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