The building in the foreground was built in 1903 as the Allen Jemison hardware store. It's on the corner of Greensboro Avenue and 7th street in downtown Tuscaloosa.
It was at one time, the largest hardware dealer in Alabama. They sold buggies, plows, etc. There was a warehouse in back that had a train track right through it for deliveries. It had a vacuum tube system that allowed people to pay on the ground floor, have their payment sent to the offices upstairs, then the receipt returned by the same tube. The tubes are still there and are really neat to see. Wish I could get a picture of them before they tear the building down.
The building was sold to the Spiller Family in the 1970s, who ran a furniture store there for several years. Later, it was an antique mall. Now, the Episcopal church owns it and has plans to tear it down for either more parking or greenspace. It seems they haven't been able to lease it to a suitable tennant and it has fallen into more disrepair than they're willing to undertake. I hope someone can save it.
3 comments:
Hmmmm, that building really needs saving!
I know! If I had the money, I'd save it in a heartbeat.
Thanks for posting!
Might I ask, do you know what building that is that sits to the right of it (if you're facing it) in the very top picture? I see that building in so many pictures, yet have no clue what it is and can't find anything related on Google.
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