The Winter Building is a historic building in Montgomery, Alabama, U.S. The 3-story structure was built as a bank branch with a telegraph office upstairs.[2]

Winter Building
The Winter Building in 2012
Winter Building is located in Alabama
Winter Building
Winter Building is located in the United States
Winter Building
Location2 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama
Coordinates32°22′37″N 86°18′31″W / 32.37694°N 86.30861°W / 32.37694; -86.30861
Arealess than one acre
Built1843 (1843)
Architectural styleItalianate
NRHP reference No.72000175[1]
Added to NRHPJanuary 14, 1972

History edit

The building was erected from 1841 to 1843 for John Gindrat, a cotton broker and banker.[3] It was inherited by his daughter, Mary Elizabeth Gindrat, and her husband, Joseph S. Winter, in 1854.[3]

 
Photograph of Court Street in 1874 with Winter Building on left

During the American Civil War of 1861–1865, the second floor was home to the Southern Telegraph Company.[3] It was there that LeRoy Pope Walker, the Confederate States Secretary of War, sent a telegram to General P. G. T. Beauregard to advise him to fire on Fort Sumter, and thus start the Battle of Fort Sumter.[3]

It remained in the same family as late as the 1970s, when it was used for offices and a clothing store.[3]

Architectural significance edit

The building was designed in the Italianate architectural style.[3] It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since January 14, 1972.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/life/2014/04/18/winter-building-witnessed-historic-downtown-events/7892075/
  3. ^ a b c d e f "National Register of Historic Places Inventory--Nomination Form: Winter Building". National Park Service. United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  4. ^ "Winter Building". National Park Service. United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved May 13, 2017.