Morris Avenue Warehouse District, 2000-2400 blocks of Morris Avenue & 2100-2500 blocks of First Avenue, North, Birmingham

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS ALA,37-BIRM,18-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

blocks of Morris Avenue and blocks of First Avenue North, just north of the Railroad Reservation, city center Birmingham, Jefferson County. First Avenue North is the east- west major artery in the Birmingham city center. Ownership: Multiple private Date of Construction:

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS ALA,37-BIRM,18-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

This concentration of warehouses in Birmingham's oldest and most important warehouse and jobbing district testifies to the importance of railroads to the commerce of the early city. The district documents the development of warehousing over a 50 year span showcasing warehouse design and technology from small scale, load bearing wall buildings through the larger scale, steel and concrete reinforced structures with vast expanses of industrial windows.

Description

First listed in and expanded in the Morris Avenue & First Avenue North National Register Historical District includes Birmingham's earliest warehouse district with 33 remaining commercial/warehouse structures erected adjacent to the major rail lines and freight depots of the city's central railroad reservation. Warehouses dating from to the reflect the transitions in building practices from wood frame to steel and concrete structural support systems and incorporate new technologies in structural and window design for industrial buildings. The district also includes several significant office buildings associated with public utility and development firms.

Outstanding structures in the district include the Slaton, McGlathery & Burwell Building Morris Avenue) with its wide, arched carriage delivery entrances still intact; the Collins Building Morris Avenue) an early food brokerage; and MORRIS AVENUE WAREHOUSE DISTRICT HABS No. AL-966 (Page 2) thew. s. Brown Building Morris Avenue), a local mercantile company warehouse (now loft condominiums). The office buildings for the Birmingham Realty Company First Avenue North), a Beaux Arts structure with original interiors intact, still houses corporate offices of the company that founded the city.

The eight-story Birmingham Railway Light & Power Company Building a replacement for a turn of the century structure that burned, were the offices of the company that developed, under the leadership of Robert Jemison, the second largest streetcar network in America.

Historical Overview

Morris Avenue developed in the as the city's first warehouse and wholesale district. Named for Josiah Morris, the Elyton Land Company's largest stockholder and most astute financial advisor, the district, was well served by rail transport, first burgeoned with small family enterprises including groceries, sawmills and stockyards, and later with the substantial warehouses of today's district. By warehousing activity spilled over into the to Blocks of First Avenue North, still a warehouse district to this day.

The Morris Avenue portion of today's National Register District was designated the city's first National Register District in At this time, asphalt covering the original Belgian block street was removed and gas lighting and sidewalk improvements installed as part of unsuccessful efforts to create an entertainment district. CONDITION During the this area witnessed substantial renovation with conversion of many warehouses to use as artists' studios, loft apartments and offices for legal and design professionals. Sources Consulted National Register Nominations revised and expanded Birmingham Historical Society, Downtown Birmingham Files