3rd Avenue North

Third Avenue North is an east-west street running through downtown Birmingham. The westernmost section by that name ends at Center Street, although the road continues further west through as 3rd Avenue West. The easternmost section ends at 88th Street, just west of Roebuck Municipal Golf Course.

Third Avenue is continuous from Center Street to Carraway Boulevard (formerly 26th Street North). At that point, it is interrupted by the 2nd Avenue North off-ramp of the Elton B. Stephens Expressway and railroad tracks. The road is one way eastbound from 9th to 26th Street North. There is a short segment of 3rd on the west side of 28th Street North. The next segment curves from 29th Street northward to line up with 31st Street North across Messer Airport Highway.

The avenue does not appear again eastward until Forest Hills Cemetary next to the I-20/I-59 interchange. At this point, Richard Arrington, Jr. Boulevard North (formerly 10th Avenue North), becomes 3rd Avenue. Third then continues northeast with some gaps, notably at Trotwood Park, I-59, and East Lake Park, to 88th Street.

The two-way portion of 3rd Avenue from Center Street to 9th Avenue is five lanes wide. The one way portion is four lanes from 9th to 14th Street North and three lanes from 14th to between 24th and 25th Street. At this point, the left lane becomes an on-ramp for the Elton B. Stephens Expressway. Throughout the 1970s and most of the 1980s, this on-ramp was the northernmost point to get on the expressway as it did not connect to I-20/I-59 at that time. Third avenue continues as two lanes under the expressway to Carraway Boulevard. The rest of the road segments east of here are two lanes as well.

History

The initial commercial expansion on 3rd Avenue took place on the south side of the street during the 1880s between 20th and 21st Streets. Third Avenue was also where the first two county courthouses in Birmingham were built (at 21st Street). The courthouse attracted other development to the intersection where it was located, such as the Title Guaranty Building.

Notable locations

For an alphabetical list of locations, see the 3rd Avenue North category.

• 1000 block: Interstate 65 overpass/ramps
• 1229: Birmingham Urban League
• 1301: Jim Burke Nissan
• 1400: Edwards Chevrolet
• 1501: Firehouse Shelter
• 1601: Etheridge Brothers Barber & Style No. 1
• Intersection of 17th Street North
  • 1716: former location of Shanghai-Low Cafe
  • 1718: former location of Little Venice restaurant
• Intersection of 18th Street North
  • 1800 block: Alabama Walk of Fame
  • 1800: Lyric Theatre
  • 1801: City Action Partnership office
  • 1808: Lyric Hot Dog & Grill
  • 1817: Alabama Theatre
  • 1818: The Playhouse
• Intersection of 19th Street North
  • 1900: former site of the Wright Building
  • 1910: Atrium Building (contains Sojourns)
  • 1914: Crittenden Building
  • 1920: Speakeasy 1920
  • 1923: Moore Solutions (formerly the Bonita Theater, Rialto Theatre, and Gift World)
  • 1924/1926: Kessler Building
• Intersection of 20th Street North
  • 2006: former location of Rye-Ola bottling plant
  • 2008: Watts Building
  • 2009: former location of Hooper's Cafe
  • 2010: former location of Britling Cafeteria No. 3
  • 2017: Hawthorn Gallery (formerly the Eubanks Mercantile building)
  • 2021: O'Neill Building
    • Reed Books
• Intersection of 21st Street North
  • 2100: One Concord Center
  • 2113: former location of Downtown Bowling Center
  • 2120: St. Paul's Catholic Church
• Intersection of 22nd Street North
  • 2201: Magic City Grill
  • 2208: M.A.C. Uniforms
  • 2217: former location of Lucky Strike Bowling Alley
• Intersection of 23rd Street North
  • 2300: Hooper's Café (closed)
• Intersection of 24th Street North
  • 2403: former location of Jimmie Hale Mission

References

• White, Marjorie Longenecker, ed. (1980) Downtown Birmingham: Architectural and Historical Walking Tour Guide, second edition. Birmingham: Birmingham Historical Society.