20th Street North
20th Street North is a north-south street in the center of downtown Birmingham which functions as Birmingham's "main street". It is sometimes called Birmingham Green after a rehabilitation project of the early 1970s.
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.
Short 20th Street is the one-block section of 20th Street between Birmingham City Hall and Linn Park. It was named Nina's Way in honor of Nina Miglionico in 2008. Originally 20th street bounded both sides of the park as East 20th Street and West 20th Street, but the east segment was abandoned as part of a compromise over the placement of the original Birmingham Public Library building in the late 1920s.
After this one-block section, Twentieth Street previously resumed its path to the east between the current locations of 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.
Birmingham Green
Beginning the the late 1960s, a volunteer committee made up of Temple Tutwiler, Reese Murray, Marshall Haynes and Joseph Farley, began studying ways to beautify the downtown area. One of their recommendations, presented to the public by Operation new Birmingham, was to widen sidewalks and add planters and benches to downtown streets, beginning with the seven blocks of 20th Street North, making it more friendly and attractive to pedestrians. New signage, lighting and street furniture would be included in the design. The additional space would be taken from parking and bus lanes.
As proposed, $500,000 pledged to the project by business and property owners would be supplemented with equivalent city funds in order to qualify for an additional $1 million in federal grant money. When completed, the $2 million project would also include 19th Street North between 1st and 3rd Avenue North and 2nd and 3rd Avenue North between 18th and 21st Street.
Architect James Adams prepared preliminary designs, saying of the proposal "We are knitting the fabric of the central business district with high quality thread -- that thread being the visual impact of the street scene." Planners hoped to attract more people to spend time downtown shopping and strolling. ONB would organize special committees to preserve the budget and to approve the design of specific additions, such as newspaper boxes and telephone booths.
The 20th Street portion of the Birmingham Green project was completed in 1973 at a cost of $5 million.
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
- 10: former location of Moore and Handley, Metropolitan Hotel, Lontos Restaurant, and Stand n Snack
- 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 Stand N' Snack/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)
- 204: former location of Subway Restaurant
- 208: Joseph McClure Commercial Real Estate
- 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, Woodruff Manufacturing Company
- 203: former location of Flagg Bros. Shoe Store
- 207: Trattoria Centrale (former location of Roma's Italian Bistro)
- 213: Cityscape Group
- 217: formerly Orange Julius and Sojourns
- 219: Bon Ton Hatters, formerly Thom McAn shoes
- 221: MedTown Pharmacy, formerly Liggett's
- 3rd Avenue North intersection
- former location of Butler's Shoe Store
- 300: Blach's building
- 301: Watts Building (1927), Renasant Bank branch (former site of Watts Building (1888))
- 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: Razzleberries; former location of Java and Jams
- 323: Bayou Deli; former location of Salsa and Sabor, El Mexicano, and McDonald's
- 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: Wells Fargo Tower (formerly SouthTrust Tower and Wachovia 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
- "New look for our big town" (August 18, 1970) Birmingham News - via Birmingham Rewound
- 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