Chalifoux Building
The Chalifoux Building, located at 1827 1st Avenue North, on the southwest corner of 19th Street, was built in 1893 to house a branch of the Chalifoux Department Store.
The chain was owned by Joseph Chalifoux of Lowell, Massachusetts. Joseph's brother Oliver came to Birmingham from Chicago in 1890 to operate the new store. The brick building, designed by the firm of Wheelock, Joy & Wheelock, was 5 stories tall with arches crowning the 4th and 5th floor windows. The main entrance faced directly into the intersection.
The Chalifoux Building's upper floors housed the Jefferson County Health Office and the United Mine Workers. The retail spaces were shared by Chalifoux and Gray-Dudley Hardware.
The department store closed during the 1907 financial panic, and the building burned down soon later. The site was used for a new 7-story Chamber of Commerce Building, which was erected in 1909 and currently houses the Jemison Flats apartments.
References
- White, Marjorie Longenecker (1977) Downtown Birmingham: Architectural and Historical Walking Tour Guide. Birmingham: Birmingham Historical Society.
- Wheelock, Joy & Wheelock (1905) Architectural Work.