Town House

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Postcard view of the Town House
The Town House in the 1950s

The Town House, also called Townhouse Apartments, Town House Hotel or UAB TownHouse, was an apartment building, and, later, an extended stay hotel located at 2008 University Boulevard, on the northeast corner of its intersection with 20th Street South in Southside.

The modern-style 9-story brick slab-shaped building was completed in 1953. It features continuous strips of windows shaded by projecting concrete awnings. The brick spandrels are interrupted by thru-wall air conditioner vents. There is no cornice. The name "TOWN HOUSE" was originally painted in tall block letters on the parapet near the intersection. A 10th-floor penthouse extends above the parapet at the center of the building, near the elevator tower.

One section of the ground floor wall at the east end of the building, clad in marble panels, is decorated with projecting planter boxes. The other corner, at the street intersection, projects slightly to the south and extends beyond the main mass to the south. That section is clad in green granite with punched openings. The west end of the building extends slightly over the sidewalk and is supported on concrete columns. A concrete projecting roof protects the entrance doors on the south wall, and and extends out over an auto drop-off.

The property was originally owned and operated as an apartment building by Morton Bright. Its convenience to the Medical Center led UAB to lease space there for visiting professors and hospital patients. The university purchased the building in 1985. The Birmingham Baptist Association, which had offices on the 7th floor of the Town House, managed 15 fully-furnished apartments for families of hospital patients needing affordable extended accommodation.

UAB announced that the building no longer met its standards for patient hospitality in late 2017, and that the cost of renovations were prohibitive. The facility stopped accepting reservations in December, and closed down in 2018. It is expected that the building will be demolished.

Retail tenants

Retail tenants on the ground floor have included Mrs. Todd's Cafeteria, Tracy's Cafeteria, Frances' Flowers & Gifts, Tubb's Drugs, and the Apothecary Club nightclub. The current tenant is Sitar Indian restaurant.

References

External links