Misplaced Pages

Heaviest Corner on Earth
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Show map of Birmingham, AlabamaShow map of AlabamaShow map of the United States
Nearest city	Birmingham, Alabama
Coordinates	33°30′52″N 86°48′20″W / 33.514437°N 86.80565°W / 33.514437; -86.80565
Built	1906
Architect	William C. Weston
Architectural style	Chicago, The Commercial Style
NRHP reference No.	85001502
Added to NRHP	July 11, 1985

The Heaviest Corner on Earth is a promotional name given to the corner of 20th Street and 1st Avenue North in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, in the early 20th century. The name reflected the nearly simultaneous appearance of four of the tallest buildings in the South, the 10-story Woodward Building (1902), 16-story Brown Marx Building (1906), 16-story Empire Building (1909), and the 21-story American Trust and Savings Bank Building (1912).

The announcement of the last building was made in the Jemison Magazine in a January 1911 article titled "Birmingham to Have the Heaviest Corner in the South". Over the years, that claim was inflated to the improbable "Heaviest Corner on Earth", which remains a popular name for the grouping.

A marker, erected on May 23, 1985 by the Birmingham Historical Society, with cooperation from Operation New Birmingham, stands on the sidewalk outside the Empire Building describing the group. The buildings have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places: three were listed individually in 1982 and 1983, and the group of four was listed as a historic district on July 11, 1985.

Woodward Building

The Woodward Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1902, the Woodward Building was designed by Stone Brothers Ltd., architects of New Orleans, and William C. Weston.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Birmingham, Alabama

References

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. Mertins, Ellen; Pam King; Alice Bowsher (April 19, 1984). "The Heaviest Corner on Earth". National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form. National Park Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 17, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2014. See also: "Accompanying photos". Archived (PDF) from the original on March 17, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
3. "Drawing Plans" Birmingham Age-Herald, August 2, 1901, 5.

External links

• Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. AL-927, "Heaviest Corner on Earth (Commercial), First Avenue, North & Twentieth (20th) Street, North, Birmingham, Jefferson County, AL", 3 photos, 6 data pages, 1 photo caption page

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Alabama
Lists by county	Autauga Baldwin Barbour Bibb Blount Bullock Butler Calhoun Chambers Cherokee Chilton Choctaw Clarke Clay Cleburne Coffee Colbert Conecuh Coosa Covington Crenshaw Cullman Dale Dallas DeKalb Elmore Escambia Etowah Fayette Franklin Geneva Greene Hale Henry Houston Jackson Jefferson Lamar Lauderdale Lawrence Lee Limestone Lowndes Macon Madison Marengo Marion Marshall Mobile Monroe Montgomery Morgan Perry Pickens Pike Randolph Russell St. Clair Shelby Sumter Talladega Tallapoosa Tuscaloosa Walker Washington Wilcox Winston
Lists by city	Birmingham Mobile
Other lists	Bridges Multiple Property Submissions National Historic Landmarks
Keeper of the Register History of the National Register of Historic Places Property types Historic district Contributing property

• Buildings and structures completed in 1906
• Office buildings completed in 1912
• Buildings and structures in Birmingham, Alabama
• Neoclassical architecture in Alabama
• National Register of Historic Places in Birmingham, Alabama
• Historic districts in Birmingham, Alabama
• Historic American Buildings Survey in Alabama
• 1906 establishments in Alabama