National Bank of Birmingham building

The original First National Bank Building, commonly called Linn's Folly, was a three-story brick building constructed in 1873 on the northeast corner of 1st Avenue North and 20th Street for Charles Linn's First National Bank of Birmingham. It was the first multi-story commercial building to be built in Birmingham.

Because the $36,000 structure was erected in the midst of a national economic depression, when the prospects for the new city of Birmingham were anything but sure, the building earned the nickname "Linn's Folly". Undaunted, Linn held a lavish "Calico Ball" to celebrate the opening of the new building on December 31, 1873. The event is marked as a turning point in the fortunes of Birmingham.

The Brown Marx Building now occupies this site.

See also

• Frank Nelson Building, built as the "First National Bank Building" in 1904.
• John A. Hand Building, called the "First National Bank Building" from 1940 - 1994.
• Regions Center, called the "First National-Southern Natural Building" before it was completed in 1972.

References

• Jackson, Harvey H. (2000) The WPA Guide to 1930s Alabama Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, pp. 168-169. ISBN 0817310282
• Birmingham Area Chamber of Commerce (1976) Century Plus: A Bicentennial Portrait of Birmingham, Alabama 1976 Birmingham: Oxmoor Press, p. 16.
• White, Marjorie Longenecker (1977) Downtown Birmingham: Architectural and Historical Walking Tour Guide. Birmingham: Birmingham Historical Society.