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Huntsville Glass History

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Huntsville Glass History

Since 1940, we have been serving our local community through residential and commercial glass repair and replacement. We are extremely proud of our role in supplying quality glass products in the Huntsville area for the past seven decades.

Robert V. Turner grew up in Montgomery, Alabama. His dad owned fifty two rental houses and it became Bob’s job to paint either the exterior or interior of one of the houses each week. “Mr. Bob” as he was known later in life said he never went to a ballgame or practice where he didn’t have paint on him somewhere.

He attended The University of Alabama on a four year athletic scholarship. He played both offensive and defensive end for Wallace Wade and Frank Thomas. Robert was on the first Alabama team to play in the Rose Bowl. An exciting aspect of the Rose Bowl game for Mr. Turner was that the team traveled cross country by train.

After graduating Mr. Bob went to work for Pittsburgh Plate Glass out of their Birmingham office. In 1940 he wanted to start his own business and decided Huntsville needed a full service glass shop. On January 14, 1940 an announcement stated: “New Business Opened Here” Mr. Turner had a partner, W. G. Miller (his wife’s uncle) who had been an electrician in Athens, AL. Among the first employees were two brothers: Arnold and Ed Sibley who worked for Huntsville Glass their entire careers.

He was just getting his business up and running when Pearl Harbor was bombed. Mr. Turner and both Sibley brothers immediately enlisted, and he decided he had to close the shop. His wife Mary disagreed and she ran Huntsville Glass while the guys were serving during the war. There was so much work at Redstone Arsenal they could hardly keep up.

They loaded all the glass their old truck would hold in the morning and repeated this at lunch. This was before vehicles had tempered and laminated glass and they replaced lots of construction vehicle glass.

The business flourished and soon outgrew the original location at 221 Washington Street. They built a new building at 2201 Holmes Avenue, where the business is still located.

A side note, there is a small building at the rear of the property on Holmes that housed R.V. Turner Salve Company, which was made from a recipe passed down from Mr. Turner’s father. He advertised and sold the small round tins all over the world! The Food & Drug Administration shut his operation down sometime in the 1960’s, but he got orders for years, sometime with a small bit of cash enclosed.

Mr. Bob retired in 1975 and turned the day to day operations over to Arnold Sibley. Arnold hired his youngest brother Ira, who had been in the floor covering trade. Arnold ran the business until 1980 and it was turned over to Ira. He ran the business until 1987 and turned it over to Stan Wells, his son-in-law. When Stan retired Steve Smith took over as manager. Steve’s expertise in custom showers and mirrors is the reason so many designers and architects use Huntsville Glass for their custom projects.

The company became affiliated with North Alabama Glass Company of Decatur in the early 1990s. Huntsville Glass Company is a proud member of the Huntsville Madison County Builders Association, the National Glass Association, the Alabama Home Builders Association and the Huntsville Chamber of Commerce.

Customer Reviews

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"I was selling my property and had two windows that needed replacing. One had thermal seal failure and one was broken. I had gotten a quote from a “window” company and they said the whole window plus the transom above it would have to be replaced and their cost was over 1700.00. I called another glass company and they have yet to call me back to even come out and look at replacing the glass only. I called Huntsville Glass and I believe they came out within 2 days to measure and give me a quote. It was under 600.00. After I gave them the go ahead to order the replacement glass I was told it would take 2-3 weeks and that was fine with me but they came in at least a week sooner and they installed them within two days of calling me to say they were in!! John and James arrived right on time and were finished quickly and left behind no mess. The even answered my questions and explained the process to me patiently. I will definitely use them again! I appreciate their exemplary customer service!"
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"I was very pleased with the replacement of a window in a double door, which was installed by Mr. May and Mr. Davis. They were on time, worked very efficiently, and were most pleasant to talk to.

In addition, when my plantation blind was removed, there was decay on frame that I was unaware of. They were able to repair the damage, which would have been extra expense for me if I had to call in an extra repairman.

This is the third project that Huntsville Glass has assisted me with; therefore, I am very comfortable calling when I have another project."

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"Great experience with this company and especially John and Curtis. They are quick, detail oriented and above all trustworthy. I highly recommend this team."

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"We had a storm window recently broken while the yard was being mowed. We called Huntsville Glass who was very friendly and helpful. Two employees came out that day to measure for a repair quote which we received the next day. Those two employees John May and James Davis Sr. came back to the repair work. They were friendly and knowledgeable in doing their work. They also made sure that the window area was clean and no broken glass fell on the ground. Thank you so much. "

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"I had a piece of glass installed. The workers actually came a bit early. They were efficient in their work and pleasant to deal with. Couldn't ask for more."

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"Excellent experience. They installed multiple panes of glass in very old window frames (19 pieces of glass in window frames that are pushing 100 yrs old). price was very-very good for assistance and service provided. they are experienced and provided good suggestions on options for how things could be done and what to expect with each. Friendly service counter staff. I'll definitely use this business for future work."

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"John May and James Davis did an OUTSTANDING job for us! Very professional, courteous, ahead of schedule, and fast!!!! Thanks guys!! Mike Neeley, The Neeley Center for Health"

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"I am writing about the outstanding service provided by two of you service technicians, John May and James Davis. They arrived early, were extremely proficient in removing the existing large picture window, kept the area clean, moved the window outside to their truck, removed the frame and placed the new window into the frame. They brought the window back inside and installed it in the wall. Throughout the process, they were communicative, very professional, did the required caulking, and subsequent cleanup. I would gladly recommend your company and these two service technicians to anyone needing such service."

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"Thank you and Thank your crew (John and his worker) for doing an excellent job. It is refreshing to see someone just come in and do exactly what they are supposed to do, with no issues or complaints. Job well done!!

My builder had no clue, I immediately called Huntsville Glass because I knew you guys would not have any issues."
"I ordered a custom piece of glass and the staff was very prompt and courteous. They worked with me to reschedule based on my availability. John and James did a good job, and within the the time estimated."

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"Stephanie and Hsv Glass are great!!! Very prompt, very efficient, always right and always on time!! We've never had any issues whatsoever when ordering glass for our cabinets! We typically email our orders and go to the store to pick them up....we are very pleased with the service we receive and will continue to count on Huntsville Glass for our needs."

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