Colbert County Courthouse Square Historic District | |
 The Colbert County Courthouse in September 2007 | |
   | |
| Location | Roughly bounded by E. and W. 2nd, N. and S. Cave, E. and W. 6th, and N. and S. Indian Sts., Tuscumbia, Alabama |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°44′2″N87°42′15″W / 34.73389°N 87.70417°W Coordinates: 34°44′2″N87°42′15″W / 34.73389°N 87.70417°W |
| Area | 72 acres (29 ha) |
| NRHP reference # | 73000338 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | May 24, 1973 |
The Colbert County Courthouse Square Historic District is a historic district in Tuscumbia, Alabama. It contains 22 buildings and residences centered on the Colbert County Courthouse.
Historic districts in the United States are designated historic districts recognizing a group of buildings, properties, or sites by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided into two categories, contributing and non-contributing. Districts greatly vary in size: some have hundreds of structures, while others have just a few.
Tuscumbia is a city in and the county seat of Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,423. The city is part of The Shoals metropolitan area.
The courthouse was built in 1881. It was heavily damaged by fire in 1908. In the restoration, porticos were added to each side, each with four Ionic columns. The west and north porticoes have since been removed to make way for expansion wings. A clock tower was also added after the 1908 fire.
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cultures, including most Western cultures.
Clock towers are a specific type of building which houses a turret clock and has one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building.
On the east side of the courthouse across Main Street are the First Methodist Church (built 1926), the Clark Building (built 1926), and the Abernathy House. Single houses, now all used as law offices, mixed with modern infill face the courthouse on its other sides; the Godley House to the north was built in 1839, the Womble House to the west was built in the 1890s, and the Dirago House to the south was built in 1912.
In urban planning infill is the rededication of land in an urban environment, usually open-space, to new construction. Infill also applies within an urban polity to construction on any undeveloped land that is not on the urban margin. The slightly broader term "land-recycling" is sometimes used instead. Infill has been promoted as an economical use of existing infrastructure and a remedy for urban sprawl. Its detractors view it as overloading urban services, including increased traffic congestion and pollution, and decreasing urban green-space.
Away from the courthouse square, the most significant structures are a group of seven buildings on 5th Street known collectively as Commercial Row. The buildings were constructed in the 1840s, and have served as the commercial hub of Tuscumbia. One block west of Commercial Row is the Railway Depot. The Tuscumbia Railroad Company was chartered in 1830 and had extended their line to Decatur by 1834. The Victorian depot was built in 1888 to replace a former frame structure, and given to the city in 1948. Other buildings in the district include the First Presbyterian Church (built 1824), St. John's Episcopal Church (built 1852), First Baptist Church (built 1903), and the Julian House (built in Cherokee and moved to Tuscumbia in the 1850s). [2]
Decatur is a city in Morgan and Limestone counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The city, nicknamed "The River City", is located in Northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake, along the Tennessee River. It is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County. The population in 2010 was 55,683.
Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. Victorian refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian were used in construction. However, many elements of what is typically termed "Victorian" architecture did not become popular until later in Victoria's reign. The styles often included interpretations and eclectic revivals of historic styles. The name represents the British and French custom of naming architectural styles for a reigning monarch. Within this naming and classification scheme, it followed Georgian architecture and later Regency architecture, and was succeeded by Edwardian architecture.
Cherokee is a town in west Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Florence–Muscle Shoals metropolitan area, known as "The Shoals". As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 1,048.
The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. [1]
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred in preserving the property.
