Two North Twentieth sign

Birmingham skyyline prominently featuring the Two North Twentieth sign

Two North Twentieth sign (originally the Bank for Savings Building sign) is a monumental electric sign on the roof of the Bank for Savings Building. The 176 long by 26 foot tall double-sided sign sits atop the 17-story modernist-style skyscraper which was designed by architect Lawrence Whitten for Engel Realty at the corner of 20th Street North and Morris Avenue in downtown Birmingham. The sign was installed for the Centennial of Birmingham in 1971, nearly a decade after the building was completed in 1962.

The original sign used an electronically-controlled array of 1,330 incandescent lamps to display advertising messages visible throughout downtown and Southside. Aging of the sign's components led to it going dark in 1988. In 1996 Skyline Advertising purchased and refurbished the rooftop sign, but their venture lasted for only a year.

In 1999 the building was purchased by Atlanta developer George Cornwell, who oversaw a $16 million renovation, renamed "Two North Twentieth". In 2001 the advertising marquee was once again re-lit. Harbert Realty Services took over management of the building and ownership of the sign.

The building was sold in 2013 to PZZ TNT Property Owner LLC of New York. Harbert Realty retained ownership of the rooftop sign. In June of that year, Harbert and Buffalo Rock proposed covering the sign with a vinyl billboard for Pepsi-Cola. They presented the proposal to the Birmingham Design Review Board, which objected to the idea of installing a "glorified billboard" in place of the well-known scrolling marquee. Harbert claimed that the sign was costing them $500 a month to maintain and that the covering would be temporary, until the company was "ready to spend" $4 million or more on a completely digital upgrade.

Harbert returned to Design Review in July with a modified proposal developed with Pepsi and O2 Ideas which read "Birmingham: The City with Great Taste" alongside a smaller Pepsi logo. When that proposal was also rejected, Harbert's representative, Tab Bisignani, openly questioned the board's authority to prevent them from carrying out their proposal. At some point an official with the Birmingham Department of Planning, Engineering and Permits gave Harbert reason to believe that because the overall dimensions of the sign would not be changed, that a permit was not required. A city official later clarified that although a building permit was not required, that signage was still under the purview of Design Review, and that the owner should get the board's approval before proceeding.

Harbert ignored that interpretation and began installing a vinyl sign reading "Pepsi: A Southern Original" in February 2014. Mayor William Bell's Chief of Staff, Chuck Faush, acknowledged that since the project did not require a permit, that there was no mechanism in place to enforce the authority of the Design Review Board. Completion of the new sign was celebrated by Buffalo Rock with a party on the roof of the Kress Building on Monday, March 3. CEO Jimmy Lee III enthused that the new sign "definitely looks better than that rusted can that was up there." The party featured hostesses clad in dresses made from Pepsi, Grapico and Buffalo Rock Ginger Ale packaging.

References

• Poe, Ryan (August 29, 2013) "Downtown's Two North Twentieth sold for $19M." Birmingham Business Journal
• Tomberlin, Michael (July 24, 2013) "Panel again rejects Pepsi 'billboard' to replace skyline's scrolling message board." The Birmingham News
• Tomberlin, Michael (February 24, 2014) "City: Giant Pepsi ad atop downtown Birmingham building must gain committee approval." The Birmingham News
• Tomberlin, Michael (February 27, 2014) "Pepsi sign controversy 'a first' for Birmingham, installation may be unstoppable." The Birmingham News
• Tomberlin, Michael (March 4, 2014) "Birmingham Pepsi skyline sign celebrated." The Birmingham News
• Natta, Andre (March 14, 2014) "'The Sign' now apparently has an online voice on Twitter". The Terminal - accessed March 14, 2014