Parker Building - Cullman Downtown Commercial Historic District - Cullman, AL
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 34° 10.556 W 086° 50.438
16S E 514687 N 3781675
Looks like four store fronts and four buildings, but in fct is one building with four store fronts.
Waymark Code: WMPX38
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 11/02/2015
Views: 2
County of building: Cullman County
Location of building: 300-312 2nd Ave. SE, Cullman
Built: 1902
NRHP Listing: Building 17 A thru D
"17.A-D. Parker Building (300,302,304,308,312 2nd Ave. SE) 1902; two-story brick, constructed as one building with four shops with different facades, built for Harry Parker.
"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 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." ~ NRHP NOmination Form