Take a stroll in Gadsden’s enduring historic downtown

Gadsden features one of north Alabama’s largest historic downtowns with a good number of well-preserved 100- to 140-year-old buildings found along Broad Street and Chestnut Street. Sitting near the southern end of Lookout Mountain on the banks of the Coosa River in northeast Alabama, the city was incorporated in 1867. The Gadsden Downtown Historic District was accepted into the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. Construction dates range is 1878 to 1948, and 14 city blocks have at least one building in the registered area.

FUN FACT: The first J.C. Penney department store east of the Mississippi opened in 1923 at 301 Broad Street in Gadsden.

Broad Street: Four big blocks are home to Gadsden’s best historic commercial streetscapes

S.A. Berger Dry Goods-Kyle Building

The 500 block features many of the oldest buildings on Broad and has a good deal of variety. Above, the red S.A. Berger Dry Goods/Kyle Building (c. 1883) at 511 Broad Street is one of the most distinct buildings in the district, and is currently home for the Imagination Place, a museum for children operated by the Center for Cultural Arts.

Over the past few years, a dining destination has developed at the 500 block with seven or more small restaurants found there. The ncludes some of the most visually-appealing structural trim work to be found on Broad.

Above, the Frank & Hagedorn Building (c. 1913) on the north side of the 400 block has some intricate stone and tile. The fancy ornamentation wraps around both sides to take advantage of the fact that it sits at the historically significant corner of Court and Broad.

Above, c. 1890 and 1885 buildings of the 400 block have beautifully painted details. To the right is the c. 1903 Hughes Building with its huge upstairs windows.

1910 Post Office

Above, one of the few stand-along buildings on Broad Street is the c. 1910 U.S. Post Office that later served as a federal courthouse. It features Georgia marble which, along with its red roof, help it stand out at the corner of 6th Street. It’s presently a privately-owned professional office building.

Above, the three buildings in the middle of the north side of the 300 block provide a nice streetscape. Shown are the handsome red Weiss Building (c. 1890, 315 Broad), the red brick building at 313 Broad which was built in 1996 to fill in an empty space and the Dawson Building (c. 1884) at 309 Broad which got a new elegant terra cotta face in 1924 when it became the Pizitz Department Store.

Above, just a block off of Broad on Court Street, the lower floor of the c. 1905 three-story, red-brick warehouse is home to Harp & Clover, a popular Irish pub and restaurant.

Before the old 1890 Etowah County Courthouse, above, was razed in 1948, Court Street and Locust Avenue were part of Gadsden’s old courthouse square. A bank is now found in that spot.

On the old courthouse square’s east side on 4th Street, only the stone carriage porch remains today from what was the grand Printup Hotel. The hotel burned at the beginning of the Great Depression. It is now part of a 1980s-era office building.

Chestnut Street’s visual highlights

Chestnut Street

Above, the red-brick Nadler Building (c. 1902) and the Times-News Building (c. 1904) sit on the corners of Chestnut and South 4th like a gateway to a mile-long stretch of historic sites.

At the corner of Chestnut and 5th, you’ll see the First United Methodist Church which was originally built in 1893. The Victorian Gothic structure, shown above with its massive steeple, was renovated in 1955.

If you go west on Chestnut at least as far as South 9th Street, you’ll find a cluster of historic buildings. The Gunn-Bellenger House (c. 1886 Victorian-style) and the Colonel O.R. Hood house (c. 1904 classic revival) are there. Also, the remarkable Episcopal Church of the Holy Comforter (c. 1921) is across the street from those two houses:

Other interesting buildings are found in the area between Chestnut and the present Day county courthouse. There are several other houses within a few blocks of those that appear to be from the 1890 to 1920 time range, particularly on 8th, 9th, 10th and Walnut Street. Further west, the Eleventh Street School (c. 1907), which is currently being used as an office by the city school system, is on the corner of Chestnut and 11th.

See more Gadsden Downtown Historic District photos: Gallery.

Other historic places in Gadsden area

First, the stone Gadsden Amphitheater, c. 1935, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. It has been known through the years by different names including Mort Glosser Amphitheater and the Legion Park Bowl.

Second, there are several houses of worship in and around the downtown area that appear to be from 1890s to 1920s. There’s also an eye-catching synagogue.