Woodward Building

The Woodward Building is a 10-story, 132 foot tall Chicago-style steel-frame office tower built on the southwest corner of 20th Street and 1st Avenue North in 1902. The building was financed by William H. Woodward, and designed by architect William C. Weston.

At the time of its construction, no building in Birmingham was nearly so large or tall and serious doubts were raised about the ability of the local office market to absorb the added space. The criticisms recalled those that followed the erection of Linn's Folly on the opposite corner 30 years earlier. Nevertheless, the Woodward Building was fully leased at completion and was followed within a few years by several larger office towers, including three others at the same intersection.

The four early Twentieth century skyscrapers at 20th Street and 1st Avenue were billed, at the time, as the "Heaviest Corner in the South." Over the years, that claim was inflated to the improbably "Heaviest Corner on Earth", which remains a popular name for the grouping.

In 1983 the Woodward Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1985 Doster Construction completed an interior and exterior renovation designed by KPS Group