3rd Avenue North: Difference between revisions
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** 1501: [[Firehouse Shelter]] | ** 1501: [[Firehouse Shelter]] | ||
* Intersection of [[17th Street North]] | * Intersection of [[17th Street North]] | ||
** [[Modern Sign Company]] | ** former location of [[Modern Sign Company]] | ||
** 1601: [[Etheridge Brothers Barber & Style]] No. 1 | ** 1601: [[Etheridge Brothers Barber & Style]] No. 1 | ||
* Intersection of [[17th Street North]] | * Intersection of [[17th Street North]] |
Revision as of 14:52, 22 September 2009
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 Cemetery 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
- 1005: former location of Refrigeration Service Co., Inc.
- 1229: Birmingham Urban League
- 1300: former location of Catfish King
- 1301: Jim Burke Nissan
- 1400: Edwards Chevrolet
- 1501: Firehouse Shelter
- Intersection of 17th Street North
- former location of Modern Sign Company
- 1601: Etheridge Brothers Barber & Style No. 1
- Intersection of 17th Street North
- 1713: Check Holders LLC
- 1715: Chesterfield Company / E-Z Finance Co.
- 1716: former location of Shanghai-Low Cafe
- 1717: former location of First City Mortgage
- 1718: former location of Little Venice restaurant
- Intersection of 18th Street North
- 1800 block, south side: Alabama Walk of Fame
- 1800-1808: Lyric Building
- 1800: Lyric Theatre lobby
- 1802: building entrance
- 1804: First City Mortgage, former site of House of $8.50 Eyeglasses
- 1806: Place Design Studio
- 1808: Lyric Hot Dogs
- 1808-1810: Majestic Theatre building
- 1801-1811: Goldstein building
- 1801: former headquarters of City Action Partnership
- 1811: Hill Arts Center
- 1810: former location of Epp's Jewelry
- 1813-1817: Alabama Theatre building
- 1813: office space
- 1815: former storefront (now used only for displays)
- 1817: Alabama Theatre proper
- 1819: former Loveman's Annex, now part of McWane Science Center
- rest of block: McWane Science Center (former Loveman's Building)
- 1816: former location of Cable Piano Company
- 1818: The Playhouse
- Intersection of 19th Street North
- 1900: S. H. Kress building (former site of the Wright Building)
- 1900-1914: Atrium Center (originally Burger-Phillips Centre)
- 1910: Atrium Building (former location of Sojourns)
- 1911: New Williams Lofts (former location of New Williams, previously House of Jacobs)
- 1913: former location of Clark & Jones piano company
- 1914: Crittenden Building/Burger-Phillips building
- 1918: former location of Dan Cohen Co.
- 1919: former location of Bond Clothing
- 1920: Speakeasy 1920, former location of Chandler's Shoe Store
- 1921: former location of Newsome's candy store and The Vanity boutique
- 1923: Moore Solutions (formerly the Bonita Theater, Rialto Theatre, and Gift World)
- 1924/1926: Kessler Building
- 1929-1931: Farley Building (Brannon's, former home of the Altrurian Society)
- Intersection of 20th Street North
- former location of Butler's Shoe Store
- 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
- 2012-2014: former location of House of Jacobs furniture store
- 2017: Eubanks Mercantile building, (formerly Hawthorn Gallery, Wallace Furniture and Amaro-Spencer Furniture)
- 2021: O'Neill Building (Reed Books), former location of Economy Auto Stores
- 2024: former location of the Silver Pheasant Tea Room and Peddinghaus Studio
- 2025: Massey Building (Moe's Original BBQ, Remon's)
- Intersection of 21st Street North
- former location of Bankers Mortgage Bond Company
- 2100: One Concord Center
- 2109: former location of the Alabama Title & Trust Company
- 2113: former location of Warner & Smith undertakers and embalmers and the Downtown Bowling Center
- 2119: former location of Brown-Rogers Wall Paper & Paint
- 2120: St. Paul's Catholic Church
- 2125: former location of Denman & Company realtors
- 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: former location of Hooper's Café
- 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.