Age-Herald Building
- This article is about the 1910 building on 5th Avenue North. For other similarly-named buildings, see Age-Herald Building (disambiguation).
The Age-Herald Building or Exchange Building, located at 2107 5th Avenue North, was built in 1910 to house the printing plant and offices of daily The Birmingham Age-Herald newspaper. The five-story, 42,180 square-foot structure, was constructed by Charles Allen.
The building, designed by architect William Weston, is one of the only a few buildings in Birmingham built in a the "Beaux-Arts" or "Renaissance" style. The entire facade of tan mottled brick was trimmed with terra-cotta with a heavy terra-cotta cornice and frieze decorated with large globes and owls.
The center of the building is dominated by a large plate-glass window set in verdigris-colored iron. The Renaissance-style door is surmounted by a clock pediment with another terra-cotta globe above it and smaller carved owls on each side.
The lobby features a mosaic tile floor with an antique design. The printing rooms and offices were outfitted with elevators and the latest equipment, and were protected by fireproof walls.
The Age-Herald relocated to the Comer Building after it was bought by the Comer family in 1922.
References
- "Miscellaneous Enterprises" (April 22, 1909) Industrial Development and Manufacturers' Record, Volume 55, p. 56
- Satterfield, Carolyn Green (1976) "Historic Sites of Jefferson County, Alabama" Jefferson County Historical Commission
Links
- Exchange Building on Emporis