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Watts Building
Photo: Chris Pruitt, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · tap to enlarge
National Register of Historic Places

Watts Building

Part of the Downtown Birmingham Historic DistrictListed on its own in 1979; the district followed in 1982
Art DecoListed 1979In the Downtown Birmingham Historic DistrictBirmingham
DirectionsAdd an old photo

Many listed buildings are private homes. Please enjoy them from the street.

About

About Watts Building

Watts Building, at 2008 3rd Ave., N, was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Sep 17, 1979. The Register lists it for its architecture, at the local level. It describes its style as Art Deco, as it does for 44 other Alabama listings. It also stands in the Downtown Birmingham Historic District, listed in 1982. 33 more Register listings are within a quarter mile.

What it isBuilding in Alabama, United States. From Wikidata (CC0). Read about it on Wikipedia ↗

PDFRead the original nominationThe form that put it on the Register, with its history, photos and a map · 38 MB · National Archives↗
Through the years

1979 to today

  1. 1979Added to the National Register of Historic Places
  2. 1982The Downtown Birmingham Historic District is listed around it
  3. 2026On the Register for 47 years
Visit

Make it a walk: 5 landmarks in about 10 minutes

2008 3rd Ave., N, Birmingham · about 0.2 miles on foot, as the crow flies

DirectionsWalk the tour in Google Maps
  1. 1Watts BuildingStart here
  2. 2Downtown Birmingham Retail and Theatre Historic District (Boundary Increase)Commercial · next door
  3. 3Crittenden BuildingArt Deco · Built 1924 · next door
  4. 4Kress, S. H., and Company BuildingModerne · Built 1937 · next door
  5. 5Loveman, Joseph, & Loeb Department StoreArt Deco · next door
Around it

47 more Register listings within half a mile

★ National Historic Landmark · D district · B building · S site. Each opens its own page.

BMorrow and Sinnige Nabers BuildingRenaissance Revival · Built 18980.1 miDDowntown Birmingham Historic District (Boundary Increase)District0.1 miBFox BuildingVictorian Commercial0.1 miDDowntown Birmingham Historic DistrictItalianate0.1 miBSt. Paul's Catholic ChurchVictorian Gothic · Built 18930.1 miBFirst Presbyterian ChurchVictorian Gothic0.1 miBFirst United Methodist ChurchRichardsonian Romanesque0.1 miBWoodward BuildingChicago Style · Built 19020.2 miDDowntown Birmingham Retail and Theatre Historic DistrictCommercial Style0.2 miBMcAdory BuildingVictorian Renaissance Revival · Built 18880.2 miBFirst National-John A. Hand BuildingNeo-Classical0.2 miDHeaviest Corner on EarthChicago Commercial Style0.2 miBIdeal Department Store BuildingRenaissance Revival · Built 19290.2 miBEmpire BuildingNeo-Classical0.2 miBCaldwell-Milner BuildingVictorian Renaissance Revival0.2 miBSteiner Bank BuildingRichardsonian Romanesque · Built 18900.2 miBAlabama Penny Savings BankCommercial · Built 19130.2 miBBirmingham, Railway, Light and Power BuildingBuilding0.2 mi
Show the other 29
BZinszer's Peter, Mammoth Furniture HouseCast-Iron-Front · Built 18890.2 miBWaters BuildingVictorian · Built 18880.2 miBU.S. Post OfficeNeoclassical Revival0.2 miDDowntown Birmingham Historic District (Boundary Increase III)District0.2 miBFederal Reserve Bank of Atlanta-Birmingham BranchClassical Revival · Built 19260.2 miBHotel RedmontChicago Style · Built 19250.2 miBAge-Herald BuildingBeaux Arts · Built 19100.2 miBEpiscopal Church of the AdventEnglish Gothic · Built 18730.2 miBWhilldin BuildingEclectic · Built 19230.2 miBWimberly-Thomas WarehouseBuilt 19080.2 miBRidgely ApartmentsSecond Empire · Built 19140.2 miDMorris Avenue Historic DistrictNeo-Classical0.3 miDFourth Avenue Historic DistrictCommercial Style0.3 miDMorris Avenue-First Avenue North Historic DistrictVictorian Italianate0.3 miBDr. Pepper Syrup PlantModern Movement0.3 miBSouth Central Bell BuildingBuilding0.3 miDDowntown Birmingham Historic District (Boundary Increase II)Classical Revival0.3 miBFirst Christian Church Education BuildingNeo-Classical · Built 19240.3 miBSeaboard Air Line Railway Freight DepotBuilding0.4 miDAutomotive Historic DistrictItalianate0.4 miSWest ParkSite0.4 miBPowell SchoolVictorian Gothic0.4 miBAmerican Laundry Company BuildingBuilding0.5 miBPowell Avenue Steam PlantBuilding0.5 miBLiberty National Life Insurance Company BuildingBuilding0.5 miBFire Station No. 6Commercial0.5 miBA.G. Gaston BuildingInternational Style · Built 19590.5 miDBirmingham Civil Rights Historic DistrictClassical Revival0.5 mi★Sixteenth Street Baptist ChurchRomanesque · Built 19110.5 mi
More like it

Art Deco style, nearby

Other National Register listings within 25 miles described as Art Deco.

Loveman, Joseph, & Loeb Department Store0.1 mi away
Kress, S. H., and Company BuildingBuilt 1937 · 0.1 mi away
Crittenden BuildingBuilt 1924 · 0.1 mi away
Downtown Birmingham Historic District0.1 mi away

Memories of Watts Building

The record says what it is. Neighbors know what it means.

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Questions about Watts Building

Is Watts Building on the National Register of Historic Places?

Yes. It was added on Sep 17, 1979 (Register number 79000389).

Is Watts Building a National Historic Landmark?

No. It is on the National Register; Alabama has 36 National Historic Landmarks. The nearest is Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, 0.5 miles away.

Can you visit Watts Building?

Our record doesn’t say whether it is open to visitors. Many listed buildings are private, so it may only be seen from the street.

Is Watts Building in a historic district?

Yes, the Downtown Birmingham Historic District, added to the Register in 1982.

Where can I read the history of Watts Building?

In its National Register nomination, the form that put it on the Register: a 38 MB PDF at the National Archives, linked on this page.

Sources: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places (05/22/2026) · National Archives catalog record 77836256 · Wikidata. Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.