The Winter Building is a historic building in Montgomery, Alabama, U.S. The 3-story structure was built as a bank branch with a telegraph office upstairs.https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/life/2014/04/18/winter-building-witnessed-historic-downtown-events/7892075/

History

The building was erected from 1841 to 1843 for John Gindrat, a cotton broker and banker. It was inherited by his daughter, Mary Elizabeth Gindrat, and her husband, Joseph S. Winter, in 1854. Court Street 1874

During the American Civil War of 1861–1865, the second floor was home to the Southern Telegraph Company. It was there that LeRoy Pope Walker, the Confederate States Secretary of War, sent a telegram to General

P. G. T. Beauregard Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard (May 28, 1818 - February 20, 1893) was a Confederate general officer of Louisiana Creole descent who started the American Civil War by leading the attack on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Today, he is commonly ...

to advise him to fire on Fort Sumter, and thus start the

Battle of Fort Sumter The Battle of Fort Sumter (April 12–13, 1861) was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender by the United States Army, beginning the American Civil War. Follo ...

. It remained in the same family as late as the 1970s, when it was used for offices and a clothing store.

Architectural significance

The building was designed in the

Italianate architectural style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italia ...

. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since January 14, 1972.

References

National Register of Historic Places in Alabama Italianate architecture in Alabama Buildings and structures completed in 1843 Buildings and structures in Montgomery, Alabama {{MontgomeryAL-stub