The first advertising evidence of the Modern Beauty Shop as an active business in Montevallo ran in the Montevallo Times in 1937. They operated from an annex to the former Strand Theatre building.
The following brief mention appeared in a September 1947 edition of the Montevallo Times:
“Contractor Curry Norris is engaged in the construction of a new building for Mitchell Young on the lot between St. George Hotel and the Post Office. It will be occupied by the Modern Beauty Shop.”
Then, the next month this announcement was featured in the paper:
The new building they moved into in 1947 was a tiny brick structure that seemed to have been dropped onto a minuscule postage stamp of real estate between the post office and the old St. George Hotel that was not much larger than the width of two cars. The lot used as the driveway for Trustmark Bank today is the same location where Modern Beauty Shop beauticians performed their magic creating the “modern” coiffures modeled by their most style conscious patrons.
Louise Young was the energetic and vivacious spirit behind the popular salon who was, along with her husband, also active and involved in the community as well as her church.
The Modern Beauty Shop on Main Street became a victim of progress when the old St. George Hotel was torn down to make way for the new Merchants and Planters Bank building, constructed in the mid-1960’s. When the bank decided to add a multi-car “drive-through,” Modern Beauty Shop had to get out of the way.
Thank you Clay Nordan, Vice President of Montevallo Historical Society, for this information!