Cullman Downtown Commercial Historic District - Cullman, AL - Wikipedia Entries on Waymarking.com

County of site: Cullman County
Location of site: 4th and 1st Aves., 2nd and 5th Sts. SE , Cullman

"The Cullman "Downtown" Historic District has historically been the city*s commercial center. The district contains two complete city blocks and sections of other blocks for a total of approximately 11 acres. The district is located roughly between 4th Avenue SE &5th Street SE.

There are 58 buildings within the district. 51 or 88% contribute to the character of the district; 7 or 12% do not-contribute to the character of the district; Of the 58 buildings in the district, all are of commercial or business use with the exception of the First United Methodist Church (#3), the Old Federal Building (#19), and the Masonic Lodge (#15).

The district is divided into two sections by the 1910-1914 L & N Railroad cut. Prior to the cut, the railroad tracks ran at street level parallel to 1st Avenue SE and 1st Avenue SW with the L & N Depot located on 1st Avenue SE between 3rd Street SE and 4th Street SE. The tracks were lowered thirty feet below street level in order to halt the traffic stoppage through downtown, and the old L & N Depot was removed and replaced by a new depot several blocks from the downtown area.

The majority of the early commercial buildings found within the district were of wooden construction. Stiefelmeyers (#22) with its Italianate influence is the last remaining wooden commercial building in the downtown district and is representative of the type buildings which formed the early commercial area." ~ NRHP Nomination Form

"The Cullman "Downtown" Historic District is significant as an excellent representative of late 19th and early 20th century small town commercial architecture found in Alabama. The styles exhibited within the district include Italianate, Eastlake, Neo-Classicism and Commercial-Brick with some Chicago School influence and commercial buildings with no pretense at style. The architecture found within the district reflects the local interpretations of these architectural styles and serves to reflect the development of the downtown as a commercial area from the 1880's thru the 1930's. "After the turn of the century, Cullman continued to replace many of its frame commercial buildings or constructed buildings on lots that had no previous development. Three major buildings of note were the Parker Building(17,A-D)the German Bank Building (#51) and the Esther Opera House (#40). The Parker Building was constructed in 1902 for Harry Parker by W. A. Schlosser as -one building containing four shops each with its own facade. The German Bank Building was constructed in 1907 by Schlosser as the headquarters for the German Bank of Cullman. The Esther Opera House was constructed around 1907 and contained an ice skating rink on the first floor and opera house on the second. This building was shortly after converted to commercial purposes

"In April 1922 C. A. Stiefelmeyer completed a new two-story brick building for A. J. Veighl's City Bakery (#26). The second floor was constructed especially as offices for Doctors J. C. Martin and R. B. Dodson and contained X-ray equipment, an operating room, an infirmary and special care facility. During the same month L. L. Eddleman's brick building (//46) , under construction for use as a tin shop on the corner of Second Avenue SE and Fourth Street SE, was nearing completion. In July 1922 the building under construction for Mike Wagner and Otto Richter was also nearing completion. This building housed the Cullman Printing Company and was built with the necessities for a printing firm such as extra lighting and room for further expansion. Also in July C. A. Stiefelmeyer's planned brick extensions(#24 & #25) which adjoined his earlier brick extension on First Avenue SE were almost completed." ~ NRHP Nomination Form

Wikipedia Commons with photos in addition to mine, that add to the flavor of the district