The Florentine Building (1927)
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This is the Florentine Building in downtown Birmingham. It was built in 1927 as a private club, with the dining and meeting rooms on the first floor and a huge ballroom taking up the whole of the second floor. The original owner had lavish plans for expansion – the foundations were built to support ten stories.

Unfortunately, the Great Depression interfered with his plans and the additional floors were never built.

Second floor ornamentation
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Here’s a better view of the terra cotta ornamentation on the second floor. Henry Upson Sims wanted it to look like the lavish palaces of Fiorenza and spared no expense in its exuberance. I can’t readily find the original cost, but one of my reference books states that it was the most expensive building per square foot built in Birmingham up to that time.

Every time I pass the Florentine Building, I am reminded of a line from Paul Simon’s song Call Me Al, the one about “angels in the architecture.” The cherubim are still there, looking down on the streets, a lovely terra cotta treat for those who lift up their eyes from the city sidewalks.