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The Harmony Club was built in 1909 as a social club by the Jewish community of Selma. Situated on a high bank that overlooks the Alabama River the Harmony Club is a key feature of Selma's historic Water Avenue district.
The Harmony Club building project was headed by Benjamin J. Schuster a leading
merchant, outstanding citizen and President of the club. He ran Schuster
Hardware Company that stood where the Edmund Pettus Bridge now crosses the
Alabama River in downtown Selma.
The first floor was two retail spaces, that have had businesses in one or both since 1909.
The second floor was a restaurant up front and Men’s Lounge in back (off
limits to the public back then). The Lounge had a pool table, poker games,
slot machines, cigar chomping and of course wives were not allowed but
occasionally “ladies” were.
The third floor was a ballroom that saw lots of dances and parties over the
decades.
The club functioned for many years, became the Elks Club in the late Thirties
and boarded up in 1960.
The building sat dormant for forty years until David Hurlbut bought the
building in 1999 and started the renovation. The Harmony Club is a work in
progress that has many more years to go.
The Harmony Club was featured in the Dec. 8, 2010 New York Times, Home & Garden section, see the article here and more photos here.
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