Parliament House
The Parliament House is an 11-story, 223-room hotel now sitting vacant on the west side of 20th Street South between 4th and 5th Avenues. The dramatically modern structure was constructed in 1964 by a group of investors that included actress Doris Day. In addition to guest rooms the hotel offered a swimming pool on a raised terrace, a full-service restaurant, and meeting facilities.
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 and O. J. Simpson. The presence of the hotel spurred development of "The Strip", a row of restaurants and nightclubs across 20th street including Michael's, Rossi's, PJ's Lounge, and Emil's Cantina.
The hotel was managed by Cliff Holman for a period in the mid 1970s. Over time it became affiliated with major hotel chains, including Ramada Inn and Holiday Inn. Their attempts to renovate the building proved unprofitable and their tenures short-lived. At one point the attached parking garage was sold off, leaving the building without secured parking.
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 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. The intention is to level the building, but no date for demolition has been set and there are no specific plans for redevelopment.
References
- Tomberlin, Michael (June 30, 2006) "Parliament House to be razed by UAB". Birmingham News.