Old Town Uptown

Old Town Uptown was the name for the entertainment district carved out of several blocks of Morris Avenue between 20th and 25th Streets in the 1970s.

In 1965 the concept of making the downtown section of Morris Avenue into a protected historic district was presented as one of the recommendations of the "Design for Progress" created by Harland Bartholemew & Associates of Atlanta along with the Birmingham League of Architects. That same year, Bob Moody came to Birmingham to work for Charles H. McCauley & Associates architects and became interested in the possibility of redeveloping the street as an entertainment district.

After visiting Gaslight Square in St Louis, Missouri and Underground Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia, Moody spent two weeks in 1969 researching and sketching concepts, which he began showing to friends. Southern Living executive Roger McGuire encouraged him, and recruited a Chicago developer to come and offer advice. They got McCauley and Charles Snook interested enough to foot the bill for an economic study of the project's feasibility. Other downtown promoters like Temple Tutwiler, James Head, and Ferd Weil encouraged them.

In 1970 Moody organized a presentation at the Parliament House for the owners of the 60-plus properties that could be included in the district. He issued "Morris Bucks" to the majority of them that granted 30-day options to lease the mostly-vacant space to operators. With support from the public, from downtown promoters, and from property owners in the district, the project earned support from Birmingham City Hall, which was anticipating demand for new entertainment options with the opening of the new Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center. The city spent $1.2 million on streetscaping and other improvements, including cobblestone pavers, textured-concrete sidewalks, and gas-burning light fixtures. They also paid signpainter Neal Snow to paint "Morris Avenue Old Town - Up Town" on the side of the Lacke Building, facing 20th Street.

Meanwhile State legislator Richard Dominick sponsored legislation allowing Morris Avenue to be recognized as the state's first registered historic district. The district was created in 1972 by the Jefferson County Historical Commission and on April 24, 1973 the downtown section of Morris Avenue and 1st Avenue North, between 21st and 24th Streets, became the first site in Birmingham to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Historical Commission took charge of reviewing proposed changes to the exteriors of buildings.

The first businesses began opening in the district in the Summer of 1972, led by Diamond Jim's, Oaks Street and Victoria Station. The development as a whole was given a grand opening celebration on October 15. Despite Moody's vision for a 24-hour business district with a variety of shops and family fare, most property owners opted for higher-profit bar and restaurant tenants. A tourism study by Herdman & Stuckey Travel Investment Corporation projected that 59% of the initial visitors to Morris Avenue would be tourists from outside the area, increasing to 76% after the first six months. Gross income of $800,000 for 100,000 leasable square feet per month was projected by December of the district's first full year.

The district, while popular, proved vulnerable to bad word-of mouth. On August 18, 1977, Nigel Harlan, a Chicago steel executive, was lured into a robbery/murder while unwinding at the Show-Boat Lounge. His body was found in Shelby County three weeks later. A Florida couple was arrested and charged with the killing. The sensational nature of the crime has been blamed for crippling the viability of the fledgling entertainment district.

Entertainment options dwindled, with only Victoria Station and the long-standing Peanut Depot surviving into the 21st century. Gradually most of the buildings on Morris Avenue were redeveloped as professional offices and loft residences.

References

• Moody, Bob (October 15, 1972) Morris Avenue Gazette broadsheet
• Century Plus: A Bicentennial Portrait of Birmingham Alabama 1976 (1976) Birmingham: Birmingham Chamber of Commerce/Oxmoor Press
• White, Marjorie Longenecker (1977) Downtown Birmingham: Architectural and Historical Walking Tour Guide. Birmingham: Birmingham Historical Society.
• Kennedy, Harold (September 2, 1977) "'Mystery man' suspect hunted in Harlan case." Birmingham News
• Barber, Dean (December 12, 1993) "Night life will return." Birmingham News
• Archibald, John (September 28, 1997) "Morris Avenue reborn: The one-time entertainment district is again teeming with activity, now as offices and residential lofts." Birmingham News