Thomas Jefferson Hotel
The Thomas Jefferson Hotel (later the Cabana Hotel) is a 19-story building, formerly a hotel, built in 1927 at 1631 2nd Avenue North on the western side of downtown Birmingham. The building was designed by David O. Whilldin.
The hotel featured an ornate lobby, a large ballroom, and a rooftop mooring mast intended for use by dirigibles. During its peak, the Cabana had a special suite reserved for Bear Bryant and also hosted Mickey Rooney and Ethel Merman during visits to Birmingham. The hotel closed in 1983 and has been vacant ever since.
A large vertically-oriented painted sign for the Thomas Jefferson Hotel is still visible on the brick-clad west side of the tower. At one time the letters were outlined with neon tubes, fabricated and installed by Dixie Neon. When it was converted into the Cabana a large neon sign was built on the tower's roof.
In 2005 the Leer Corporation of Modesto, California, announced a $20 million proposal to convert the building into upscale condominiums, to be known as the Leer Tower. That proposal was delayed by a dispute over control of the building and the owner's inability to secure local financing. The property went into foreclosure in July 2008. Subsequently the property has fallen further into disrepair, with the basement flooded by an underground stream and vagrants squatting in the upper floors.
References
- Tomberlin, Michael (November 23, 2006) "Leer tower lists lobby, rooftop as focal points. Birmingham News
- Tomberlin, Michael (May 5, 2009) "Old hotel crumbles as project collapses." Birmingham News