Winter Building, commercial building in Montgomery, Alabama
The Winter Building is a three-story commercial structure in Italianate style located on Dexter Avenue in Montgomery, Alabama. It was built between 1841 and 1843 and originally housed a bank office and telegraph office on upper floors, serving as an important business and communication hub.
The building was commissioned in 1841 by John Gindrat, a cotton dealer and banker, to house a branch of a prominent Georgia bank. After Gindrat's death, his daughter Mary Elizabeth inherited it, then married Joseph S. Winter, from whom the building takes its current name.
The building carries the Winter family name, who owned it for generations and marked their place in Montgomery's commercial world. The Italianate style with tall windows and ornate cornices was the expected design for important trading houses and reflected the prosperity and ambitions of merchants of that era.
The building is located on a busy street and can be viewed from outside; the Italianate details like tall windows and ornate cornices are easily seen from the sidewalk. Visitors should note that it sits in a historic district and the best view of the architecture is from the street level.
During the American Civil War, Confederate War Secretary LeRoy Pope Walker sent a telegram from this building to General P. G. T. Beauregard ordering the attack on Fort Sumter, which started the war. This historical message that altered the course of American history came from a room on the second floor.
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