Vestavia Hills

Vestavia Hills is a city in Jefferson and Shelby Counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is an affluent suburb of the city of Birmingham. Vestavia Hills is named for the 20 acre (8.09 hectare) estate of former Birmingham mayor George B. Ward which 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 ... more

Vestavia Hills is a city in Jefferson and Shelby Counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is an affluent suburb of the city of Birmingham. Vestavia Hills is named for the 20 acre (8.09 hectare) estate of former Birmingham mayor George B. Ward which 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 two and a half 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, featured a smaller domed gazebo, which was 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 tea-room and reception hall before being purchased by Vestavia Hills Baptist... less