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Birmingham, Alabama, circa 1906. "Jefferson County Court House." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
It is most interesting to me, as my grandfather was a streetcar conductor in Birmingham at the time of the photo, and pictures I have seen of the streetcars at that time showed a lot of unpaved streets there.
Has anyone noticed that one of the wires on the pole in the lower left foreground has slipped off the insulator and is laying lying on the crossarm? Something I've noticed in vintage Shorpy photos is how incredibly sloppy utility wiring practices were in those days. It's common to see things that would never be permitted today.
I am fascinated by the awnings that scrunch up like a woman's bonnet, as well as by the odd little owlet-looking critter sculptures, who crouch under a scroll. I could stand all day on that lawn just looking at its intricate features (and pet a dog while doing so).
They should pull those wagons with Utilitors. They they wouldn't have all that "mud" in the street. (I for one am grateful for the development of the internal combustion engine).
I love all the shadows in this picture. The trees, the horses, the man walking across the street. Cool.
could be left alone, but horses and buggies too - and no parking meters.
And right behind the Castle is what appears to be the Birmingham jail with its high wall.
Those stupendous curbs come up nearly to the hubs of the bikes. That should be around a foot in height.
Well the church is, anyway. The Cathedral of St. Paul was completed in 1893 at a cost of approximately $90,000.
The courthouse was completed in 1887 on the northeast corner of 3rd Avenue N and 21st Street N (now Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. N). This building replaced a smaller two-story brick version built on the same site in 1875. The 1887 courthouse served the county's needs until 1931 when the present courthouse was completed just up 21st Street between 7th and 8th Avenues N.
I guess that was for the streetcars.
Right on the courthouse lawn.
I love how they could just leave their bikes by the side of the street without a second thought about the possibility of them being stolen.
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