Vestavia Hills, Alabama

Vestavia Hills is a city in Jefferson and Shelby Counties in the State of Alabama. It is a suburb of the city of Birmingham. As of the 2010 census, its population was 34,033, up from 24,476 in 2000. It moved up from the 5th largest city in Jefferson County in 2000 to 3rd largest in 2010, behind Birmingham and Hoover.

History

Vestavia Hills is named for the 20-acre (8.1 ha) estate of former Birmingham mayor George B. Ward. It was situated on the crest of Shades Mountain in what is now the northern edge of the city. Ward's mansion at the Vestavia estate became a landmark in the area as soon as it was completed in 1925. The 2 ¹⁄₂-story house was patterned after the circular Temple of Vesta in Rome, with dark pink sandstone walls encircled by twenty massive white Doric columns surmounted by a carved entablature. The extensive gardens, populated by statuary and peacocks, surrounded a smaller domed gazebo patterned after the Temple of Sibyl in Tivoli.

After Ward's death, the house, something of a tourist stop near the highway between Birmingham and Montgomery, was used as a tearoom and reception hall before being purchased by Vestavia Hills Baptist Church. The church met in the temple like structure for several years before demolishing a portion of the building in 1971 to make way for a larger building; a central portion of the original building remains. The local garden club moved the gazebo to a prominent outcropping closer to the highway, there to serve as a landmark gateway into the community.

Alabama (disambiguation)

Alabama is a southern state in the United States.

Alabama may also refer to:

Education

Geography

Music

Alabama (Canadian band)

Alabama was a Canadian band of the early 1970s. They had two songs that reached the top 100 in the RPM Magazine chart. "Song of Love" reached #26 in June 1973, and "Highway Driving" reached #42 in August. Band members were Buster Fykes, Hector McLean, Rick Knight, and Len Sembaluk.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

Alabama (schooner)

Alabama is a Gloucester fishing schooner that was built in 1926 and served as the pilot boat for Mobile, Alabama. The Alabama's home port is Vineyard Haven Harbor, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. The Alabama is owned by The Black Dog Tall Ships, along with the Shenandoah, and offers cruises of Nantucket Sound.

History

The schooner Alabama was one of the last vessels built from the design of one of the most notable designers of Gloucester Fishing Schooners, Thomas F. McManus. Commissioned by the Mobile Bar Pilot Association of Mobile, Alabama, the vessel was built in Pensacola, Florida, launched in 1926, and originally called Alabamian until her predecessor the Bar Pilot Association's original Alabama was retired. Though the hull bore strong resemblance of McMannus' famous Gloucester fishing schooner designs, it served as a pilot boat stationed on the Mobile Bar until 1966.

In 1967 the schooner was bought by Captain Robert S. Douglas, master and designer of the Shenandoah, and moved to Vineyard Haven. There she sat on a mooring with minimal necessary upkeep until 1994. In the early nineties with a dwindling market for windjammer cruises which leave out most modern amenities kids became the new direction for the Coastwise Packet Company - the original name for what is now also The Black Dog Tall Ships. Because of the success of these "Kids Cruises" on board the Shenandoah, Alabama was to be rebuilt by the Five Corners Shipbuilding Company headed by Gary Maynard a former First Mate that sailed on the Shenandoah. Most of the work was done in Vineyard Haven with the vessel afloat on her mooring using Captain Douglas' own power tools and shop space. Any other work was done in Fairhaven, Massachusetts at D.N. Kelly's Shipyard.