Family Reserve Insurance building

The Family Reserve Insurance building (later the Woman's Missionary Union building and the Land Title Building) is a 4-story, 31,000 square-foot limestone-clad office building constructed in 1946 for the Family Reserve Insurance Co. It is located at 600 20th Street North, the former site of the A. W. Smith residence on the southeast corner Block 34, northwest of the intersection with 6th Avenue North.

The Greek-Revival style building was originally two stories tall with a basement. It was designed by Warren, Knight & Davis to face diagonally into the intersection, allowing room for an 8-column Doric portico, considered "the finest Doric entrance in Birmingham" by historian John Schnorrenberg. The exterior is clad in Alabama limestone, trimmed with Alabama marble. The basement level originally contained an auditorium, file storage, bathrooms, a conference room and a recreation room which opened at grade to a courtyard in the interior of the block. The first floor was occupied by executive offices while the accounting department was housed on the second floor. Elevators and an intercom system provided easy connection to each floor, while central air-conditioning and "acoustic correction" kept the offices comfortable. On the outside extensive landscaping and floodlighting enhanced the building's classical appearance.

The Family Reserve Insurance Company was acquired by the Liberty National Life Insurance Company in 1950. Beginning in 1951, the building housed the Woman's Missionary Union. They relocated to Brook Highland in 1984. The Land Title Mortgage Company took over the offices in 1987.

Smith Commercial Investments purchased the building in 2016 for $1.3 million. They sold it to JLR LLC for $1.5 million in 2018.

JLR undertook various updates, including replacing HVAC systems and upgrading lighting, electrical and plumbing systems. They also renovated the 3rd and 4th floors and leased them to new tenants. In December 2019 JLR sold the building to an affiliate of Sixty West Funds of Dexter, Missouri for $3.3 million.

Sixty West sold the property to a company registered in Spring Hill, Tennessee for $2.94 million in 2025

Tenants

• Suite 100: Land Title Co. of Alabama
• Jaffe & Erdberg
• Parnell & Parnell Law
• Sydney May Engineering
• Sheffield & Lentine

References

• "New Buildings to Change Old Landscapes" in Blueprints of a Better Birmingham (1945) Birmingham: Birmingham Chamber of Commerce
• White, Marjorie Longenecker (1977) Downtown Birmingham: Architectural and Historical Walking Tour Guide. Birmingham: Birmingham Historical Society.
• Schnorrenberg, John M. (1999) Remembered Past, Discovered Future: The Alabama Architecture of Warren Knight & Davis, 1906-1961. Birmingham: Birmingham Museum of Art. ISBN 0931394430
• Godwin, Brent (June 13, 2016) "Historic 20th Street North building purchased by local investor." Birmingham Business Journal
• Van der Bijl, Hanno (December 23, 2019) "Land Title Building downtown sells for $3.3M." Birmingham Business Journal
• Stettheimer, Samuel (March 3, 2025) "Iconic downtown office building sells for nearly $3M." Birmingham Business Journal