CMH Celebrates 35 Years, Iss. 1 – the 80s

Birmingham, Ala. (March 3, 2016) – Crawford McWilliams Hatcher Architects was incorporated on October 20, 1980. It was the year of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes BackThe ShiningNine to Five, Raging Bull, Airplane and The Blues Brothers. Our collective soundtrack consisted of Blondie, David Bowie, The Cars, Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, Alice Cooper, Elvis Costello and The Police.

The inflation rate was a whopping 13.6% and the Dow was at 963. The average new car cost was $7,200 with gas at $1.19 per gallon ($3.42 per gallon in today’s dollars), the Federal debt was $909.1 Billion, Reagan was elected president in November and Post-It notes debuted.

MTV was on the verge of existing, Charles and Diana were on the verge of marrying, Brittany Spears was on the verge of being born and Sandra Day O’Connor was on the verge of becoming the first female Supreme Court Justice.

Our architecture firm started with three — Brandon Crawford, Jerry McWilliams, Everett Hatcher — and a part-time secretary. We made our drafting boards out of recycled doors and the most high-tech item we had was an IBM typewriter.

During the 80s we grew quickly. For a blast from the past, check out the hairspray, oversized glasses and initial projects that kickstarted our firm here. Congratulations to the CMH family! Here’s to our first decade!

 

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CMH Helps Cordova Recover from April 2011 Tornadoes

Birmingham, Ala. (June 27, 2014) — In the aftermath of the April tornadoes of 2011, CMH Architects teamed with Cordova Mayor Drew Gilbert and City Planner Steve Ostaseski to pursue a grant to fund the redevelopment of the city. Their efforts paid off as they were awarded a HUD grant for tornado recovery from the… Continued

The Birmingham 205

Birmingham, Ala. (April 29, 2016) – BHM BIZ has named the Birmingham 205, a list of the Magic City’s most influential executives.  CMH’s President, Everett Hatcher, made the list!  Peruse the publication here and see if you can find him!

Lifestyle Center Timeline

Birmingham, Ala. (July 22, 2016) – In the 2000s, the lifestyle center became the darling of retail shopping.  In the years from 2000 to 2008 CMH designed 23 lifestyle centers with a total area of 7.8 million square feet.  See chart below to view our major contributions to the rapid rise of this popular shopping venue.