Lincoln Life Building

Postcard view of the Lincoln Life Building

The Lincoln Life Building, also called the Chamber of Commerce Building or the Stallings Building, and currently housing Jemison Flats, is a 7-story commercial building on Block 108B, on the southwest corner of 1st Avenue North and 19th Street.

The building was designed by architect William Leslie Welton and constructed in 1909 on the former site of the Chalifoux Building.

It originally housed the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, but by the 1920s had been renamed as the Birmingham offices of the Lincoln Reserve Life Insurance Company. In 1924 architects J. C. Halstead and George Gehred were commissioned to design an expansion of the building. The possibility of increasing its height to 10–12 stories was considered, but not carried out.

In the 1960s the building was known as the Stallings Building for Lincoln Life president J. F. Stallings.

Tenants

Ground floor

• Metcalf Realty Co. (1929)
• Hand Knitting Shop (1937)
• 1825:
• 1827: former location of Home Seekers Realty Co. (1926), McKinstry's Flowers (1940), National Finance & Discount Co. (1964)
• 1829: former location of P. C. Couch (1926), Lincoln Life Barber Shop (1929)
  • 1829A: former location of Doyle's Super Service barbers (1940)
• 1831: Whittington Drug Co. (1926-1929), Lane Drug Store (1940), Lane Rexall Drugs (1949)

Rooms

• 2nd floor:
  • 201-202: Lincoln Life Auditorium (1926)
  • Birmingham Chamber of Commerce (1940)
  • Alabama Merchants Association (1940)
  • Beautification Board of the Birmingham Area (1940)
  • Birmingham Traffic Association (1940)
  • Wholesale Merchants & Manufacturers Association (1940)
  • Alabama Tourists Association (1940)
  • Alverson-Draughon College (1964)
  • Speedwriting Institute (1964)
  • Nancy Taylor Charm & Modeling Studio (1964)
  • 203-205: Dunn Construction Co. (1926–1940)
  • 208: Jemison Gallery
  • 211-216: E. B. Norman & Co. (1926)
  • 226: Riverside Tailoring Co. (1926)
• 3rd floor:
  • 301-302: American Employment Service (1964)
    • 301: G. C. Oliver (1926), Gustaf Kropp (1940)
    • 302: Atlantic Life Insurance Co. (1926)
    • 303-307: Life & Casualty Insurance Co. (1926)
    • 303-305: Vulcan Life & Acccident Insurance Co. (1964)
    • 306-307: Margaret Goodwin notary (1940), Alabama Realty Co. (1940–1964), Railford Ellis Co. (1964)
  • 308–310: Southern Finance Co. (1940)
    • 308: Walker Realty Co. / Walker Agency Inc. (1964)
  • 311: Southern Finance Co. (1934), Alverson-Draughon College president's office (1964)
  • 314-316: Bertram Fox physician (1926–1940)
    • 314-315: Southeastern Jewelers & Engravers (1964)
  • 317: Roy Manly attorney (1940), Durden Dental Laboratory (1964)
  • 318–326: U.S. Social Security Board (1940)
    • 319–326: United Steel Workers of American, District 36 (1964)
    • 321–325: Birmingham Credit Men's Association (1926)
    • 326: Women's Home Companion Reading Club (1926)
• 4th floor
  • 401–407: Hospital Service Corporation of Alabama (1940)
    • 401: National Casualty Co. (1926), Educational Acceptance Corp. collections (1964)
    • 402: Central Shoe Co. (1925-1926), Rath Packing Co. (1926), Greer, Holmquist & Chambers architects (1956), R. Alvin Taylor optometrist (1964)
    • 403: Independent Life Insurance Co. (1926)
    • 404-405: C. W. Hinkle & Associates accountants (1964)
    • 406-407: Pure Silk Hosiery Mills Inc. (1926)
  • 408-412: American Employment Service (1964)
    • 408-410: Linde Air Products Co./Pres-O-Lite Co. (1926)
    • 411–412: Alabama Brokerage Co. (1934–1940)
  • 414–418: Wilmore, Hudson & Luke structural engineers (1964)
    • 414–415: W. C. McCoy (1926), Wilmore & Lassen structural engineers (1940)
    • 416–417: C. W. Hinkle / Albert Stradford (1926), Monroe Calculating Machine Co. (1940)
    • 418: W. A. Brown/A. W. Smith (1926)
  • 418–420: Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Co. / Comptometer Adding & Calculating Machine Agency (1940)
    • 419: J. H. Adams (1926)
    • 420: Haas Tailoring Co. (1926)
  • 421-425: Alabama State Mine Inspectors (1926)
    • 421–422: Charles Hinkel auditor (1940)
  • 423: Building Material Exchange (1940), Birmingham Traffic Association (1964)
• 5th floor
  • 501: Raymond Davis (1926–1940)
  • 502: J. C. Halstead architect (1925-1926)
  • 503–507: National Life & Accident Insurance Co. (1940)
    • 503-505: Rice-Stix Dry Goods Co. (1926), J. M. Keel & Associates surveyors (1964)
    • 506-507: Ira Sellers physician (1925-1926)
  • 508–510: Eagle Finance Co. loans
    • 508: Gulf American Land Corporation (1964)
  • 511–514: Denney Beauty Salon (1940)
    • 511: Alabama Manganese Corp./Appalachian Iron Co./Etowah Investment Co./Raccoon Coal Co./Southern Abstract Co./Southern Exploit Co./Southern Home Savings Co. (1926)
    • 514: Roy H. Zachry & Wilbur Hart, accountants (1964)
  • 515–516: The Alabama Baptist publishers (1940)
  • 517–518: William Schaefer / Matthew Abbott (1940)
    • 517: Colgate & Co. (1926)
    • 518: G. T. Cecil / Bordon Fuel Corp. / T. H. Wright / G. E. Brooks (1926)
  • 519-520: The Alabama Baptist publishers (1926), The Maccabees (1940)
    • 519: Alabama Building Material Exchange Inc. (1964)
  • 521-522: Ira Sellers physician (1940), Key Personnel Service (1964)
  • 523–524: Keystone Readers Service publishers (1940)
  • 526: National Detective Bureau (1940)
• 6th floor
  • 601-626: U.S. Social Security Board (1940)
    • 601-606: Marshall Field & Co. / Nevins & Porter (1926)
      • 601: Greer Shop Training trade school (1964)
      • 603-607: Manly & Manly attorneys (1964)
    • 608-610: Windham & Hooligan, attorneys (1925)
      • 610: Nancy Taylor Charm & Modeling Studio overflow (1964)
    • 611: L. E. Wilson physician (1926)
    • 614-616: The Alabama Baptist (1949)
    • 618-621: Muscular Dystrophy Association of Alabama (1964)
      • 618: George Gehred architect (1925), Birmingham Comptometer School and Office (1929)
      • 621: Edward Gould, manager of the Southeastern Compensation Rating Bureau (1925)
    • 623-626: Southern Cafeteria Co. (1964)
      • 624-626: B. C. Morgan/R. A. Moses (1926)
• 7th floor
  • 701-708: Greer, Holmquist & Chambers architects (1964)
    • 701–703: E. Laverne Stringfellow lumber (1940)
      • 701: Storrs Schaefer Co. (1926)
      • 702: Christian Science Reading Room (1926)
  • 703-711: Alabama Highway Department (1926)
    • 704–706: General Electric Contracts Corp. (1940)
  • 710: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (1964)
  • 711–714: National Life & Accident Insurance Co. (1940)
    • 712: Lincoln Reserve Life Insurance Co. (1926)
  • 714-726: Chamber of Commerce Cafe (1910)
    • 714-716: Standard Optical Co. (1964)
    • 718: O'Hanlon Reports inspection bureau (1964)
    • 717: Roland J. Hagood attorney (1964)
    • 719: Continental Casualty Co. (1964)
    • 721: Longview-Saginaw Lime Works (1940)
    • 724–725: Alex Patterson office equipment (1940)

• T. M. Faris, architect
• George Gehred, architect
• Birmingham Magazine Publishing Company
• Harris Transfer Company
• Kamram Grotto

References

• "Lincoln Life Building to be Enlarged" (May 25, 1924) The Dixie Manufacturer, Vol. 54, No. 10, p. 18
• Polk's Birmingham City Directory (1926) Birmingham: R. L. Polk & Co.
• A quote from the October, 1929 issue of the "Comptometer News" newsletter (pg 23) [Published by Felt & Tarrant Manufacturing Co., Chicago, U.S.A.] : "On August 20th the Birmingham Comptometer School and Office moved into new quarters at 618 Lincoln Life Building."
• Birmingham City Directory (1940) R. L. Polk & Co.
• Polk's Birmingham (Jefferson County, Ala.) City Directory (1964) Richmond, Virginia: R. L. Polk & Co.