Alabama Places in Peril

11/03/2011

Powell School effort recognized in Birmingham News editorial.

http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-commentary/2011/11/our_view_group_of_preservation.html

Maybe it's a lesson learned. It will be a while before we know for sure, but we can certainly hope Birmingham doesn't repeat the Terminal Station debacle with Powell School, the city's oldest school building. Terminal Station was an historic railway terminal built in 1909 and demolished in 1969 to m...

07/11/2011

Check out the photos of the work day at the Jemison-Turner House this past Saturday.

06/23/2011

One of the principal mill buildings at the Avondale Mill in Sylacauga and adjacent to the Avondale Mill Village listed in this year's PIP has been destroyed by fire.

The three-story building is fully involved and the roof already has caved in.

06/03/2011

Windham Construction Co. Building

06/03/2011

In a day and time when most of us are familiar with fifty-inch flat screen televisions, home entertainment systems, and the ability to stream first-run movies into our living rooms, the days when Americans went to the movies more than once a week seem very distant. Few people are around anymore who can remember the golden age of the motion picture palace, when audiences watched silent movies accompanied by full orchestras or grand pipe organs. Some may remember the 1930s and 1940s, when going to the movies was the national pastime. But as television made its inroads in the 1950s, America’s habit of going to the movies began to wane. By the 1960s, many of the grand movie palaces had already succumbed to the wrecking ball and theatres of all sizes were trying desperately to hold on, often by remodeling for wider screens or, conversely, to be split up into twin or multiple screens. While many small town theatres continued to limp along through the 1970s and 1980s, the vast majority of Alabama’s historic theatres had gone dark.

Few building types hold such broad appeal within their communities, as people of all walks of life fondly remember Saturday matinees, first dates, and all the fun they had at the movies. As a result, many communities have found creative ways to save and repurpose their historic theatres. In Birmingham, the Alabama Theatre, built in 1927 as a silent movie palace and known as the “Showplace of the South,” has been restored as a performing arts center. Similar conversions have occurred in Mobile, Decatur, Montgomery, Russellville, Talladega, Tuscaloosa, Winfied, and other towns. Yet there a many more historic theatres scattered across the state that are still awaiting restoration and an audience. We can still smell the popcorn!

06/03/2011

Associated with one of Alabama’s most significant early 20th century textile operations, Mignon, the Avondale mill village in Sylacauga, is now representative of the demise of this once great industry. Located outside the city’s limits, the village has suffered economic decline and disinvestment, and struggles to remain viable as a neighborhood. Avondale Mills was founded in 1897 by Braxton Bragg Comer. The company flourished under Comer’s leadership and continued to expand after Comer was elected Governor of Alabama in 1906 and his sons assumed management of the company. Avondale began building the first of its three mills in Sylacauga in 1913. The company was known for its progressive labor policies that included providing amenities such as libraries, swimming pools, hospitals, and other recreational facilities for its workers. The company also offered workers a profit-sharing plan and was progressive in hiring African-Americans.

Mignon was constructed in the mid-1910s and named after one of B.B. Comer’s daughters. Typical of similar villages found throughout Alabama, the neighborhood provided affordable housing for the mill’s “associates” in close proximity to their work. A strong sense of community was fostered among the residents; today, former mill workers and their families recall Mignon as having been an excellent place to raise a family. As the textile industry declined, conditions in the village declined as well, and now the village retains only vestiges of the design and character that defined it. While there is active interest among current and former residents in improving conditions in the neighborhood, broad-based community support and action are needed to address the many issues facing the village. An excellent online resource to learn more of village life not only in Mignon, but throughout Avondale Mills’ communities is: http://www.bplonline.org/resources/Digital_Project/AvondaleSun.htm.

06/03/2011

Powell School

As the broad outlines of a New South industrial city began to fill out and take form, city founders responded to calls to create a free school system for the children of Birmingham’s workers. Seeking to draw more settlers to the area, Birmingham founder and president of the Elyton Land Company Captain John R. Powell donated four blocks for the city’s first public school in 1873. The initial building was replaced in 1888 by the current structure. The building was named Powell School in honor of the man responsible for its existence.

For more than a century, thousands of Birmingham school children learned in the classrooms of Powell School, also known as the “Free School.” Designed by an Ohio architect, Powell School is a three story red brick structure with stone foundation in the Victorian Gothic style, typical of turn of the century school buildings. The main façade is composed of three primary bays, which are further divided into three bays separated vertically by pilasters and horizontally by brick courses. The pedimented gable, outlined in stone, contains a three part round arched window with header brick molding.

A majestic building that symbolizes the commitment of Birmingham’s early business leaders to the education of city children, the future of Powell School is currently unknown. Vacant since 2003, a January 2011 fire destroyed the roof and consumed most of the interior. Faced with the threat of demolition, community leaders and historic preservationists argue that the historic Powell School building can be restored and returned to use. More than a century ago, Captain Powell described Birmingham as “The Magic City.” Currently, political, business, and civic leaders are working to create a little magic so Birmingham can retain this important piece of its history.

06/03/2011

With the removal of Native American tribes from Alabama lands, white settlers poured into area to make their fortune in cotton. Born in Lincoln County, Georgia, Robert Jemison brought his family and slaves to Talladega County in 1837 and began acquiring property in the rich bottom lands bordering the Chocolocco and Cheaha creeks. In addition to his cotton plantation, Jemison owned and operated Turner’s Mill, a gristmill that provided a source of revenue independent of cotton. Joined in Alabama by six of his siblings, the Jemison family achieved great wealth and political influence. Robert Jemison Jr., a descendent of Robert Jemison, was instrumental in the development of Birmingham.

The residence built by Robert Jemison on his Talladega plantation is significant for its unusual plan and its exceptionally fine and intact Federal period interiors. The front façade features a central pedimented portico with a pair of Tuscan columns, two single leaf, cross and Bible entrance doors, and four 9/9 windows with louvered shutters. According to Robert Gamble, senior architectural historian for the State of Alabama, “The home is especially notable for its unusual split-level rear wing. A long balustrade upper gallery, deeply shaded by a wide, overhanging roof, suggests the Lower Mississippi more than an upland Alabama valley.” This split level plan appears in only one other house in the state, also located in Talladega county and constructed by another member of the Jemison family. Several outbuildings, including a barn that may date to the nineteenth century, immediately surround the house.

The Jemison House is deteriorating due to abandonment and lack of funds to restore it. The Jemison Home offers a tremendous opportunity to restore one of our state’s truly exceptional early nineteenth century residences.

06/03/2011

Bermuda Hill

Sitting on a hill overlooking the old Prairieville to Greensboro Road, the Bermuda Hill house is a product of an era when ambitious men believed the road to riches ran through fluffy rows of cotton. The prominent Manning family first owned the property. The Mannings were early settlers and planters in Prairieville and owned large land tracts in the original French grants of the Vine and Olive colony. In 1845, William W. Manning sold the land to William Weeden of Madison County. The home was built c. 1845, but it is unclear whether Manning or Weeden built the house.

Bermuda Hill reflects the refined taste and wealth of its early owners. The home is a significant example of a Canebrake plantation house based on the I-house form. The façade is dominated by a full height pedimented portico, supported by four paneled columns embellished with sawnwork brackets. The first floor boasts a double leaf entrance with full transom and sidelights located in the center of the five bay façade. The second floor features a double leaf entrance with a similar transom that has a balustrade placed across the opening.

Some scholars believe the grounds surrounding Bermuda Hill contain subsurface remains and merit further exploration through an archaeological survey.

Bermuda Hill is threatened by neglect and deferred maintenance.

06/03/2011

Gurley Town Hall

Located 16 miles from Huntsville, Gurley incorporated in 1890 and grew up around a water and coaling station that served the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. The Town Hall was listed on the National Register in 2004, as part of the Gurley Historic District.

The two-story brick building has three stone arches across the front façade and was first a hardware store. It has also housed a print shop, a lodge, the Crescent theatre, and a school. It served as the town hall from 1965-1982. Today, the town uses it as a fire station.

While the building needs a new roof and the rear wall stabilized, the Gurley community stands ready to assist an owner develop a viable project. Located in the greater Huntsville-Madison metro area, one of the fast growing regions in the nation, the Town Hall offers multiple opportunities for redevelopment. As a contributing structure in the historic district, the structure qualifies for a federal preservation tax credit.

The future of Old Gurley Town Hall is uncertain, and residents fear that it could deteriorate even further or be demolished.

06/03/2011

A group of Sumter County residents established the Elizabeth Presbyterian Church in November 1838 about nine miles south of York. Elizabeth Knox donated the land where the the first church was built, and it was named in her honor. Seven years later, the congregation moved their church nearer to the town of Gaston, a bustling little village that was more centrally located for the membership.

The growing congregation replaced the original log structure in 1858 with a wooden frame, two-story building. Slaves were members of the Elizabeth Church and remained part of the congregation after they were freed until the 1870s. Members also established a small cemetery on the property.

Economic developments and demographic changes have been unkind to many of Alabama’s rural areas. The descendents of those who settled these regions have moved to pursue opportunities elsewhere. When they leave, they leave behind structures like Elizabeth Presbyterian Church, a building where generations gathered to celebrate life and mourn loss. Today, a congregation of less than five members owns the church.

The church is threatened by neglect, as the congregation is unable to maintain it.

06/03/2011

Chocolocco Valley's Creek Indians bowed to President Andrew Jackson in 1832 and agreed to move from their ancestral home in exchange for new land in Oklahoma. Although Native Americans inhabited the region since 10,000 BC, they could not withstand the demand for new land by white settlers seeking to make their fortune in cotton. The fact that Native Americans owned this land posed a problem for newcomers. However, Jackson solved this problem by signing the 1832 Treaty of Cusseta, also known as the Treaty of Washington.

The remnants of their aboriginal settlement are scattered throughout Boiling Springs in the Choccolocco Valley. Researchers have identified multiple archaeological sites in the Boiling Springs area that provide invaluable insight into Native American life over the past 10,000 years. The Davis Farm site is still very significant despite the loss of its farmhouse in a 2010 fire. Recent discussion focused on the significance of an ancient stone and earthen mound some scholars say was used for ceremonial functions. Additionally, a Native American burial was uncovered on the site of a municipal sports complex.

The lands upon which this ancient civilization grew no longer produce cotton, but are a desirable setting for retail developments. These developments could endanger much of the area's Native American cultural landscape.