Williams Hall
Williams Hall is a three-story brick academic building, the oldest building on the campus of Miles College in Fairfield. It faces Myron Massey Boulevard on the east side of campus, north of Sloan-Alumni Stadium.
It was completed in 1908 by Belton Gilreath and originally housed administrative offices along with a commissary and girls' dormitory rooms. It was named in honor of African Methodist Episcopal minister R. S. Williams, who chaired the college's board of trustees.
The original building had a projecting cornice, and a steeply-pitched mansard roof over an attic space with pavilions crowning the central block and the end bays. The central pinnacle was crowned by a lantern and belfry. The entry is shaded by a three-bay portico supported on brick piers.
The roof was heavily damaged by a lightning strike in the late 1930s and was replaced with a flat roof parapet with no projecting cornice. The building's original wood windows have also been replaced by steel sashes.
The building is a contributing structure to the Miles Memorial College Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
In April 2020 Miles was awarded a $499,869 grant through the Historic Preservation Fund's Historically Black Colleges and Universities grant program administered by the National Park Service. The college plans to restore the building, to its mid-century appearance, and incorporate a teaching museum to highlight the institution's historic role in the Civil Rights Movement. The renovated building will house the Judge U. W. Clemon Center for Economic and Social Justice. A second grant in the same amount was awarded in August 2021.
References
- Nelson, Linda (May 1, 1993) "Miles Memorial College Historic District." National Register of Historic Places nomination form - approved
- Remkus, Ashley (April 25, 2020) "Alabama HBCU awarded $500,000 grant to restore its oldest building." The Birmingham News
- Patchen, Tyler (August 18, 2021) "Miles College receives grant to restore Williams Hall." Birmingham Business Journal