Mabson Hotel
The Mabson Hotel was a five-story brick and stone-clad hotel located on the northeast corner of 3rd Avenue North and 22nd Street, across 22nd Street from St Paul's Cathedral.
The hotel constructed before 1891 for J. M. Thomson and was originally called the Thomson House. The ground floor was constructed of iron ore with heavy rustication, later whitewashed. The upper floors were clad in brick with wide arched openings between pilasters. The openings featured finely-made wood triple windows, except on the corner, where single windows filled narrower bays. A deep cornice supported on brackets separated the walls from a slate-faced mansard roof with window dormers and broad brick piers.
In 1910 the business was operated as the Central Hotel and offered rooms on the "American plan" for $1.50 to $2.00.
The hotel was purchased by Thomas Mabson of Montgomery in 1913. He operated it until his death in 1920. His family continued to run it as a hotel and rooming house until it was finally demolished in April 1961 for construction of a parking lot. The lot is currently owned by the Diocese of Birmingham and is recognized by the large "Uniform House of Dixie" painted sign on the adjacent building.
References
- Notes by William H. Brantley, Jr on the photograph at Samford University Library Archives - accessed April 24, 2014
- Bennett, James R. (2008) Historic Birmingham and Jefferson County: An Illustrated History. San Antonio, Texas: Birmingham-Jefferson Historical Society/Historical Publishing Network. ISBN 9781893619838