence of his financial status, and there […]

Murphy House

February 22, 2016 in Residential tagged greek revival / historic registry / murphy