When I write about historic buildings and homes, I often receive emails from people who don’t understand why some of our most beautiful structures can’t be saved.

“Who would tear down that beautiful home?” they ask. Most times, demolition is a last resort.

While today’s world is filled with preservation and historical societies and more buildings are saved than ever before, plenty are lost, mainly because of the high cost of restoration and preservation.

To restore a dilapidated building that hasn’t been used in years would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Someone has to be interested in owning the home or building in its current location, or pay to move it, and spend the money to improve it.

Back in the 1950s and 1960s, Alabama’s historic structures were demolished at an alarming rate, as you can see in the list below. Oftentimes, they were destroyed to build parking structures.

Let’s take a look at some of the beautiful architecture we’ve lost.

Mobile County Courthouse, Mobile

The Mobile County Courthouse was built in 1889 by Rudolph Benz. The 1906 hurricane in Mobile tore the statues and ornamentation from the roof. It was demolished in the 1950s.

The Morris Hotel, Birmingham

The Morris Hotel, which was built as part office building and part hotel known as the Morris Block, opened in 1891 at Nineteenth Street and First Avenue North in Birmingham. Owner Josiah Morris hired French architect Edouard Sidel to build the 125-room luxury hotel in the Second Empire style. Bham Wiki says, “The building was considered an architectural marvel, with corner towers crowned with a tall mansard roof and semi-circular balconies projecting over the sidewalk. A recessed light court was entered through a large archway on the 1st Avenue side. A 2,000-piece Belgian-made stained glass skylight covered the colorfully-tiled atrium beyond.”

A 1935 postcard says: “The Morris Hotel meets every essential hotel requirement of the visitor to Birmingham – location, appointments, service and rates that are fair. Free parking of guests’ automobiles in fireproof garage.”

It was torn down in 1958 to build a parking garage.

Huntsville City Hall, Huntsville

This City Hall building was erected in 1892 at Clinton and Washington streets. It housed the city’s fire equipment and, according to HuntsvilleHistoryCollection.org. “During the daytime the ground floor of the brick and stone building served as the municipal market for farmers.” Its destruction date is unknown.

Paul Hayne School, Birmingham

The Paul Hayne School was built as Southside Grammar School in 1886 at Fifth Avenue South and Twentieth Street, where Kirklin Clinic now stands. According to Bham Wiki, in 1930 it was converted to Paul Hayne Opportunity High School, which taught vocational classes. It was demolished sometime after 1953.

Imperial Hotel, Montgomery

The Imperial Hotel was at the corner of Commerce Street and Bibb Street, facing Commerce, in Montgomery. Its construction date is unknown but this photo was taken in the 1910s. It housed the Majestic Vaudeville show.

The Cotton Exchange, Mobile

The Cotton Exchange in Mobile, built in 1871, was a place for factors to warehouse and ship cotton. The Mobile Exchange was the third one in the country, after New York and New Orleans. It was a four-story red brick building. Statues lined the roof above the entrances, including one of a cotton bale and crown.

The Mobile and Ohio Railroad had its general offices in the Cotton Exchange Building in the early 1900s. The building was demolished in the 1960s.

Hotel Albert, Selma

The Hotel Albert was constructed on Broad Street at Dallas Avenue in Selma in the 1860s. Work stopped during the Civil War and Union troops used the partially completed building as a headquarters following the Battle of Selma in 1865. The building was demolished in 1969. Four of its columns were saved and installed in the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum. Click here to read an in-depth history.

Jefferson County Courthouse, Birmingham

This courthouse was built circa-1888 on Third Avenue at Twenty-First Street. It was demolished in 1937.

The McLester Hotel, Tuscaloosa

The McLester Hotel was built in 1887 on the northwest corner of Greensboro Avenue and Sixth Street in Tuscaloosa. Each of its 33 rooms had a fireplace. The brick three-story building had ironwork on the front. It was torn down in 1964.

The Moses Building, Montgomery

Alfred Moses’ six-story skyscraper in Montgomery was the tallest building in Alabama when it was built in 1887. It is standing on the corner occupied today by Regions Bank, according to the Montgomery County Historic Society. Its demolition date is unknown.

Birmingham Terminal Station

Birmingham Terminal Station was a two-block building erected in 1909 on 26th Street North. It was a station for passenger trains until the 1950s when car and air travel became more popular. The massive building was abandoned and neglected before it was torn down in 1969.

The interior of the station was considered the epitome of elegance. Bham Wiki described it: “Two 130-foot towers topped the north and south wings. The central waiting room covered 7,600 square feet and was topped by a central dome 64 feet in diameter covered in intricate tilework and featuring a skylight of ornamental glass. The bottom 16 feet of the walls of this main waiting room were finished in gray Tennessee marble. Connecting to the main waiting room were the ticket office, a separate ladies’ waiting room, a smoking room, a barber shop, a news stand, a refreshment stand, and telephone and telegraph booths. Along the north and south concourses were the kitchen, lunch and dining rooms, another smoking room, restrooms, and the colored waiting room.”

Alabama Penitentiary, Wetumpka

The first state-owned prison in Alabama was approved by the Legislature in 1839 and completed in 1841. The first inmate arrived in 1842.

A historical marker at the former site of the prison says: “The Wetumpka State Penitentiary (WSP), originally known as the Alabama State Penitentiary, was the first state prison established in Alabama. Built on the east bank of the Coosa River in Wetumpka, Alabama, it was nicknamed the ‘Walls of Alabama’ or ‘Walls.’ For much of its existence, the prison housed both men and women in separate quarters.”

Alabama Gov. Arthur P. Bagby placed the first cornerstone of the prison in March 1840. The prison cost $84,889 to build and included 208 cells. Read more here.

Edwards Opera House/Wilby Theatre, Selma

Edwards Opera House in Selma, built in 1879, later served as the Academy of Music. In the mid-20th century, it housed the 1,000-seat Wilby Theatre. It was later demolished.

Caldwell Hotel, Birmingham

The Caldwell Hotel became the second high-rise in Alabama when the six-story building was completed in Birmingham in 1889, following the 1887 Moses Building in Montgomery. It burned in 1894.

First Governor’s Mansion, Montgomery

Built for Moses and Hattie Sabel in 1906, this home was purchased by the state and used as the governor’s mansion from 1911-1950. It was demolished in 1963 to building Interstate 85.