Wednesday, February 9, 2011

The Florentine Building



Built in 1927, this lovely example of Italianate architecture features terra-cotta ornaments and marble columns.  It started out as the Club Florentine and was purchased in 2008 with the hopes of doing some clean-up and finding a new use for the space.  Note the precious cherubs at the top!

13 comments:

Cinthia said...

I like this Palace....

Dina said...

Ooh la la!
You sure this is in Birmingham?

Pat said...

Ha, I almost said what Dina did. Very beautiful facade.

Luis Gomez said...

Virginia, thank you for this. It is a beautiful building. Lovely details.

Eleanor said...

Thankfully, Club Florentine was designed and built before the stock market crash of 1929. Otherwise, it likely would have been far less ornate...if built at all. Lovely to look at.

Ken Mac said...

She's a beauty, one in a million girls

FancyHorse said...

It's beautiful, I've always liked it. I hope they can make it useful again and keep it beautiful .

RedPat said...

it is quite lovely - I though it was one of your Paris shots!

Bob Crowe said...

Who knew? This is a gem.

Good luck Thursday night.

Amanda said...

Very ornate

Anonymous said...

There are MANY beautiful old buildings in Birmingham, Din & Bibi!

Dina said...

Sorry, I didn't mean my comment as an offense. I know from this blog that Birmingham has many beautiful old buildings. I was just surprised by the Italianate architecture.

Virginia said...

Dina and Bibi,
I love finding things in Birmingham that remind me of Paris and other European cities. Sadly some of our treasures have been allowed to fall in disrepair. Luckily this place has retained its beauty although the rest of the building, especially the interior is in serious need of repair. I took no offense.
V