Empire Hotel (1912)
- This article is about the former hotel. For other uses, see Empire Building (disambiguation).
The Empire Hotel was a large hotel located at 2130 4th Avenue North, on the northwest corner of 22nd Street across from the 1917 Birmingham News building and behind St Paul's Cathedral in downtown Birmingham. It was constructed in 1911-1912 at a cost of $100,000 and was clad in face brick supplied by the Hydraulic Press-Brick Co. of St Louis, Missouri.
When it opened, the hotel was advertised as "having the atmosphere and appointment of a well-conditioned home". I. L. Fabian was the long-time manager.
In 1941 Fabian, Abe Klotzman and Ralph Blach formed a partnership, the "Empire Hotel Company", which purchased the property. Blach served as manager until his death in 1963. His brother, Ivan continued until his own death in December 1965.
Frank Rumore operated the Empire Coffee Shop (later the Empire Cafe) on the ground floor, serving a meat-and-three menu. In 1951 the Land Title Company also had its offices in the Empire Hotel.
The site of the demolished Empire Hotel was used for Birmingham Parking Authority Deck 4.
References
- Weeks, J. D. (1999) Birmingham in Vintage Postcards. Postcard History Series. Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Arcadia Press. ISBN 9780738503332