Brookhaven’s vibrant turn-of-the-twentieth-century economy generated its high-quality commercial buildings. The main axis is along the railroad, where the substantial red brick depot (1907, Frank D. Chase) at 125 S. Whitworth Avenue shows the large number of passengers it served, many drawn by Whitworth College. The red brick Inez Hotel (1904, Diboll and Owen; 101 S. Railroad) is a three-story Romanesque Revival design; its balcony was reconstructed in 1996. The three-story Perkins Building (c. 1906; 106–112 W. Monticello) represents one of the earliest and largest uses of rusticated concrete block in the state. Originally a furniture store, it also housed a Masonic lodge on the top floor.
As built by Moreton and Swan, the two-story Storm Building (1867; 202–206 S. Whitworth) included several storefronts; its corner tower was removed in the 1910s. The old City Hall (1910, Paul R. Henkle; 230 S. Whitworth; pictured above), now the Chamber of Commerce, anchors the south end of the railroad strip. It is a two-story classical building with a heavy modillioned cornice; a fire station is at the rear. The Art Deco former Haven Theater (c. 1925; 124–126 W. Cherokee Street) retains its projecting triangular marquee and vertical neon sign from a c. 1950 renovation, and a semicircular ticket booth. The building has housed the Brookhaven Little Theater since 1983.