4th U.S. Army Corps
The 4th U.S. Army Corps (also called the Headquarters, IV United States Army Corps or IV Corps) was a formation of the U.S. Army which was active in World War I and World War II.
The Corps was first organized in France in June 1918 and was engaged in the Battles of Saint-Mihiel and Lorraine. It was demobilized in Germany in May 1919. Its shoulder insignia consists of a circle divided into alternating blue and white quadrants, referencing the unit's number.
The unit was reconstituted in June 1944 and active in the Gothic Line and the Italian offensive until October 1945, when it was deactivated at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. The formation was reactivated in November 1958 and had its headquarters offices in Birmingham until it was deactivated in April 1968.
The Corps' Birmingham offices were originally in the Calder Building at the corner of 3rd Avenue North and 18th Street. It soon outgrew that space, employing around 300 military and civilian personnel.
In 1960 Sidney Smyer's Birmingham Realty Co. was awarded a contract from the General Services Administration to construct a new office building at 8th Avenue South and 37th Street in the Highland Office Park development in Birmingham's Forest Park-South Avondale neighborhood.
The 2-story building clad in brick and tile was designed by Miller, Martin & Lewis with Edwin McCowin. It was the first tilt-up slab building constructed in Birmingham. Brice Building Co. was the contractor for the $550,000 project.
References
- Beiman, Irving (September 7, 1960) "Fourth Army Corps to build at Office Park" The Birmingham News, p. 1
- Wilson, John B. "Armies, Corps, Divisions, and Separate Brigades | Army Lineage Series" U.S. Government Printing Office, 1999. CMH Pub 60-7-1. ISBN 0160499925