By By Arthur McLean Editor
The city of Atmore could have one of the largest historic districts in the state, if it applies for and is granted historic district status.
Pam King, who performed an architectural survey of historic buildings for the city, said the town's high number of historic buildings and their concentration in town were impressive.
"Your historic district could be larger than Birmingham's," King told members of the Atmore Chamber of Commerce Wednesday.
The survey found 497 buildings in town that were 50 years or more old, the minimum age required to count towards a historic district designation. "This is the biggest I've done," King said.
"Like any small town, you have a handful of outstanding buildings," she told local business leaders. "You have about a dozen really good buildings, which is very good for a town this size."
Atmore has several advantages if it pursues historic district status, King said. First, Atmore's downtown has a high number of older buildings that qualify and there are "not many holes downtown" created by the destruction of older buildings.
King said Atmore's size and the even spread of historic buildings throughout town means the city could have one very large historic district rather than several, smaller districts, which often happens.
The survey revealed that more than a dozen architectural styles are represented in Atmore's building, from southern gothic to art deco.
To pursue the historic district designation, an application will have to first be approved by the Atmore City Council and then submitted to the National Register of Historic Places for review and possible approval.
The application has not yet been submitted to the council.