Lakeview Design District
Lakeview's first developments in the late nineteenth century paint a colorful portrait of the current district's history. The existence of a lake gave the area its namesake, as well as the accompanying Lakeview Hotel. The fashionable residences of South Highlands as well as an electric trolley constructed around 1895 surrounded the lake. Rolling hills and wooded countryside beautified the landscape. Seven years earlier the lake was the location for the dumping of three bodies by Richard Hawes, a railroad engineer who killed his wife and two daughters. The arrest of Hawes sparked angry, lynching mobs in the City of Birmingham. Later, a portion of Lakeview, now known as the North Lakeview Light Industrial District, was created in the early part of the twentieth century for a number of reasons.
During the late 1920's, depression-era Birmingham saw a need to diversify its economy from the steel industry. The Birmingham Kiwanis Club investigated the possibilities of future industrial development, stressing the need for a wider range of industries that would provide opportunity for the employment of women. According to a United States census in 1920, only five percent of industrial wage earners in Birmingham were women. The City of Birmingham became home to these new businesses, such as the Martin Biscuit Company and the Dr. Pepper Syrup Plant. The subsequent growth resulted in a district featuring warehousing and light manufacturing industry now known as the North Lakeview Light Industrial District. The completion of the 24th Street viaduct in 1926 also sparked the growth of the district. It is among Birmingham's 24 commercial revitalization districts that are guarded by design review protection.
The Pepper Place Complex is a focal point in the renovation of the Lakeview District. This highly visible project has been celebrated in several major magazine articles and a CNN television feature.
Pepper Place
The Pepper Place complex is a group of seven buildings totaling more than 227,000 square feet. Formerly the Dr. Pepper Syrup Plant and the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company, the buildings have been completely renovated and the complex is considered the design, furniture and arts related merchandise center of Birmingham. In addition to the numerous shops and businesses, the Terrific New Theatre is also located in the complex.
Dr. Pepper Building
After the Dr. Pepper Company moved its location from Dallas to Waco, Texas in 1930, it also planned for the construction of a new plant that would handle shipments to bottlers and fountain accounts east of the Mississippi River. Birmingham was selected as the location for the new Dr. Pepper syrup plant, primarily because it offered more rail shipping services than alternate locations. The plant was completed and put into operation in 1931, one year following the opening of the new Dallas facility. The opening of the Dr. Pepper syrup plant in Birmingham, in effect, advanced the Company's sales and expansion in the eastern part of the country. Furthermore, the Birmingham plant significantly reduced the Company's major shipping expenses. The factory continued its operation until 1982.
Local architect David Oliver Whilldin designed the three-story industrial building. The building's simple design is one of concrete post-and-beam constructed and floors and twelve inch thick, red brick exterior walls. Its most prominent features are the multi-paned windows and bold Dr. Pepper sign. The interior is standard industrial space with unfinished natural brick walls, a cement floor, and an open truss ceiling supporting wood beams. Whilldin, primarily known for his more classical plans, also designed the ornate Florentine Building at the corner of 2nd Avenue North and 21st Street. Artifacts from the building can be found in the current businesses. For example, the scales that were used to weigh the Dr. Pepper syrup, as well as the vaults where the secret formula was stored can be seen in the building. The building is a certified historic structure contributing to the historical North Lakeview Light Industrial District.
Martin Biscuit Building
Edgar Martin, a young salesman for the Huston Biscuit Company in Birmingham, began his own business at 2423-25 First Avenue around the year 1900. The first company building, with a 5,000 square foot floor plate, was brick and three stories high. In 1907 under the name of The Martin Cracker Company, the business was sold to American Bakers and reorganized as the Martin Biscuit Company, producing cookies and crackers and, at one time, candies. Among some of the company's products were vanilla wafers, ginger snaps, and moon pies.
The company's later expansion required locating to a larger plant. The site selected was at the corner of 2nd Avenue South and 29th Street. The new $32,000 brick building was completed in 1928, constructed with 14" thick brick walls and an exterior cladding of red brick with concrete trim.
The Nabisco Company had been a competitor of Martin Biscuit for most of its existence, but sometime during World War II, the former company asked Martin Biscuit to make a base cookie for some of their products. The reputation that had been established for years began to wane as they subcontracted with Nabisco, especially in the years following the war. In addition, sugar was rationed during World War II, and Martin Biscuit was not able to meet the sugar demands for its products. Although the company survived the depression and the First World War, it was not able to meet the challenges that the World War II era would bring. The company was liquidated in 1947 and the building was sold in 1950 to Walker Drug Company.
The Walkers used the building as its company's wholesale warehouse, constructing an addition in 1958. The newer section of the building is similar to the older portion with red brick and concrete trim. The architect for the addition was Fred Renneker, Jr. and Hallmark and Bachus served as the contractor. Consequently, Baptist Health Systems bought the building from the Walkers in the 1970's and used it for storage. Later, Baptist Health Systems sold the building in 1997 to Sloss Real Estate Group, Inc. The 56,000 square foot building has subsequently been renovated by Sloss Real Estate Group, Inc. The building currently houses a mixture of businesses, ranging from antiques and graphic design to garden supplies and woodworks.