Florentine Building

Florentine Building in 2007

The Florentine Building or Sims Building is a two-story, terra-cotta clad building on the northwest corner of Block 101 and the southeast corner of the intersection of 2nd Avenue North and Richard Arrington Jr Boulevard North (formerly 21st Street North), the former site of the Jefferson County Bank Building.

It was built between 1925 and 1927 for the Club Florentine by Henry Upson Sims. Architect David O. Whilldin designed the foundations to support an eventual 10-story building, but only the lower two floors, totaling about 23,000 square feet, were ever completed. One legend has it that the excavation revealed an underground stream which required the change in plans.^1.

The Italianate style is highly decorated with colored terra-cotta ornament framing two arcades supported by marble columns. Cast iron lanterns and shop windows enhance the decorative scheme. The eaves are crowned by a short red-tile roof. At the time it was said to have been the most costly building constructed in the city (by the square foot.) Legend has it that Sims built the exuberant structure to honor a much-loved schoolteacher, Hannah Elliott, who had taken him and his classmates on a tour of Italy.^2.

The club itself was unsuccessful, but the ground floor has served a number of business tenants while a string of nightclubs has operated on the upper floor.

The building was purchased in 1966 by R. D. Thompson, who repaired some of the facade details.

In 2008 Ken Effinger and Rebecca Corretti, the owners of Corretti Catering, purchased the building from attorney Jack Hall. At the time, they planned on having the exterior facades carefully cleaned and hoped to open an Italian restaurant and bakery on the ground floor and an event space with a commercial kitchen on the upper floor. $2.5 million in renovations began in 2014, with Corretti Catering, a new bar, and new restaurant slated to open in the building that summer. Eventually, rather than open a restaurant, the company marketed the space for private events.

Tenants

• ground floor
  • 2101 2nd Avenue North: Hagan-Dunlop Drug Co. (1929), Par Value Loan Co. (1931), Consumer Finance & Thrift (1960), Vulcan Loan & Discount, Shelby Finance Co. (2000)
  • 2103 2nd Avenue North: Jones Dewey & Co. loans (196), Dale Carnegie Courses / Leadership Training Services (1964), Tony's Terrific Hot Dogs (1980–2009)
  • 2105 2nd Avenue North: Domit Brothers' Market (1929), Lipitz Cafe (1931), Tunkle's Grill (1940s), Birmingham Beauty College (1960)
  • 119 21st Street North: Chesterfield Co. loans (1960)
  • 121 21st Street North: Brunswick Billiard Parlor (1960)
  • 123 21st Street North: Time Finance Co. (1960)
  • Alabama Acceptance Corporation
  • Armed forces recruitment offices
  • Nuke's Barber Shop
  • Loretta's Alterations Shop

• second floor
  • Focus Phase II nightclub (–1981)
  • After Dark nightclub (1981–)
  • Casbah nightclub
  • Club 21 nightclub

Notes

1. Bryant-1975
2. White - 1986

References

• Birmingham City Directory (1960) R. L. Polk & Co.
• White, Marjorie Longenecker, editor (1977) Downtown Birmingham: Architectural and Historical Walking Tour Guide. Birmingham: Birmingham Historical Society. p. 76
• Satterfield, Carolyn Green (1976) Historic Sites of Jefferson County, Alabama. Birmingham: Jefferson County Historical Society. p. 38
• Keith, Walling (October 17, 1966) "Preserve some of past." The Birmingham News Daily Magazine
• White, Marjorie Longenecker, conversation with James Rodger Alexander (September 27, 1986) cited in Alexander's exhibit catalogue Terra Cotta Facades of Birmingham Architecture (1986) Birmingham: UAB Visual Arts Gallery
• Bryant, Walter (November 27, 1975) "Underground river helped shape city". The Birmingham News
• Cooper, Lauren B. (May 16, 2008) "Long-neglected Florentine Building slated for renovation." Birmingham Business Journal
• Williams, Roy L. (June 7, 2008) "Couple buy Birmingham's Florentine Building to spice up catering business." The Birmingham News
• Tomberlin, Michael (January 17, 2014) "Downtown Birmingham's Florentine Building to start $2.5 million renovation into restaurant, ballroom." The Birmingham News

External links

• Florentine Building and Corretti Catering website
• Keily, Alfred C. (April 29, 1949) Photograph of Sims Building at the Birmingham Public Library Archives Digital Collections. Alfred C. Keily Collection, No. 820