Frank Lathrop residence

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Frank Lathrop residence

The Frank Lathrop residence was a two-story house at 1923 14th Avenue South. It was constructed in 1904 for Lathrop Lumber Company president Frank Lathrop and his third wife, the former Sally Comer Blount, on the same block as her father, B. B. Comer's, residence.

The ornate residence featured a wrap-around porch supported on square columns with Ionic capitals. The ten-inch-thick walls were topped with an overhanging eave supported on brackets. The shallow hipped roof was interrupted by a massive front dormer with a broken pediment front and leaded glass windows. Palladian triple windows across the upper facade opened to a balustraded terrace above the porch. The interior of the house featured a grand entrance hall lit by a Victorian chandelier. The mansion has been reported variously as the work of Collignon & Christmas, or as an early design by William Weston.

Lathrop died in 1936 and his wife survived to 1957. The house was converted into offices for physicians Gilbert Douglas and Gilbert Douglas Jr in 1947. It was left vacant in 1976. It was restored in the early 1990s as a counseling center. It housed Employee Assistance Services in the mid to late 1990s. From about 2008 until it burned down, the house was occupied by ADAC Community Counseling Center.

In November 2014 the house was destroyed by fire. Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service fought the blaze overnight and reported that the two-layer construction of the exterior walls allowed the fire to spread more quickly and burn hotter than modern construction allows. Though most of the walls remained standing after the fire was extinguished, the structure was deemed a total loss. ADAC's operations manager, Barry McCulley, indicated that the nonprofit would build a new facility on the same site.

References

  • Burkhardt, Ann M. (November 1982) "Town Within a City: The Five Points South Neighborhood 1880-1930." Journal of the Birmingham Historical Society
  • Bowsher, Alice M. & Ann M. Burkhardt (September 8, 1982) "Five Points South Historic District" National Register for Historic Places application
  • Nelson, Linda (no date) "Historic Five Points South Walking Tour" Five Points South Neighborhood Association
  • Bell, Elma (July 23, 1989) "A rescue in progress: Agency renovates old home for its headquarters" The Birmingham News
  • "Mistress of the Mansion" in Ragan, Larry (2005) True Tales of Birmingham. Birmingham Historical Society ISBN 0943994195, p. 52
  • Robinson, Carol (November 19, 2014) "Historic Southside building a total loss after 3-alarm blaze." The Birmingham News

External links