Exploring Montgomery

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

hotel

Greystone Hotel — The once-grand Greystone, at 100 Commerce Street, was built in 1928. It was constructed as the Armstrong Hotel, or Cherokee Hotel, but was damaged by a fire in 1921 and sold off to become the Greystone. The 10-story classical structure was once nominated for listing on the National Register of […]

Greystone Hotel

June 2, 2017 in Commercial tagged armstrong / cherokee / greystone / hotel

Diplomat Hotel — I always chuckle when I drive by the old Diplomat Hotel . . . out on the Southern By-Pass (now grandly called “Southern Boulevard”) at its intersection with Norman Bridge. Around 1960, when all this appeared, that intersection was the largest (by number of lanes) of any in the city. And […]

Diplomat Hotel

March 13, 2017 in Commercial tagged diplomat / hotel / inn

Ben Moore — The once fine Ben Moore Hotel . . . located at 902 High Street (where it intersects with South Jackson), was built in 1952 near the center of Centennial Hill, the prestigious Black business district and neighborhood of that era. It was still new in 1954, when Martin Luther King […]

Ben Moore Hotel

December 30, 2016 in Commercial tagged ben / hotel / MLK / moore / rose

Jeff Davis Hotel — Located on Montgomery Street, it was our convention center in 1969. That year the Gulf States Region of the A.I.A. met in Montgomery for its semiannual gathering. The hotel had recently added two stacked banquet halls by enclosing the space between itself and the adjacent Sheppard Building. Wonderful accommodations. At […]

Jefferson Davis Hotel

March 17, 2016 in Commercial tagged hotel / jefferson davis

Exchange Hotel — Above is the Exchange corner that I knew, as it existed in 1957 when I was 30. First National was just across Commerce Street to the right, and this was the center of the world. When I worked in the Bank Bldg 1951-55, my desk was against the window and […]

Exchange Corner (Hotel)

February 22, 2016 in Commercial tagged corner / exchange / hotel

While this was being built I complained that such a massive structure was turning its back on downtown. Now I see it created a seperate night-life subcity in a bowl bounded by itself, Embassy Suites, Union Station, the river front, Riverwalk Stadium, and the alley bars. I still say it […]

Renaissance Hotel

February 22, 2016 in RSA tagged embassy / hotel / meeting / mpac / renaissance / spa