Birmingham Photo of the Day (38): Gunn's Pharmacy ca. 1915

This photo from the state archives digital collections site features Gunn's Pharmacy around 1915. The store was then located at the corner of 3rd Avenue North and 18th Street. That corner was a busy one. We can see not only Gunn's, but Covell Photo Studio which is advertising "Copies" and "Enlargements." Is that someone in the window near the "ES" of "Copies"? Take a closer look at the archives site linked below.

We can also see a sign for "Starr Pianos" on the extreme left and an advertisement for the "Alabama State Fair: Tickets For Sale Here". The sidewalks are busy and a policeman [?] stands in the intersection gazing at that new-fangled horseless carriage passing through. 

We can also see banners that say simply "Salome." Are these advertisements for a performance of the Oscar Wilde play which originally premiered in 1891? Or perhaps the Richard Strauss opera from 1905? Or maybe it's a brand of soap available at Gunn's Pharmacy.  

The pharmacy dates to 1895, when William Gunn bought the Ellis Drug Company. You can learn more about this business, and see a photograph of the interior, at the always-fascinating BhamWiki site.

 Source: Alabama Department of Archives & History