The Clement Hotel – On the corner of South 9th Street and Avenue A.
A well-known landmark in downtown Opelika between 1910 and 1969. Built on a site occupied first by a trader in hides and furs and later by the 19th Century Royal Hotel, the Clement offered the finest accommodations in the city. The Clement originally boasted sixty rooms and one of the best dining rooms in Lee County. Renamed the Martha Scott Hotel in 1966, it was nonetheless demolished only three years later, a victim of urban renewal. Today, the site is occupied by The Museum of East Alabama, which houses several artifacts of the old hotel. (Information from the Opelika Chamber of Commerce Wesite. Photo: Henry Stern Collection)
I think this is the view (pictured above) from Avenue A (between 9th and 10th) with the Courthouse to our right!! Postcard is from the 1950′s!
And notice, on 10th Street, behind the Courthouse, no Bridge over the tracks like today!! (Photo 1953 from the Henry Stern Collection)
From the Archives — originally published on the Opelika Daily News on January 25, 2005. View the original page.
