18. The Berney Bank Block

1900 Block of 2nd Avenue North, Bessemer, AL 35020
This prominent block housed several well-known commercial businesses such as the Berney Brothers Bank, S.S. Kress Company, Woolworth, Boackle, and Sears. The two buildings on the 19th Street side of the block were designed by G.M. Torgerson, the architect who designed many buildings for the New Orleans Cotton Exposition.
Most buildings on this block predate 1900. The block has undergone extensive renovations organized by the Downtown Redevelopment Authority and the Bessemer Development Board.

The Berney Brothers Bank is the building with the conical tower on the right hand side of this ca. 1908 postcard. The building was recently renovated, but has lost the tower and third-floor dormers. It is now the home of Sneaky Pete's Hotdogs.