National Register of Historic Places

Schiffman Building

Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama
Listed
September 21, 1980
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
80000724

About this property

The Schiffman Building is a historic commercial building in Huntsville, Alabama. The main structure of the building was built in 1845. Originally, it was a three-bay brick building divided by large, flat pilasters. The southern bay, at the corner of East Side Square and Eustis Avenue, was remodeled in the Richardsonian Romanesque style in 1895. The other two bays were demolished in the 1970s. Future Speaker of the U.S. House William B. Bankhead used the building as an office while he was Huntsville's city attorney from 1898–1902; his daughter, actress Tallulah Bankhead, was born in the second floor apartment. Issac Schiffman, a businessman and banker, purchased the building in 1905 and it has remained in the family since. The façade is of rough limestone blocks, and is dominated by turrets on the corners that extend above the cornice. The arched entry sits beside a large, arched window on the first floor. The window's keystone acts as a corbel for a massive bay window on the second floor. Above the door is a stone panel, flanked by turrets and marked with "I. Schiffman". Above the panel are two small windows and a smaller version of the cornice. Three windows on the third floor, two above the bay window and one above the door side, each have a decorative stone arch above a single lintel. The stone cornice has large dentils; the same design is carried down the Eustis side of the building on a pressed metal cornice. The side is faced with stuccoed brick and divided into five bays by protruding pilasters. Each bay has a one-over-one sash window on each floor, with the final bay containing a door surrounded by a stone arch. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Location

231 E. Side Sq.
Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama
34.73024, -86.58428

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Buildings at 104-128 S. Side Sq.
Early Republic
0 mi
May and Cooney Dry Goods Company
Industrial
0 mi
Episcopal Church of the Nativity
Early Republic
0 mi
Milligan Block
Industrial
0.1 mi
Randolph Street Church of Christ
Industrial
0.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was Schiffman Building listed on the National Register?

Schiffman Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 21, 1980.

What type of historic resource is Schiffman Building?

Schiffman Building is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Schiffman Building?

The period of significance for Schiffman Building is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Schiffman Building?

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