Regions Center

The Regions Center (formerly the AmSouth Center, and long known as the AmSouth-Sonat Tower and, originally, the First National-Southern Natural Building) is a 390 foot tall, 30 story office tower located on a 400 foot by 190 foot site at 1960 5th Avenue North, facing 20th Street North. It serves as corporate headquarters for the Regions Financial Corporation, which merged with AmSouth Bancorporation in 2006.

History

First National Bank's John A. Hand and Southern Natural Gas' Pratt Rather first announced their purchase of the half-block and plans for the new building in January 1967. At the time the site was occupied by the Birmingham Red Cross, which worked out of the old Southern Club. After completion of a feasibility study by James D. Landauer of New York City, construction proceeded. The skyscraper was built in a striking modern glass and steel design by Welton Becket & Associates of Houston. Charles H. McCauley Associates served as the local associated firm.

The reflective glass skin stretches between a generously-scaled black granite base story and a louvered steel penthouse enclosure. The building is set back from the corner with a raised terrace plaza. A one story banking lobby facing 20th Street closes off the north side of a sunken courtyard which serves the basement-level cafeteria.

The tower was completed in 1972. First National changed its name to AmSouth Bancorporation that same year and the building was then given its most familiar name. Sonat moved its corporate headquarters from the tower to Houston in 1999. The company announced in 2006 that it would relocate its Birmingham area offices to the new office building at Brookwood Village. In 2007, Regions announced that it would sell the neighboring Regions Plaza tower and move some staff into the Regions Center.

Special lighting

Christmas

During the Christmas season colored fluorescent bulbs are illuminated in each panel of the glass curtain wall, creating an enormous lit graphical display visible on the skyline from well outside the city. The tradition began in 1972 with the display featuring Christmas trees and NOEL being spelled out along the building facade. In 1975, NOEL was replaced with JOY. Later a stocking and wreath were added to the display giving each face a different design. Currently, the east and west sides are Christmas trees, the south a wreath, and the north a stocking.

1996 Olympic soccer

As part of the 1996 Olympic soccer festivities being held at Legion Field, the tower featured on its four sides the spelling of USA, the Olympic rings, the Olympic torch and the Olympic flame. The tower was first lit with these designs on Sunday, May 5, 1996, in tribute to the naming of the nations that competed in Birmingham as part of 1996 Olympic soccer. It was then re-lit on Saturday, June 29, 1996, when the Olympic torch passed through Birmingham as part of the 1996 Olympic Torch Run. It was then re-lit for the third and final time on Thursday, July 4, 1996, and would remain through Sunday, July 28, 1996, during the duration of soccer games carried out within the city.

American flag

The tower featured an illuminated American flag on two separate occasions in its history. It was first utilized in 1976 in honor of the nation's bicentennial celebrations. It again featured a flag in 1990 as troops arrived back from Operation Desert Storm.

References

• Bowsher, Alice Meriwether. (Winter 2006) "When Less Was More: Alabama's Classic Modern Architecture." Alabama Heritage. No. 79
• Pratt, Ted. (May 2, 1996) "AmSouth/Sonat Tower lights up for Olympics." Birmingham News.
• Beiman, Irving (January 22, 1967) "Plans announced for huge building." Birmingham News.