Louis Rosenbaum

Dublin Core

Title

Louis Rosenbaum

Subject

Louis Rosenbaum; Jewish Leaders of Alabama; Florence, Alabama Business Owners; Philanthropy; Civil Rights Movement; Florence, AL; Lauderdale County, AL

Description

Louis Rosenbaum was born in Lublin, Poland on May 12, 1887. He, and his brother had "to flee" eastern Poland in 1893. He married Anna Block in 1910, and their only child, Stanley, was born later that year. The family lived in Caspar, Wyoming, Little Rock, Arkansas, Denver, Colorado, and Douglas, Wyoming before moving to Florence in 1918 during the building of the Wilson Dam.

He opened the Princess Theatre on September 1, 1919. His business would grow to include movie houses in Florence, Sheffield, Tuscumbia, and Athens.

Louis Rosenbaum was a leader of Temple B'Nai Israel, a Civil Rights advocate, and a generous donor to the community and the arts. He served as the Temple's president during the fundraising and construction of Temple B'Nai on Hawthorne Street. He and his wife supported creating a State of Israel and they hosted Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and his wife. His philanthropic works included donating $25,000 to help fund the building of the Florence-Lauderdale Public Library and giving land on West Alabama Street to create a park near E.C.M. Hospital.

He had lived in Florence for over forty-three years upon his death on September 8, 1962.

Creator

Pam Kingsbury, University of North Alabama

Source

Vertical Files, Rosenbaum Family. Florence-Lauderdale Public Library, Florence, Alabama.
Temple B'nai Israel Cemetery, Obits Compiled by Scott Dawsky, 2005. Vertical files, Florence-Lauderdale Public Library, Florence, Alabama.

Publisher

Alabama Cultural Resource Survey

Date

1887 - 1962

Contributor

Pam Kingsbury, University of North Alabama

Rights

From the Rosenbaum Papers, University Archives, Collier Library, University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama

Format

Photograph; text

Type

Still Image and Text