Downtowner Motor Inn

From Bhamwiki
(Redirected from National 9 Inn)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Downtowner Motor Inn logo.jpg
Construction of the Downtowner Motor Inn in 1962

The Downtowner Motor Inn was a 5-story, 120 room motel located on Block 50 at 2224 5th Avenue North in downtown Birmingham. It was constructed in 1962 by the Downtowner Corporation of Memphis, Tennessee on the corner of 23rd Street. The motel featured "luxury rooms" along with a swimming pool, meeting and conference rooms, and a restaurant.

The restaurant at the Downtowner was known as The Gallery. In 1965 it offered a complete Thanksgiving dinner of roast Vermont turkey with cashew nut stuffing and giblet gravy for $1.95. The bar was called the Iron Gate Lounge.

The motel was later re-branded as the Best Southern Inn, part of the National 9 Inn chain.

On October 31, 1995, the body of Michael Propes, 45, was found in one of the units by a maid. This was later ruled as Birmingham's 109th homicide of that year.

The building was demolished in 2004 to make way for a parking lot.

References

  • Metro News Briefs (November 2, 1995) "Body found in motel was of Texas man". The Birmingham News
  • Sanborn Map, Birmingham 1969 vol. 1, Sheet 20

External links