20th Street North
20th Street North, also known as Birmingham Green, is a north-south street in the center of downtown Birmingham which functions as Birmingham's "main street".
20th Street begins at the northern end of 20th Street South at the Railroad Reservation. From there it first crosses Morris Avenue, and then continues for seven blocks to Park Place where it is terminated by Linn Park.
Birmingham Green was a project covering those seven blocks which was completed in 1973. The project involved removing utility lines below street level and enhancing the street with tree planters, flower beds, and wide sidewalks. Parking on 20th Street is restricted mainly to loading zones. The $5 million cost was paid for by local business owners, as well as local and federal governments.
The street in front of Birmingham City Hall on the west side of Linn Park, which is shifted west of the rest of 20th Street's path for this one block, is called Nina's Way (formerly Short 20th Street) in honor of Nina Miglionico. Twentieth Street previously resumed its path to the east between Municipal Auditorium and the Birmingham Museum of Art to the present site of the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. After the I-20/59 bridge was built, this section was closed to traffic and eventually converted into a landscaped walk and fountain. There are other short sections of the street in North Birmingham, north of Oak Hill Cemetery and near Finley Boulevard.
Notable Locations (south to north)
For an alphabetical list of locations, see the 20th Street North category.
- Railroad Reservation
- 1: former location of U. S. Tire Service (c. 1938)
- 2: Two North Twentieth building (former Relay House, Linn's Park, and L & N Station)
- 3: former location of Elyton Land Company
- 9: Taylor Building, former headquarters for Superior Mortgage Corporation
- Morris Avenue intersection
- 17: John A. Hand Building, headquarters for Superior Bank
- Woodward Building, RBC Bank, former headquarters for First American Bank
- 1st Avenue North intersection (Heaviest Corner on Earth)
- Empire Building, former Colonial Bank branch and site of Bank Saloon
- Brown Marx Building (former site of National Bank of Birmingham building)
- 103: former location of B. M. Chenoweth & Company sporting goods
- 109: former location of Thompson's Restaurant
- 112: Birmingham Trust building
- 113: Cafe Dupont
- 117: former location of the King Tut Deli
- 119: McKinney-Strahan residence, former location of Household Finance
- 121: New York Style Delicatessen, former location of Sandwich Chef
- 123: Bromberg's building (Bromberg's offices), former location of the Drennen Department Store
- 124: Webb Building (former site of the Dude Saloon, Yogo's Frosty Frozen Yogurt, Purple Onion, and Pope Jewelers)
- 2nd Avenue North intersection
- 200: Roden Block (Parisian)
- 212: Iron Age building
- 214: Brick & Tin, formerly Busch's Jewelry
- 216: Quizno's Sub, former location of Burt's Shoe Store
- 218: Seafood D'Lite
- 220: Farley Building (Classic Basket)
- 201: Frank Nelson Building, Birmingham School of Law, A. & A. Ash Jewelers
- 203: former location of Flagg Bros. Shoe Store
- 207: Trattoria Centrale (former location of Roma's Italian Bistro)
- 213: Cityscape Group
- 217: Sojourns, formerly Orange Julius
- 219: Bon Ton Hatters, formerly Thom McAn shoes
- 221: MedTown Pharmacy
- 3rd Avenue North intersection
- former location of Butler's Shoe Store
- 300: Blach's building
- 301: Watts Building, Renasant Bank branch
- 302: former location of Terreson's photo printing
- 307: former location of Casino Restaurant
- 308: former location of Jarman Shoe Store
- 309: former location of Britling Cafeteria No. 2
- 313: Roly Poly Sandwiches
- 314: former location of Faust Restaurant
- 317: former Birmingham Green Postal Station
- 318: former location of Farmer-Cannon Jewelry Company
- 321: Java and Jams
- 323: El Mexicano restaurant (former McDonald's Restaurant)
- 325: former location of Busch's jewelers.
- 330: former location of Hardy Shoe Store
- 4th Avenue North intersection
- 400: former location of Cafe Italiano
- 400 1/2: former location of Mary Beard's Restaurant
- 403: former location of E. E. Forbes & Sons
- 404: former studio of A. C. Keily
- 407: former location of Greenwood's Restaurant
- 412: former location of Joy Young Restaurant
- 417: Regions Plaza
- 420: Wachovia Tower (formerly SouthTrust Tower)
- 422: former location of Carr Floral Company
- 430: former location of Tutwiler Hotel
- 5th Avenue North intersection
- Charles Ridley, peanut vendor
- Regions Center (formerly AmSouth-Sonat building)
- 500: former location of Southern Club
- 501: former location of Molton Hotel
- 502: former location of Birmingham Athletic Club
- 505: Financial Center Building, (Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce, Compass Bank branch, Norman, Wood, Kendrick & Turner)
- 529: Cathedral Church of the Advent
- 530: Regions-Harbert Plaza (formerly AmSouth-Harbert Plaza)
- 6th Avenue North intersection
- Park Place intersection, 20th Street shifts west, becomes known as Nina's Way
- 8th Avenue North intersection, end of this section of 20th Street
North Birmingham locations
References
- Birmingham Area Chamber of Commerce (1976) Century Plus: A Bicentennial Portrait of Birmingham, Alabama 1976 Birmingham: Oxmoor Press, p. 16.
External links
- Photographs of 20th Street North from the Magic City Flickr Group