Frank Nelson Building

Bert Covell's photograph of the First National Bank Building in 1904

The Frank Nelson Building is a 10-story office building located on the northeast corner of 20th Street and 2nd Avenue North in downtown Birmingham. Constructed in 1903 as the First National Bank Building, it was one of the city's first "skyscrapers". It served as the headquarters for the First National Bank of Birmingham. The building was designed by William Weston with Charles Wheelock & Sons and cost about $700,000 to build.

First National Bank of Biirmingham merged with American-Traders National Bank, headquartered in the taller American Trust and Savings Bank Building a block south. The combined bank remodeled the lower floors of that building and relocated in 1940. Before leaving, the bank honored former Traders Bank executive and real-estate developer Frank Nelson, Jr by renaming its building in his honor in 1939.

Frank Nelson Building in March 2010

The Frank Nelson Building features retail shops along both 20th Street and 2nd Avenue. Those shops currently house a UPS Store, Trattoria Centrale, and Pita Loco. The corner space, previously home of A. & A. Ash Jewelers, now houses the offices of software developers Whiteboard It.

The offices served as the home of the Birmingham School of Law from 1996 to 2012. The Woodruff Manufacturing Company also has offices in the building.

Tenants

• Ground floor
• 201-03 A. & A. Ash Jewelers (1940-2007)

• Upper floors
  • Birmingham School of Law (1996-2012)
  • Woodruff Manufacturing Company

External links

Locate with
Google Maps

• Frank Nelson Building on Emporis
• "British Shipping Industry" (August 6, 1903) Taranaki (New Zealand) Herald. Vol. 50, No. 12,325
• Satterfield, Carolyn Green (1976) "Historic Sites of Jefferson County, Alabama" Jefferson County Historical Commission