Parliament House: Difference between revisions

From Bhamwiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
No edit summary
No edit summary
 
(25 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
[[Image:Parliament House logo.png|right|135px]]
[[Image:Parliament House logo.png|right|135px]]
The '''Parliament House Motor Hotel''' was an 11-story, 237-room hotel which occupied the west side of [[20th Street South]] between [[4th Avenue South|4th]] and [[5th Avenue South|5th Avenue]]s from [[1964]] to [[2008]]. In its heyday the Parliament House was Birmingham's premier downtown hotel, anchoring a small [[The Strip|entertainment district]] and hosting visiting dignitaries and celebrities. Throughout its life, however, the facility was plagued by misfortune and mismanagement, leading to its abandonment in the late 1990s and its subsequent demolition. The site is now a parking lot owned by [[UAB]].
The '''Parliament House Motor Hotel''' was an 11-story, 237-room hotel which occupied the west side of [[20th Street South]] between [[4th Avenue South|4th]] and [[5th Avenue South|5th Avenue]]s from [[1964]] to [[2008]]. In its heyday the Parliament House was Birmingham's premier downtown hotel, anchoring a small [[The Strip|entertainment district]] and hosting visiting dignitaries and celebrities. Throughout its life, however, the facility was plagued by misfortune and mismanagement, leading to its abandonment in the late 1990s and its subsequent demolition. The site was a [[UAB Parking Lot 55|UAB parking lot]] before the [[UAB Proton Therapy Center]] was constructed in 2019.


==History==
==History==
[[Image:Parliament House Motor Hotel.jpg|right|thumb|375px|Parliament House Motor Hotel in its heyday. {{BPL permission caption|http://bplonline.cdmhost.com/u?/p4017coll6,1812}}]]
[[Image:Parliament House Motor Hotel.jpg|right|thumb|575px|Parliament House Motor Hotel in its heyday. {{BPL permission caption|http://bplonline.cdmhost.com/u?/p4017coll6,1812}}]]
The dramatically-modern $5 million structure was constructed in [[1964]] for a group of investors led by [[James Lane]] of Huntsville and [[William D. Sellers]], chairman of [[Baggett Transportation Company]]. The need for a large hotel in the emerging medical center was obvious and attracted an investment group that included actress Doris Day to lease and operate the planned facility. [[Brice Building Company]] commenced construction of the expressively-modern lightweight concrete structure in [[1962]].
The dramatically-modern structure was constructed $5 million for a group of investors led by [[James Lane]] of Huntsville and [[William D. Sellers]], chairman of [[Baggett Transportation Company]]. The need for a large hotel in the emerging medical center was obvious and attracted an investment group that included actress Doris Day to lease and operate the planned facility. [[Brice Building Company]] commenced construction of the expressively-modern lightweight concrete structure in [[1962]]. The nearly-completed building was lit up with colored neon on [[December 15]], [[1963]] and opened for guests on [[January 2]], [[1964]].


Day's group, which would have named the building the '''Birmingham Cabana''' backed out during the nationally-televised racial tensions which marked the [[Civil rights movement]] in Birmingham. Instead
Day's group, which would have named the building the '''Birmingham Cabana''' backed out during the nationally-televised racial tensions which marked the [[Civil rights movement]] in Birmingham. Instead Ned Eddy and his sons Ned, Jr and James of Kansas City purchased the hotel while it was under construction as the crown of their Parliament House chain, which also had locations in Orlando and Clearwater, Florida and Augusta Georgia. They gave the property an English royalty theme with the slogan, "Built for the House of Lords...priced for the House of Commons."  
Ned Eddy and his sons Ned, Jr and James of Kansas City purchased the hotel while it was under construction as the crown of their Parliament House chain, which also had locations in Orlando and Clearwater, Florida and Augusta Georgia. They gave the property an English royalty theme with the slogan, "Built for the House of Lords...priced for the House of Commons."  


Half a million dollars was spend equipping the central kitchens with state-of-the-art stainless steel appliances and fixtures. Guest room telephones were among the first to feature direct room-to-room calling and a flashing message light. Higher-priced "Council Rooms" featured an in-room bar and two convertible beds that could be folded into sectional seating for social gatherings. The 11th floor featured a "Prime Minister's Suite"
Half a million dollars was spend equipping the central kitchens with state-of-the-art stainless steel appliances and fixtures. Guest room telephones were among the first to feature direct room-to-room calling and a flashing message light. Higher-priced "Council Rooms" featured an in-room bar and two convertible beds that could be folded into sectional seating for social gatherings. The 11th floor featured a "Prime Minister's Suite"
Line 13: Line 12:
In addition to guest rooms the hotel offered a swimming pool on a raised terrace, the '''Baron of Beef''' restaurant, two lounges (the '''Once a Knight''' and '''Baron's Cork Room'''), banquet and facilities for up to 800 diners, and a row of retail shops. [[Fred Batzinger]], formerly of the Fontainebeau in Miami Beach, served as catering manager.  
In addition to guest rooms the hotel offered a swimming pool on a raised terrace, the '''Baron of Beef''' restaurant, two lounges (the '''Once a Knight''' and '''Baron's Cork Room'''), banquet and facilities for up to 800 diners, and a row of retail shops. [[Fred Batzinger]], formerly of the Fontainebeau in Miami Beach, served as catering manager.  


Until the completion of the [[Sheraton Birmingham Hotel|Hyatt House]] at the [[BJCC]], the Parliament House served as downtown's premiere contemporary hotel, hosting celebrities such as Richard Nixon, Bob Hope and O. J. Simpson. The presence of the hotel spurred development of "[[The Strip]]", a row of restaurants and nightclubs across 20th street with [[Michael's]], [[Rossi's]], [[PJ's Lounge]], and [[Emil's Cantina]].
Until the completion of the [[Sheraton Birmingham Hotel|Hyatt House]] at the [[BJCC]], the Parliament House served as downtown's premiere contemporary hotel, hosting celebrities such as Richard Nixon, Bob Hope and O. J. Simpson. In July [[1968]] young army Major Colin Powell took his wife, [[Alma Powell|Alma]] to the Parliament House for a last night out before his second tour of duty in Vietnam.


By [[1965]] Eddy's group was in financial straights and the operator declared bankruptcy. Lane and Sellers regained control and hired [[Tom Kelley]] to manage the property. When Sellers decided to leave the hotel business in [[1972]] the partners put the building up for sale. It was purchased for $4.5 million in June of that year by a group of Pensacola, Florida investors who incorporated as Alabama Parliament House, Inc. They kept Kelly on as manager and ran the hotel for two years until selling it to another Pensacola native, E. A. Gregory.  
The presence of the hotel spurred development of "[[The Strip]]", a row of restaurants and nightclubs across 20th street with [[Michael's]], [[Rossi's]], [[PJ's Lounge]], and [[Emil's Cantina]].
 
By [[1965]] Eddy's group was in financial straights and the operator declared bankruptcy. Lane and Sellers regained control and hired [[Tom Kelley]] to manage the property. When Sellers decided to leave the hotel business in [[1972]] the partners put the building up for sale. It was purchased for $4.5 million in June of that year by a group of Pensacola, Florida investors who incorporated as Alabama Parliament House, Inc. They kept Kelly on as manager and ran the hotel for two years until selling it to another Pensacola native, Ed A. Gregory.  


At one point in the mid-1970s the [[Ku Klux Klan]] demonstrated outside the hotel, upset because it allowed a black organization to rent one of the banquet rooms.
At one point in the mid-1970s the [[Ku Klux Klan]] demonstrated outside the hotel, upset because it allowed a black organization to rent one of the banquet rooms.


For nine months in late [[1974]] and early [[1975]] the hotel was managed by television personality [[Cliff Holman]], who had been sales manager during Kelley's term. In January 1975 two waiters at the Baron of Beef shot each other to death, apparently while arguing over a $20 tip. Nevertheless, occupancy was high and the hotel seemed successful. Gregory had his own misfortunes, however, and put the hotel up for sale in [[1977]]. He was later convicted in Mobile on nine counts of conspiracy involving the Wilcox County Bank at Camden. Meanwhile the new owner, [[Palmer G. O'Barr]] sought bankruptcy protection after only three months of owning the property. He was evicted by creditors in April and the building was once again on the market.
For nine months in late [[1974]] and early [[1975]] the hotel was managed by television personality [[Cliff Holman]], who had been sales manager during Kelley's term. In "Cousin Cliff: 40 Magical Years in Television," writer [[Tim Hollis]] described the Parliament House as "the [[Alabama Theatre]] of hotels."


==Renovations==
In January 1975 two waiters at the Baron of Beef shot each other to death, apparently while arguing over a $20 tip. Nevertheless, occupancy was high and the hotel seemed successful. Gregory had his own misfortunes, however, and put the hotel up for sale in [[1977]]. He was later convicted in Mobile on nine counts of conspiracy involving the Wilcox County Bank at Camden. Meanwhile the new owner, [[Palmer G. O'Barr]] sought bankruptcy protection after only three months of owning the property. He was evicted by creditors in April and the building was once again on the market.
 
[[Image:Parliament_House_article,_timeline_graphic,_1994-10-20.jpg|center|thumb|900px|Parliament House timeline from October 1994]]
 
==Holiday Inn==
[[Image:Parliament_House.jpg|left|thumb|275px|Parliament House in 2005]]
[[HJK Limited]], a partnership of construction company president [[Denson Hinton]] and hotel operator [[K. L. Jones]] purchased the hotel out of bankruptcy in September [[1978]]. They paid $4.5 million and immediately commenced a $2.3 million renovation, planned by [[Mort Epstein]]'s Design Management and executed by [[Hinton Construction|Hinton's construction company]]. Features of the renovation included a new nightclub built in a former breezeway and the "3rd Avenue Revue", a storefront display of photographs from Birmingham history, all new fixtures in the guest rooms, and a remodeled 800-seat banquet room. HJK hired [[Josef Haas]] as general manger. It was dubbed '''Holiday Inn-20th Place''', part of the Memphis-based "Holiday Inn" chain, just before it re-opened in April [[1979]].
[[HJK Limited]], a partnership of construction company president [[Denson Hinton]] and hotel operator [[K. L. Jones]] purchased the hotel out of bankruptcy in September [[1978]]. They paid $4.5 million and immediately commenced a $2.3 million renovation, planned by [[Mort Epstein]]'s Design Management and executed by [[Hinton Construction|Hinton's construction company]]. Features of the renovation included a new nightclub built in a former breezeway and the "3rd Avenue Revue", a storefront display of photographs from Birmingham history, all new fixtures in the guest rooms, and a remodeled 800-seat banquet room. HJK hired [[Josef Haas]] as general manger. It was dubbed '''Holiday Inn-20th Place''', part of the Memphis-based "Holiday Inn" chain, just before it re-opened in April [[1979]].
In September of that year the hotel evicted [[Ku Klux Klan]] grand dragon [[Don Black]] from a room he had rented for use as a headquarters for his campaign for [[1979 Birmingham municipal election|Mayor of Birmingham]]. Manager [[Joseph Haas]] explained that Black would be welcomed as a guest, but it was the hotel's policy not to host political campaign offices. Black's [[Alabama Knights of the Ku Klux Klan]] planned to picket outside the hotel in protest.


Within a year, HJK defaulted on a loan it had taken out from Morris Development Associates, a company owned by Gary E. Smith. Smith foreclosed on the property and formed '''City Hotels Limited''' to operate the hotel. He changed the name to '''Holiday Inn-Medical Center'''.
Within a year, HJK defaulted on a loan it had taken out from Morris Development Associates, a company owned by Gary E. Smith. Smith foreclosed on the property and formed '''City Hotels Limited''' to operate the hotel. He changed the name to '''Holiday Inn-Medical Center'''.


In July [[1982]] City Hotels filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy a day after various utilities initiated suspension of service. Despite relatively high occupancy rates, the hotel had over $8 million in outstanding debt, including four mortgages. Accountants called in to review the books found haphazard money management, no records of frequent cash payments, and a closet-full of drink vouchers which had drained as much as $10,000 a month from the hotel bar.  
In July [[1982]] City Hotels filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy a day after various utilities initiated suspension of service. Despite relatively high occupancy rates, the hotel had over $8 million in outstanding debt, including four mortgages. Accountants called in to review the books found haphazard money management, no records of frequent cash payments, and a closet-full of drink vouchers which had drained as much as $10,000 a month from the hotel bar.
 
The hotel continued to operate under the control of a court-appointed trust headed by [[John Whittington]] until January [[1984]], when it was purchased out of bankruptcy for $6.5 million. The buyer was Profit Funds Enterprise of Melville, New York, led by Frank Spina, who founded the Birmingham Management Corp. to operate the hotel.
 
The group planned $2 million in renovations, including replacing telephone and air conditioning systems and adding satellite television and replacing furnishings. They also renovated and re-opened the hotel's restaurants and lounges. [[Mitch Fortner]] was hired as manager.
 
Another bankruptcy filing began in [[1987]] with Lincoln Savings Bank of New York planning to foreclose. The Holiday Inn chain revoked its franchise effective [[May 8]], [[1989]]. Judge [[Clifford Fulford]] also ordered the hotel to pay the chain $90,000 in administrative claims.
 
==Parliament Hotel & Suites==
With the loss of the Holiday Inn franchise, the sign was covered while hotel continued to operate independently as the Parliament House. In July 1989 Best Western of Phoenix, Arizona came to an agreement with the hotel's owners to operate under that name
 
For a while it was operated as part of the Ramada Inn chain, but by [[1989]] was an independent hotel using the Parliament House name.


The hotel was purchased for $6.1 million by a group of investors led by Frank Spina of Long Island, New York. The group planned $2 million in renovations, including satellite television. For a while it was operated as part of the Ramada Inn chain, then later as an independent hotel. At one point the parking garage behind the building was sold off, leaving the building without any secured parking.
At one point the parking garage behind the building was sold off, leaving the building without any secured parking.


[[Image:Parliament_House.jpg|right|thumb|175px|Parliament House in 2005]]
[[File:2008 Parliament House demolition.jpg|right|thumb|375px|Demolition of the Parliament House in 2008]]
In the 1990s the Parliament House was refurbished and reopened as '''Parliament Hotel & Suites''' with a new restaurant and bar ([[Cafe 420]]). Artists from City Stages who were booked at the hotel, however, found the rooms to be small and insufficiently refurbished.
In the [[1994]] the Parliament House was refurbished and reopened as '''Parliament Hotel & Suites''' with a new restaurant and bar ([[Cafe 420]]). An 880-space parking deck built behind the hotel as part of the [[Southside Station]] mixed-use development was intended to serve the hotel. Artists from [[City Stages]] who were booked at the newly-reopened hotel found the rooms to be small and insufficiently refurbished.


In [[2001]] Bedrock Partners of Dallas purchased the hotel from [[SouthTrust Bank]] for $3.2 million with plans to spend $15 million converting it into a Marriott Courtyard. The City of [[Birmingham]] approved a float loan of $600,000 to [[Crestline Capital Corporation]] to assist with the project, but the plans never moved forward. The building was put up for sale with a covenant restriction against using it as a hotel.
In [[2001]] Bedrock Partners of Dallas purchased the hotel from [[SouthTrust Bank]] for $3.2 million with plans to spend $15 million converting it into a Marriott Courtyard. The City of [[Birmingham]] approved a float loan of $600,000 to [[Crestline Capital Corporation]] to assist with the project, but the plans never moved forward. The building was put up for sale with a covenant restriction against using it as a hotel.


In June [[2006]] the building was purchased for $3.7 million by the [[UAB Education Foundation]] as a site for future expansion of the university. After explaining how the newly-exposed side of the parking deck would be addressed, UAB's application for a demolition permit was approved by the [[Birmingham Design Review Committee]] on [[September 26]], [[2007]]. Demolition began in late 2007 and was punctuated by an implosion of the concrete structure just after 7:00 AM on Sunday, [[February 17]].
In June [[2006]] the building was purchased for $3.7 million by the [[UAB Educational Foundation]] as a site for future expansion of the university. After explaining how the newly-exposed side of the parking deck would be addressed, UAB's application for a demolition permit was approved by the [[Birmingham Design Review Committee]] on [[September 26]], [[2007]]. Demolition began in late 2007 and was punctuated by an implosion of the concrete structure just after 7:00 AM on Sunday, [[February 17]]. The former hotel site is now the home of the [[UAB Proton Therapy Center]].


==Retailers==
==Retailers==
Line 41: Line 60:


==References==
==References==
* Langston, Tommy (April 26, 1979) "[http://bplonline.cdmhost.com/u?/p4017coll2,846 City hotel renovated reopened]." ''Birmingham Post-Herald''.
* Langston, Tommy (April 26, 1979) "[http://bplonline.cdmhost.com/u?/p4017coll2,846 City hotel renovated reopened]." {{BPH}}
* Koenig, Bill (July 2, 1982) "[http://bplonline.cdmhost.com/u?/p4017coll2,851 Dream hotel hits third financial nightmare]." ''Birmingham Post-Herald''
* "[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120170660/evicted-black-says-to-picket/ Evicted, Black says; to picket]" (September 29, 1979) {{BPH}}, p. B16
* Koenig, Bill (July 7, 1982) "[http://bplonline.cdmhost.com/u?/p4017coll2,854 Mismanagement cited in hotel's demise]." ''Birmingham Post-Herald''
* Koenig, Bill (July 2, 1982) "[http://bplonline.cdmhost.com/u?/p4017coll2,851 Dream hotel hits third financial nightmare]." {{BPH}}
* Shook, Phil H. (November 20, 1983) "[http://bplonline.cdmhost.com/u?/p4017coll2,856 Long Island investment expert confident he can break Southside hotel's long jinx]". ''Birmingham News''.  
* Koenig, Bill (July 7, 1982) "[http://bplonline.cdmhost.com/u?/p4017coll2,854 Mismanagement cited in hotel's demise]." {{BPH}}
* Tomberlin, Michael (June 30, 2006) "Parliament House to be razed by UAB". ''Birmingham News''
* Shook, Phil H. (November 20, 1983) "[http://bplonline.cdmhost.com/u?/p4017coll2,856 Long Island investment expert confident he can break Southside hotel's long jinx]". {{BN}}
* Kent, Dawn (February 15, 2008) "Parliament House hotel, home to both celebrities and squatters, to be imploded Sunday." ''Birmingham News''
* Walker, Steven (March 28, 1984) "[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120171615/new-owners-of-downtown-holiday-inn-optim/ New owners of downtown Holiday Inn optimistic]." {{BPH}}, p. B8
* Kilpatrick, Andrew (July 7, 1989) "[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/120173021/former-holiday-inn-may-get-new-life-par/ Former Holiday Inn may get new life]." {{BPH}}, p. B7
* Tomberlin, Michael (June 30, 2006) "Parliament House to be razed by UAB". {{BN}}
* Kent, Dawn (February 15, 2008) "Parliament House hotel, home to both celebrities and squatters, to be imploded Sunday." {{BN}}
* Chiotakis, Steve (February 18, 2008) "[http://wbhm.org/News/Parliament_House.html The Parliament House Checks Out]" WBHM-FM.
* Chiotakis, Steve (February 18, 2008) "[http://wbhm.org/News/Parliament_House.html The Parliament House Checks Out]" WBHM-FM.
* Hollis, Tim (March 1991) Cousin Cliff: 40 Magical Years in Television. Birmingham: Campbell's Publishing. ISBN 0962879800


==External links==
==External links==
{{Locate | lat= 33.508466 | lon=-86.80219 | zoom=16 | type=h }}
* [http://www.birminghamrewound.com/features/parliament_house.htm The Parliament House] at [[Birmingham Rewound]]
* [http://www.birminghamrewound.com/features/parliament_house.htm The Parliament House] at [[Birmingham Rewound]]
* [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=202355 Parliament House on Emporis.com]
* [http://www.emporis.com/buildings/202355/parliament-house-birmingham-al-usa Parliament House] on Emporis.com
* [http://bhamterminal.com/blog/2008/02/17/parliament-house-hotel-implosion-pictures/ Implosion photos and links to video] at [[The Terminal]]
* [http://bhamterminal.com/blog/2008/02/17/parliament-house-hotel-implosion-pictures/ Implosion photos and links to video] at [[The Terminal]]


Line 59: Line 83:
[[Category:5th Avenue South]]
[[Category:5th Avenue South]]
[[Category:1964 buildings]]
[[Category:1964 buildings]]
[[Category:Tall buildings|11]]
[[Category:1964 establishments]]
[[Category:Demolished buildings]]
[[Category:11-story buildings]]
[[Category:2008 demolitions]]

Latest revision as of 17:12, 4 March 2023

Parliament House logo.png

The Parliament House Motor Hotel was an 11-story, 237-room hotel which occupied the west side of 20th Street South between 4th and 5th Avenues from 1964 to 2008. In its heyday the Parliament House was Birmingham's premier downtown hotel, anchoring a small entertainment district and hosting visiting dignitaries and celebrities. Throughout its life, however, the facility was plagued by misfortune and mismanagement, leading to its abandonment in the late 1990s and its subsequent demolition. The site was a UAB parking lot before the UAB Proton Therapy Center was constructed in 2019.

History

Parliament House Motor Hotel in its heyday. courtesy BPL Archives

The dramatically-modern structure was constructed $5 million for a group of investors led by James Lane of Huntsville and William D. Sellers, chairman of Baggett Transportation Company. The need for a large hotel in the emerging medical center was obvious and attracted an investment group that included actress Doris Day to lease and operate the planned facility. Brice Building Company commenced construction of the expressively-modern lightweight concrete structure in 1962. The nearly-completed building was lit up with colored neon on December 15, 1963 and opened for guests on January 2, 1964.

Day's group, which would have named the building the Birmingham Cabana backed out during the nationally-televised racial tensions which marked the Civil rights movement in Birmingham. Instead Ned Eddy and his sons Ned, Jr and James of Kansas City purchased the hotel while it was under construction as the crown of their Parliament House chain, which also had locations in Orlando and Clearwater, Florida and Augusta Georgia. They gave the property an English royalty theme with the slogan, "Built for the House of Lords...priced for the House of Commons."

Half a million dollars was spend equipping the central kitchens with state-of-the-art stainless steel appliances and fixtures. Guest room telephones were among the first to feature direct room-to-room calling and a flashing message light. Higher-priced "Council Rooms" featured an in-room bar and two convertible beds that could be folded into sectional seating for social gatherings. The 11th floor featured a "Prime Minister's Suite"

In addition to guest rooms the hotel offered a swimming pool on a raised terrace, the Baron of Beef restaurant, two lounges (the Once a Knight and Baron's Cork Room), banquet and facilities for up to 800 diners, and a row of retail shops. Fred Batzinger, formerly of the Fontainebeau in Miami Beach, served as catering manager.

Until the completion of the Hyatt House at the BJCC, the Parliament House served as downtown's premiere contemporary hotel, hosting celebrities such as Richard Nixon, Bob Hope and O. J. Simpson. In July 1968 young army Major Colin Powell took his wife, Alma to the Parliament House for a last night out before his second tour of duty in Vietnam.

The presence of the hotel spurred development of "The Strip", a row of restaurants and nightclubs across 20th street with Michael's, Rossi's, PJ's Lounge, and Emil's Cantina.

By 1965 Eddy's group was in financial straights and the operator declared bankruptcy. Lane and Sellers regained control and hired Tom Kelley to manage the property. When Sellers decided to leave the hotel business in 1972 the partners put the building up for sale. It was purchased for $4.5 million in June of that year by a group of Pensacola, Florida investors who incorporated as Alabama Parliament House, Inc. They kept Kelly on as manager and ran the hotel for two years until selling it to another Pensacola native, Ed A. Gregory.

At one point in the mid-1970s the Ku Klux Klan demonstrated outside the hotel, upset because it allowed a black organization to rent one of the banquet rooms.

For nine months in late 1974 and early 1975 the hotel was managed by television personality Cliff Holman, who had been sales manager during Kelley's term. In "Cousin Cliff: 40 Magical Years in Television," writer Tim Hollis described the Parliament House as "the Alabama Theatre of hotels."

In January 1975 two waiters at the Baron of Beef shot each other to death, apparently while arguing over a $20 tip. Nevertheless, occupancy was high and the hotel seemed successful. Gregory had his own misfortunes, however, and put the hotel up for sale in 1977. He was later convicted in Mobile on nine counts of conspiracy involving the Wilcox County Bank at Camden. Meanwhile the new owner, Palmer G. O'Barr sought bankruptcy protection after only three months of owning the property. He was evicted by creditors in April and the building was once again on the market.

Parliament House timeline from October 1994

Holiday Inn

Parliament House in 2005

HJK Limited, a partnership of construction company president Denson Hinton and hotel operator K. L. Jones purchased the hotel out of bankruptcy in September 1978. They paid $4.5 million and immediately commenced a $2.3 million renovation, planned by Mort Epstein's Design Management and executed by Hinton's construction company. Features of the renovation included a new nightclub built in a former breezeway and the "3rd Avenue Revue", a storefront display of photographs from Birmingham history, all new fixtures in the guest rooms, and a remodeled 800-seat banquet room. HJK hired Josef Haas as general manger. It was dubbed Holiday Inn-20th Place, part of the Memphis-based "Holiday Inn" chain, just before it re-opened in April 1979.

In September of that year the hotel evicted Ku Klux Klan grand dragon Don Black from a room he had rented for use as a headquarters for his campaign for Mayor of Birmingham. Manager Joseph Haas explained that Black would be welcomed as a guest, but it was the hotel's policy not to host political campaign offices. Black's Alabama Knights of the Ku Klux Klan planned to picket outside the hotel in protest.

Within a year, HJK defaulted on a loan it had taken out from Morris Development Associates, a company owned by Gary E. Smith. Smith foreclosed on the property and formed City Hotels Limited to operate the hotel. He changed the name to Holiday Inn-Medical Center.

In July 1982 City Hotels filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy a day after various utilities initiated suspension of service. Despite relatively high occupancy rates, the hotel had over $8 million in outstanding debt, including four mortgages. Accountants called in to review the books found haphazard money management, no records of frequent cash payments, and a closet-full of drink vouchers which had drained as much as $10,000 a month from the hotel bar.

The hotel continued to operate under the control of a court-appointed trust headed by John Whittington until January 1984, when it was purchased out of bankruptcy for $6.5 million. The buyer was Profit Funds Enterprise of Melville, New York, led by Frank Spina, who founded the Birmingham Management Corp. to operate the hotel.

The group planned $2 million in renovations, including replacing telephone and air conditioning systems and adding satellite television and replacing furnishings. They also renovated and re-opened the hotel's restaurants and lounges. Mitch Fortner was hired as manager.

Another bankruptcy filing began in 1987 with Lincoln Savings Bank of New York planning to foreclose. The Holiday Inn chain revoked its franchise effective May 8, 1989. Judge Clifford Fulford also ordered the hotel to pay the chain $90,000 in administrative claims.

Parliament Hotel & Suites

With the loss of the Holiday Inn franchise, the sign was covered while hotel continued to operate independently as the Parliament House. In July 1989 Best Western of Phoenix, Arizona came to an agreement with the hotel's owners to operate under that name

For a while it was operated as part of the Ramada Inn chain, but by 1989 was an independent hotel using the Parliament House name.

At one point the parking garage behind the building was sold off, leaving the building without any secured parking.

Demolition of the Parliament House in 2008

In the 1994 the Parliament House was refurbished and reopened as Parliament Hotel & Suites with a new restaurant and bar (Cafe 420). An 880-space parking deck built behind the hotel as part of the Southside Station mixed-use development was intended to serve the hotel. Artists from City Stages who were booked at the newly-reopened hotel found the rooms to be small and insufficiently refurbished.

In 2001 Bedrock Partners of Dallas purchased the hotel from SouthTrust Bank for $3.2 million with plans to spend $15 million converting it into a Marriott Courtyard. The City of Birmingham approved a float loan of $600,000 to Crestline Capital Corporation to assist with the project, but the plans never moved forward. The building was put up for sale with a covenant restriction against using it as a hotel.

In June 2006 the building was purchased for $3.7 million by the UAB Educational Foundation as a site for future expansion of the university. After explaining how the newly-exposed side of the parking deck would be addressed, UAB's application for a demolition permit was approved by the Birmingham Design Review Committee on September 26, 2007. Demolition began in late 2007 and was punctuated by an implosion of the concrete structure just after 7:00 AM on Sunday, February 17. The former hotel site is now the home of the UAB Proton Therapy Center.

Retailers

Retail outlets in the Parliament House included a barber shop and beauty salon, two clothing shops (Village Sportswear and Fain's Ltd), two auto rental offices, a sidewalk café, and a gift and sundry shop. Bob Cain operated the Cain Break Lounge there in the 1980s.

References

External links

Locate with
Google Maps

Retrieved from "http://bhamwiki.com/w/index.php?title=Parliament_House&oldid=198862"