Highland Towers
Highland Towers is a 12-story apartment building located at 2251 Highland Avenue. The unadorned brick building was developed in 1951 by the J. H. Perkins Company of Ensley and designed by Henry Sprott Long of the firm of Long & Gatling. Its furnished efficiency and one-bedroom apartments originally rented for $68 and $83, respectively. At the time of its opening on August 19, 1951 Highland Towers was the tallest residential building in the state of Alabama.
The Highland Towers Sundry Shop, which advertised itself as the "World's Smallest Super Market" and "Birmingham's Most Unusual Store" was located on the ground floor.
The tower flanks the Highland Avenue Overpass, completed in 1967, opposite the similarly-scaled Highland Plaza.
In September 2011 a large, white block-letter "You Are Beautiful" tag was painted on the building's south-facing parapet. The building owners spent $4000 to remove the graffiti.
Retail tenants
- Highland Towers Sundry Shop (1960)
- Trane Air Conditioning
- Birmingham Weekly
- Highland Booksmith (1990-1999)
- Highland Coffee Company (2001-2006)
- Inspire Fitness
- Freddy's Wine Bar (January 2018-)
References
- "State's tallest apartment opens Sunday, it marks real estate milestone" (August 19, 1951) The Birmingham News
- "Neighborhood coffee house exits historic Highland Park" (March 17, 2006) Birmingham Business Journal
- Gray, Jeremy (September 13, 2011) "Beautiful message creates not so beautiful clean up at Birmingham building." The Birmingham News
External links
- Highland Towers on Emporis.com