Birmingham ยท Morris Avenue & Loft District
The Kelly
Warren, Knight & Davis's 14-story terra-cotta Protective Life tower of 1928, empty for at least a decade before it opened as a hotel in 2021.
- Built
- 1928The 14-story tower dates from 1928. A 2022 release says the site began as the three-story Birmingham Ledger building of 1902, converted in 1928; the nomination says 1928 and calls it two buildings, with a c. 1900 rear section at 2030 Morris Avenue.
- Style
- Neo-Gothic
- Architect
- Warren, Knight & Davis
- Type
- Boutique hotel
- Rooms
- 96
- Price
- $
- Area
- Morris Avenue & Loft District
- Credentials
- Inside a National Register historic district
The story
The Birmingham Ledger newspaper built a three-story headquarters here in 1902. In 1928 the Protective Life Insurance Company had Warren, Knight & Davis convert it into a 14-story terra-cotta tower, which the nomination notes for a lobby mural of an angelic woman and child. It later housed the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and stood empty for at least a decade. JK Commerce LLC bought it in 2017, and Rhaglan Hospitality developed it into a 96-room Tapestry Collection hotel that opened in December 2021.
Good to know
- Breakfast: available
- Parking: on-site paid
- No pets
- Address: 2027 1st Avenue North, Birmingham, AL 35203
Sources (3)
- https://catalog.archives.gov/medialz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_AL/86000009.pdf
- https://www.hotel-online.com/news/rhaglan-hospitality-selects-hp-hotels-to-manage-the-kelly-birmingham-tapestry-collection-by-hilton
- https://www.hotel-online.com/news/96-room-hotel-planned-for-downtown-birmingham-high-rise
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.