Hightower Building, 15 South Lafayette Street, Lafayette, Chambers County, AL

1988 Charles E. Peterson Prize, Third Place

Significance: The Hightower Building, built ca. 1885, is one of the older, more prominent buildings facing the Chambers County Courthouse square. The cast iron storefront and architectural details on the front facade were typical of commercial buildings built from the 1850's to the 1880's. For many years, the second floor of the building housed Lafayette's first telephone exchange. Through the years, the building has housed a variety of commercial uses including a dry goods store, grocery store and a watchmaker's shop. Much of the original structure is intact and many of the details on the front facade have been restored. The interior details on the second floor, such as the bull's eye moulding and beaded wood paneling, are representative of the time. Although the balcony is a replica, and interior walls have been added to the first floor, the building provides an excellent example of late 19th century commercial architecture.

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-85

Survey number: HABS AL-890

Building/structure dates: ca. 1885 Initial Construction

Building/structure dates: 1986 Subsequent Work

offices railroad stations storefronts telephone exchanges commercial facilities lafayette ala hightower lafayette south lafayette street chambers chambers county alabama deborah adkison school of architecture auburn university t paul bates william briggs nancy burke judith e collins darla s davis kimberly harden david harris historic american buildings survey karen hundt lee ann jackson katherine lynn elaine g pierce mark e pierson julie ann smith phillip b smith michael r south gail m tubbs sidney p ward mae b washington david mingtze wu photo architecture railroad railroad architecture blueprint building plans architectural diagrams library of congress

1933 - 1970

Library of Congress

http://www.loc.gov/

No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted. http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/114_habs.html