The Peerless Saloon opened in 1889 in this three-story building at 1900 2nd Avenue North. After a shootout in May 1906, Mayor George Ward ordered that the saloon be closed. A vaudeville venue, the Vaudette Theater, operated in the building from 1908 until 1918 or so. The Vaudette incorporated as a "moving picture" theater in March 1917. A renovation of the building was done in 1920.
This 1939 photograph was taken by the city's legendary photographer, O.V. Hunt, who documented many buildings during his career. Businesses operating at that time in the building included Economy Clothes and Florsheim Shores. Florsheim was founded in Chicago in 1892 and by 1939 had numerous retail outlets and distributors around the U.S.
By 2000 concerns arose for the future of the building. In May 2001, the Alabama Historical Commission included it on the annual "Places in Peril" listing, but demolition took place in summer 2003.
A second photo below was taken in the early 1900's.
The Peerless Saloon building with signs for Economy Clothes and Florsheim Shoes visible. Taken by O.V. Hunt
Source: Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
| Quoted from the source: | |
| "Black and white photograph of Second Avenue North looking eastward from Nineteenth Street. Prominent in the photograph are the Peerless Saloon building in the foreground and the First National Bank of Birmingham building in the distance. Bunting and Confederate flags decorating the streets indicate that the photograph was made during one of the Confederate veteran reunions that occurred in Birmingham in the early 1900s." |
Source: Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
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