Phoenix Club
- This article is about the 19th century social club. For the present-day philanthropic club, see Phoenix Club of Birmingham.
The Phoenix Club of Birmingham, Alabama was a social club for Jewish men of German descent which was organized on April 21, 1883 and, in its first years kept rooms above 2108 2nd Avenue North. It was re-incorporated by the Alabama Legislature in 1898 with express powers to lease and purchase property and to provide its members with tobacco, alcohol and pool tables.
In 1909 the club constructed a "City Club" house at 20th Street and 15th Avenue South in South Highlands. Peter Bostick was awarded the construction contract, which has been reported as either $25,000 or $50,000. The new building opened with a grand ball on December 3. It later added a "Country Club" on Shades Mountain.
The club's members included Ike Adler, Samuel Adler, Jacob Burger, Benjamin Ezekiel, M. V. Joseph, Isaac Hochstadter, Simon Klotz, Herbert Levy, A. B. Loveman, Leo Loeb, Ben Meyer, David Meyer, H. J. Meyer, Joe Slaughter, Leo Steiner, Samuel Stern, and M. Weil.
The building was used as a jazz club in the 1970s and currently houses Zydeco bar and concert hall.
References
- City Directory of Birmingham and Gazetteer of Surrounding Section for 1884-5 (1884) Volume II. Atlanta, Georgia: Interstate Directory Company
- Manufacturer's Record (April 1, 1909) Vol. 55, No. 12, p. 57
- Hornady, John R. (1921) The Book of Birmingham. New York: Dodd & Mead