Taylor Building

Taylor Lofts in July 2008

The Three Sisters store, c. 1950s

This article refers to a building on 19th Street North. For the building on 20th Street North, see Taylor Building.

Taylor Lofts (originally the Taylor Building) is a 12,800 square-foot, three-story office building located at 215 19th Street North, across from the McWane Science Center.

The Taylor Building was commissioned in 1890 by E. G. Taylor, whose interlocked initials appear in the triangular pediment at the roof. The brick building, featuring arcaded windows, foliate terra cotta panels, small owls, and corbelled brick projections, was constructed by the Gilreath Construction Company.

Taylor built the building for use by doctors and gas and land companies. It was later occupied by milliners, shoe salesmen, and clothers. From the 1950s to the early 1980s, it was occupied by Three Sisters clothing boutique, whose metal sign entirely covered the second floor historic facade. The post-war signage was removed in 1985 by the owner of Gussini Shoes, which moved into the building that year.

Today the building's tenants include Engineering Design Technologies.

References

• White, Marjorie Longenecker. (1980). Downtown Birmingham: Architectural and Historical Walking Tour Giude (2nd edition). Birmingham: Birmingham Historical Society.
• 215 19th St N, Birmingham, AL Property Details on CoStar. (n.d.) CoStar Group. Accessed March 15, 2009.