Quinlan Castle

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Quinlan Castle in August 2006

The Quinlan Castle is a 4-story, castle shaped apartment building built on the northwest corner of 9th Avenue South and Richard Arrington, Jr. Boulevard South. The building features a light brown stone façade. The roofline is highlighted with both battlements and four separate turrets, with one at each corner. It is divided into two sections connected with a pair of stone archways. The interior has since fallen into a state of disrepair as it has remained vacant since the mid-1990s, but includes 72 efficiency and one-bedroom apartments.

History

Opening in 1927 as the Quinlan Castle, the building was designed by architect William C. Weston. Although no one is certain why the castle design was carried out, one legend credits a pair Birmingham doctors for it. Legend says after serving in the U.S. military in France during World War I, the doctors wanted to recreate one of the medieval castles they had seen there.

Constructed by H.P. Hanna of the Quinlan Construction Company, a 1929 advertisement for the castle quoted that its eclectic design was taken "from the actual plans of a medieval English castle." Although this was never confirmed, it acted in adding an even greater degree of intrigue for Birmingham's castle.

The Quinlan moniker was taken from its location along Quinlan Avenue, which has since been renamed 9th Avenue South. The street had been originally named for Mobile's Bishop Quinlan, who had purchased the hilltop and surrounding property and planned to make it the site of Birmingham's first Catholic church.

In 1940, the castle was at the center of controversy when it was rumored that it served as the headquarters for the Communist Party in Birmingham. In that year, Birmingham police Lt. Ollie F. Osborne raided the building after it was discovered Robert Hall was renting an apartment there. At that time Hall was the secretary of the Communist Party chapter in Birmingham. The incident resulted in its name being changed to the Royal Arms Apartments to regain its stature as one of Birmingham's premier apartment communities.

In 1984 the Quinlan Castle was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1994, the castle gained a great degree of local publicity as then Birmingham City Councilman William Bell leased a $295 per month efficiency within the complex. Bell took residence here after a great deal of controversy arose after it was revealed he living in the neighboring Pickwick Hotel to be eligible to run as a candidate for the Jefferson County Commission District 2 seat whilst remaining within his elected city council district. His move into Quinlan was done in an effort to minimize this controversy. Residents of the complex believed his presence would improve their living conditions and make the complex safer.

In 1995, the city cleaned the exterior, added new landscaping and renovated the apartments for use as lower-income apartments. Additionally, signage at the corner of 9th and Arrington was added that features both its completion date and the Quinlan coat of arms. The Quinlan coat of arms is of Irish origin and features "two lions rampant combatant between a mullet surmounted of a crescent in chief and a dexter hand couped at the wrist and erect in base all gules" on the seal. [1]

After becoming the property of Birmingham in January 1993, the future of the structure has remained in doubt due to its deteriorating state. By 1998, the structure was added to the Places in Peril list of the Alabama Historical Commission and the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation.

At 6:00 a.m. on February 26, 2003, a small fire broke out in one of its apartment units. The Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service ruled the fire as accidental and was probably caused by vagrants inproperly discarding a cigerette.

Redevelopment

Each year since 1999 the City of Birmingham has solicited proposals for redevelopment of the property.

1999

Southern Research Institute proposed to demolish the structure to make way for additional parking and a proposed expansion of their facilities early in 1999. The city refused to sell without an agreement to protect the exterior appearance of the building. After the SRI proposal, the city recieved four proposals for its reuse in November 1999. These proposals included:

2001

A proposal for the structure in March 2001 from the QC Partners would have converted the castle into 30 luxury apartments. By March 2002 the project stalled and was eventually cancelled after an agreement for parking could not be reached.

2003

A failed 2003 proposal from Excell Financial would have converted the castle into 20 luxury condominiums. The proposal called for 16 two-story townhomes and 4 penthouse units with access to the roof and to the castle's turrets. Covered parking on the castles eastern side would have also been included as part of the development.

2006

In September 2006, Birmingham received these new proposals:

  • A proposal from the Southern Research Institute to purchase the building for use as a storage facility or as additional office or laboratory space. They may also decide to completely demolish the interior for a central utility plant and preserve the exterior facade as a shell.
  • A proposal from the Department of Veterans Affairs would convert the building into short-term housing for families and patients at the Birmingham VA Medical Center.
  • A proposal from Urban Development and Management would convert the castle into 32 condos and 50 underground parking spaces.
  • A fourth proposal from developer Herschell Hamilton has since been withdrawn.

As a result of the recent press given to the property for the 2006 proposals, a group of third-graders from Advent Episcopal School wrote letters to the Birmingham News expressing their ideas of how the castle should be redeveloped. Under the direction of their teacher Lee Stayer some of the children's proposals included: a movie theater, orphanage, library, mall, animal shelter, hotel, antique shop and a medieval museum. The children wrote the letters as a part of a class assignment after learning how to properly compose one.

References

  • Coman, Victoria L.(October 7, 2006) "City looks at Quinlan Castle future." Birmingham News.
  • Coman, Victoria L.(October 3, 2006) "4 plans to redevelop castle reach city." Birmingham News.
  • Estes, Cary (September 29, 2006) "City's castle may soon find its knight." Birmingham Business Journal. [2]
  • Birmingham Business Journal (July 20, 1999) "Keep Quinlan Castle." Birmingham Business Journal. [3]
  • Anderson, John (February 27, 2003) "Metro briefs." Birmingham News.
  • Coman, Victoria L. (December 3, 2003) "Castle saving quest: plan in the works to save Quinlan." Birmingham News.
  • Goldman, Adam (March 4, 2002) "Quinlan Castle renovation plans stall over parking." Birmingham News.
  • Scribner, Chris (March 25, 2001) "Quinlan Castle may find style." Birmingham News.
  • Blackledge, Brett J. (November 10, 1999) "Firm offers $400,000 for castle." Birmingham News.
  • Walsh, Maggie Hall (December 13, 1995) "Quinlan Castle unique building saved, talk about it continues." Birmingham News.
  • Dedrick, Patricia (May 10, 1994) "Bell hopes move into apartment quells flap over residency rules." Birmingham News.

External links

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