Once an elegant downtown hotel, the Greensboro Hotel remains a local landmark. Impressive brickwork is its most significant feature. Brick-arched doors and windows stand out prominently. The hotel began as a two-story building with “Flemish bond” bricklaying – a decorative pattern created by alternating short and long sides of brick. This type of brickwork indicates an early construction date, possibly as early as 1830. The third story was added circa 1890. This addition has an elaborate brick cornice and a pressed metal cornice caps the building, displaying the hotel’s name. Around the turn of the century, owners added two-story cast iron balconies on the front and side street. As time passed, the old hotel deteriorated due to neglect and it was included in the 2013 Alabama’s Places in Peril. In 2014, the building came under new ownership and is currently undergoing renovation. The pictures that are provided were taken before the renovation began.
The Greensboro Hotel building is a contributing property to the Greensboro Historic District that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The building is located in downtown Greensboro at the intersection of Main Street and Market Street (GPS coordinates 32.704300, -87.593791).
Sources: 1) 2013 Alabama’s Places in Peril published by the Alabama Historical Commission and the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation; 2) NRHP “Greensboro Historic District” Nomination Form.
Photographs courtesy of RuralSWAlabama.
Note: This building is featured site #22, Greensboro Hotel, on the Greensboro Historic Walking Tour. Tour brochures are available at a tourism kiosk that located on the southeast corner of Main and Beacon Streets at downtown Greensboro.