BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – June 24, 2026 – Regions Bank is unveiling a special July 4th holiday lighting of its headquarters tower, adding to a tradition that started in the 1970s, when the 30-story skyscraper in downtown Birmingham was first illuminated for a holiday celebration.
That celebration – Regions’ annual lighting for the Christmas season – continues just as it has from the beginning. Over time, the building has shared other special lightings, too.
How Regions Bank’s Headquarters Tower Celebrates Special Occasions:
- On the night after Thanksgiving each year, the building’s glass exterior comes alive with two giant Christmas trees, a massive wreath, and a huge stocking illuminating the windows. The display lasts through New Year’s Day.
- Each spring, the building is illuminated with the image of a golfer in the weeks leading up to, and through, the Regions Tradition
- In 1996, Atlanta hosted the Summer Olympics, and Birmingham’s Legion Field was a satellite venue for men’s and women’s soccer competitions. The building was illuminated then with the iconic Olympic torch and rings.
- During the 1991 Gulf War, the building displayed an American flag and “USA” in support of troops overseas.
How Regions is Celebrating America’s Birthday:
New this year, as July 4th will mark the 250th anniversary of America’s independence, Regions commissioned a fresh design displaying the red, white, and blue of the American flag on the north and south sides of the building and “USA” on the east and west sides of the tower.
“Every year, we receive feedback from people who love seeing the illuminations of the Regions Center, and we thought this Independence Day provided a great opportunity to launch a new design,” said Michael Branca, head of Corporate Services for Regions Bank. “This is a milestone for our nation as we mark 250 years of independence, and we are proud to join our fellow Americans celebrating this special occasion.”
The illumination will activate at approximately 8:30 p.m. CT each night from June 24, 2026, through Independence Day. Video of the illumination can be seen through Regions’ YouTube channel.
How Regions Bank Prepares the Displays:
It’s a manual process, for sure. There is no system installed that automatically changes the colors of all the lights.
Instead, crews comb through the floors of the skyscraper with cylinders called “gel sleeves” that are slid over lights mounted above the windows. For the July 4th display, a grid showed which windows should get red sleeves or blue sleeves to make the designs that, in turn, complement the existing white lights above neighboring windows.
Over the last several weeks, teams worked their way through the building removing the gel sleeves that made the golfer design for the Regions Tradition, then installing other sleeves to make the American flags and “USA” lighting.
Testing took place early in the morning and late at night to ensure the design was coming along as intended and identify where any adjustments were needed. Over 300 hours of work went into changing the building over from the golfer design to the July 4 display.
The History of the Regions Center:
The building has not always been the Regions Center. Instead, when it opened in 1971, it was shared by the First National Bank of Birmingham and a company called Sonat – or Southern Natural Gas. Fluorescent light tubes installed above each window were intended to make the building glow in bright light every night, year-round.
And it did for a while. But the energy crisis of the 1970s brought that to an end, until a few years later, when an executive saw a tower in Houston that had a similar “curtain wall” design and used it to illuminate a Christmas display.
He brought the idea back to Birmingham, and the rest is part of the Birmingham skyline’s history. Regions Bank keeps the tradition alive, now with a new display for all to enjoy.
About Regions Financial Corporation
Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF), with $161 billion in assets, is a member of the S&P 500 Index and is one of the nation’s largest full-service providers of consumer and commercial banking, wealth management, and mortgage products and services. Regions serves customers across the South, Midwest and Texas, and through its subsidiary, Regions Bank, operates more than 1,200 banking offices and more than 1,750 ATMs. Regions Bank is an Equal Housing Lender and Member FDIC. Additional information about Regions and its full line of products and services can be found at www.regions.com.