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Where to enjoy the best historic streetscapes in Downtown Birmingham

the heart of Alabama’s largest metro

Maybe rank the top 20 streetscapes

Morris Avenue HD

Alabama Theatre (ind); Retail and Theatre HD

Downtown Birmingham HD

-- several buildings listed individually

2nd Ave N. - 2116 and 2121 2nd Ave N - great windows (Zinszer, c. 1888, cast-iron front; The building’s intricate, molded classical ornamentation and broad areas of glazing, made possible by the load tolerance of the slender cast-iron members, exemplify beautifully the design characteristics of cast iron.);

2101 and 2107 - good; 2000 block - good

3rd Ave N. - Massey Building block; the Cathedral of Saint Paul (c. 1893 - amazing)

1st Ave N (US 11) 2013 block, John Hand Building; 

"The Heaviest Corner on Earth" is a rare and perhaps unique concentration of four steel-frame skyscrapers constructed between 1902 and 1913.

1800 5th Ave N - Federal Building

5th Ave N: Redmont Hotel and Age-Herald Building (c. 1910) side-by-side

20th Street; 

Nabers,Morrow and Sinnige Building (1898) 109 20th N

Fourth Avenue HD (was center of African American social and commercial activity); Mason Temple and Famous Theatre building, Carver Theatre,)

— is It’s

Civil Rights HD; 16th Street Baptist Church; St. Luke AME Zion Church (bombing in 1962)

Center Street HD

Churches downtown must-see for historic-places enthusiasts

Episcopal Church of the Advent (6th Ave N); First Presbyterian Church (2100 4th Ave. N); First United Methodist Church (6th)

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta-Birmingham Branch (5th Ave N)

Linn Park/ County courthouse complex/ city hall

Kelly Ingram Park (originally West Park); The original Birmingham city plan, drawn in 1871, created three small public parks (West, Central and East)

Sloss

20th Street sidewalks, bike lanes (https://www.wbrc.com/2021/06/01/what-is-red-rock-trail-system/)

— is It’s