The Heaviest Corner on Earth
At the intersection of 20th Street and 1st Avenue North in downtown Birmingham, you'll find yourself surrounded by four impressive neoclassical buildings: The Woodard Building, the Brown Marx Building, the Empire Building, and the John Hand Building. These four combined make up what is known as the Heaviest Corner on Earth... exaggerated from the initial write up in Jemison Magazine circa 1911 that it would be the heaviest corner in the south once the fourth one was completed. The phrase stuck.
At the turn of the 20th century, Birmingham experienced an industrial boom that grew it to the largest city in the state (as of 2020, Huntsville has taken over the title, although the B'ham metro area remains the largest for now) and gave rise to the moniker "the Magic City." This intersection is a testament to the legacy that the steel industry brought to the area.
Fun fact: The Empire Building currently houses the Elyton Hotel. This hotel is named after Birmingham's predecessor: Elyton! This town iwth lofty ambitions was the second seat of Jefferson County, before Birmingham was established at the behest of the principal land owners of Elyton, and it was finally incorporated into Birmingham itself in 1910.
To get credit for this cache, you'll need to take a tour of the intersection. You can start on any corner you'd like. (Please watch out for cars and obey traffic laws!)
1. What are the years on each of the large cement circles found in the sidewalk (in any order)?
2. What was the original name of the John Hand Building? (answer found on the side of the building)
3. In 1891, what was on the site where the Empire Building now stands? (answer found on the side of the building)
4. What was significant about the Woodard Building? (answer found on the historical marker near the Empire building)
5. Standing on the corner of the Woodard building, look to the west (away from the John Hand building). You'll see a rocket-shaped bit of scaffolding on top of the Thomas Jefferson Tower in the distance. That is actually a zepplin mooring tower! It was never used, as airships turned out not to be the transportation of the future. You may include a photo of either yourself or something with your geonick with this in the background.
Virtual Rewards 4.0 - 2024-2025
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.