R. B. Broyles Furniture Co.

The R. B. Broyles Furniture Co. was a furniture retailer.

The business was founded in 1917 by R. B. Broyles, formerly a partner in Broyles & Cooper Furniture Co. in 1910 and with R. L. Sparkman in Broyles & Sparkman in 1916. The company maintained the same upstairs showroom as its predecessors at 2213–2215 2nd Avenue North.

In 1924 the company relocated to the Drennen Building at 2021–2023 2nd Avenue North, sharing space with the W. O. Broyles Stove & Furniture Co.. Broyles also opened a branch store in Ensley as an outlet for trade-in and repossessed furniture.

In a 1926 article in Furniture Index, Broyles expressed his intention to open additional suburban branches to take advantage of lower rents and better conditions for customers to park their automobiles.

Between 1929 and 1935 the R. B. Broyles Furniture Co. held the license for WKBC-AM, a pioneering radio station known for its variety of local programs, often featuring "hill-billy" and amateur talent. The company styled the call letters as standing for "Well Known Broyles Co." They retailer sold the station to Ormond Black in 1935.

In the mid-1950s a substation of the United States Post Office was located inside the store. From 1953 to 1961 the company sponsored weekly the 15-minute "Mr. Twister Time" program on WBRC-TV, which was hosted by its general manager, Allen Clark on WBRC-TV. The store hosted a weekly prize drawing, with winners announced on the program.

References

• Lee, Richard A. (May 1926) "'Main Street', Subcenters or Suburbs? Growing Problem of Traffic Congestion Presents Grave and Serious Situation in Every Section of Country." Furniture Index, Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 151–153, 177–178