Metropolitan Hotel
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The Metropolitan Hotel and Cafe was a 103-room hotel located at 8-14 20th Street North next to the Union Station on the corner of Morris Avenue in downtown Birmingham. The hotel lot was purchased in 1884 by Moore, Moore & Handley and the hotel opened in 1886.
The Metropolitan was destroyed by a fire caused by an exploding gas boiler in the hotel's basement on February 23, 1900. The guests were all evacuated to safety, but an African American dishwasher named "Tuscaloosa" was lost to the flames. The property was insured and the owners rebuilt the hotel.
It later sold for $175,000. The proprietor in 1904 was E. Lesser. In 1910 the hotel offered rooms for $1.00 and up on the "European plan" (no meals).
Tenants
- 8 20th Street North: former location of Metropolitan Fruit Stand, Metropolitan Barber Shop (c. 1929-1941)
- 10 20th Street North: former location of Metropolitan Cafe (1886-), New Era Restaurant (1935), Lontos Restaurant (1930s-1941), and Stand 'N Snack
- Jacobs Pharmacy, -1900
- Joe Bryan barber shop, -1900
- People's Tailoring Co., -1900
- Talbert Restaurant, -1900
- T. M. Allen dental clinic, -1900
- F. Smith, tailor, -1900