Willis Colby residence

The Willis Colby residence is a 1,660 square-foot 3-bedroom house located at 2931 Highland Avenue, near the intersection of 30th Street South, across from Rhodes Park. It was designed by William Welton for W. D. Colby, owner of the Birmingham Decorating Company and built around 1927.

The rectangular one-story house is clad in stucco with ganged windows. The flat roof is surrounded by a stepped parapet, topped with a pair of urns flanking the central entrance bay. The front door is sheltered by a semi-circular portico supported on two round columns and two engaged half columns. It opens onto a paved terrace shaded by pergolas at either end. Welton described the style of the house as "Louis XVI", highlighting its neoclassical details, but may have modeled its appearance closely on a contemporary "California bungalow" in Pasadena.

In the 1950s the house was occupied by milliner and dressmaker Marguerite Sarris. Decorator Al Troncalli lived at the house in the 1980s and 1990s, after which it passed to his sister, Grace. She put the house up for sale in 2013 for $400,00. It sold in 2015 for $250,000; in 2021 for $525,000; and again in 2022 for $565,000.

The Colby residence is listed as a contributing structure to the Country Club Historic District. In December 2023 the owner applied to the Birmingham Design Review Committee to demolish the structure to make way for a new apartment building.

To left: Highland Club Apartments

Highland Avenue 2931

To right: Montcalm Apartments

References

• Mansell, Jeff & Christy Anderson (March 11, 2003) "Country Club Historic District" National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form - listed December 17, 2003
• Dabney, Richard (2006) Birmingham's Highland Park. Images of America Series. Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Press. ISBN 9780738543437