September 30, 1984
Built from 1909 to 1910 by architect William Weston, the lovely and historic Beaux Arts-style Age-Herald building remains a showstopper in Birmingham. Seated on less than 1 acre, the five-story building at 2109 Fifth Ave. North was the headquarters of the Age-Herald newspaper.
The façade of the building is tan, mottled brick, trimmed in terracotta. Large globes and owls adorn a terracotta frieze, and the lobby features a mosaic tile floor.
The building had all of the modern conveniences, including elevators and fireproof rooms. Nine typesetters kept a giant Scott sextuple color deck press operating. Around 1910, the Age-Herald introduced advertising to Birmingham. A business could buy a whole-page ad for one month, three days a week, for $50.
The Comer family bought the Age-Herald in 1922, relocating the paper to the Comer Building, which later became the City Federal Bank building. In 1927, The Birmingham News publisher Victor Hanson bought the Age-Herald. Hanson published both papers: The Age-Herald came out in the morning and The Birmingham News in the evenings. On Sundays, a joint Birmingham News Age-Herald edition was distributed.
The Age-Herald building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Sept. 30, 1984.
Read more at BhamWiki.
For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.
