Haskins Williams residence
The Haskins Williams residence (also called the Signature House) is a Victorian Colonial Revival style house constructed around 1901 for Birmingham Rail & Locomotive Company executive Haskins Williams at 1312 20th Street South.
The two-story clapboard house was designed by architect Joseph Turner. The house's broad wrap-around porch is supported on wood columns with an ornamented pediment over the wide stairs and a terrace sunken into the roof behind it. The hipped roof holds a hexagonal dormer to light an attic room. The house has two tall brick chimneys and the interior preserves period carved woodwork, fireplaces, light fixtures and a stained glass window in the stair.
The house was occupied by Williams' widow, Bertha and daughter Emily until 1973 when the women were surprised to find a "wino" sleeping on their porch. The episode was the last straw in the long perceived decline of the neighborhood. They put the house up for sale, and it was purchased by antiquarian Malcolm McRae who resided there and opened his "Signature House" antique and art gallery on the main floor until his murder in 1983.
In the 1980s the house was divided into offices. The upper floor housed Stuart Cathey Goldsmything. In the 1990s it housed the offices of Black & White alternative newspaper.
The house was included as a contributing structure in the Five Points South Historic District.
In 2016 the house was purchased by J. Clyde founder Jerry Hartley for renovation into a brewpub to be called 5 Points Brewing. The porch was to be connected to the existing dining areas at the J. Clyde and the basement was to be excavated to make room for a small brewery and beer cellar. Those plans were never accomplished and the bar closed in 2019.
References
- Godwin, Brent (May 26, 2016) "J. Clyde owner plans new brewpub in Five Points South." Birmingham Business Journal
- Poe, Kelly (May 26, 2016) "J. Clyde owner buys space for his own brewery." The Birmingham News