The Thomas Jefferson Hotel was planned and developed by the Union Realty Company, headed by Henry Cobb.

Progress was halted in April 1927 when one of the projects financiers, the Adair Realty and Trust Company of Atlanta, Georgia failed.

[2] The hotel featured an ornate marble lobby, a large ballroom, and a rooftop mooring mast intended for use by dirigibles.

A Corinthian colonnade in glazed white terra-cotta set off the base of the tower, with the hotel entrance marked by a metal canopy.

The cornice rests on tightly spaced brackets with a shallow overhang of red mission tile suggesting a sloped roof.

Built to host huge gatherings, the $2.5 million facility was stocked with 7,000 pieces of silverware, 5,000 glasses and 4,000 sets of linen.

As an affiliate of the National Hotels chain and under the management of Austin Frame, the Thomas Jefferson advertised rooms from $9 to 18 a night and multi-room suites for $18 to 35.

A large vertically oriented painted sign for the Thomas Jefferson Hotel is still visible on the brick-clad west side of the tower.

Its luxury status made the Thomas Jefferson a prime spot for celebrities visiting the city, including Mickey Rooney and Ethel Merman.

The economy had slowed, and a shift of attention to the northern end of town left older hotels, such as the Cabana, struggling.

In 2012, it was reported that a nonprofit corporation, Thomas Jefferson Tower Inc., was raising funds to buy the building and renovate it into a hotel, possibly as part of a mixed-use development including retail, a grocery store, and apartments.

In August 2013, the building and its annex were acquired by TJTower LLC, a group of investors from Little Rock, Arkansas and New Orleans including former professional basketball player Brian Beshara.

The former hotel was one of the first projects in Alabama to utilize new state and federal tax credits designed to spur redevelopment of historic structures.

It is one of multiple revitalization projects occurring in downtown Birmingham, along with the renovation of the long-closed Lyric Theater and the nearby Pizitz Building.

The structure features LED lighting that can be remotely changed in color and intensity to mark specific occasions, much like is done at the Empire State Building in New York.