Frank O'Brien (1844-1910) was a man of many interests and talents. A fresco painter early in his life, he built and decorated Birmingham's first entertainment venue, Sublett Hall, built the city's first coke ovens for the Pratt Coal and Iron Company, and later built an opera house, in 1883. He also served in the Alabama House of Representatives and as sheriff and then mayor of greater Birmingham after the city annexed large amounts of land in 1910.
