Events and News
Calendar
 Mountain Brook Village: Then & Now Book Party, Wednesday July 15, 5-7 p.m. Barton-Clay Fine Jewelers, 2701 Cahaba Road
You are cordially invited to Researching Historic Homes: A Saturday Morning Workshop. July 18, 2009, 9:30 a.m.-Noon. Linn-Henley Library
Mountain Brook Village: Then & Now Book Party, Wednesday July 15, 5-7 p.m. Barton-Clay Fine Jewelers, 2701 Cahaba Road
MOUNTAIN BROOK VILLAGE: Then & Now.
Book debuts July 15; Take the quiz in this release!
BIRMINGHAM, AL--Times are tough these days. So here's information to make you feel better as you join the Birmingham Historical Society in celebrating the long, healthy lineage of Mountain Brook Village with the new volume, Mountain Brook Village: Then & Now.
Mountain Brook Village, which fans out at the meeting of Cahaba and Montevallo Roads, was--and is--a designed retail center, serving the basic needs of surrounding neighborhoods, and providing upscale shopping since the 1950s.
The following businesses--still very much intact and thriving--are at least 50 years old in the Village, which started development in 1928. Gilchrist's, 1938 * Browdy's, 1944 * The Lingerie Shop, 1946 *Ritch's Pharmacy, 1947 * Mountain Brook Flower Shop, 1948 * Smith's Variety and Harper's Beauty Shop, 1950 * Aladdin Cleaners and Village Sportswear, 1957 * Bromberg's Jewelers, Little Hardware, Western Supermarket, and Mountain Brook Shopping Center, 1959.
The 72-page book tells the story, beginning with historic documents prepared by Jemison & Company before the Great Depression. "This is largely a picture book, with a total of 136 photographs and drawings never seen before" says Marjorie White, Director, Birmingham Historical Society. "In many instances, we show original businesses, businesses that came along later, and the current look and layout of the Village."
The pages are fascinating, both in their ability to chronicle Birmingham's upscale retail market and as a social history. Birmingham natives and newcomers alike can place themselves in time by reading and viewing the photos of businesses they've frequented over the years. "To see the original plans for the Village (included) and know it today is a testament to the incredible investment in quality planning," says White.
The debut of Mountain Brook Village: Then & Now unfolds as follows:
- EVENT: Barton-Clay Fine Jewelers, July 15, 5-7 p.m. Public welcome.
- WHERE TO BUY BOOK: From a variety of shops in the Village, including Barton-Clay, Gilchrist's, Harper's, Harrison's, LAH Realty, Olexa's Cafe, Pappagallo, Realty South, Smith's Variety, and Trocadero.
- COST: $18.95 for 72 pages of duotone and black & white photographs.
- MAIL ORDER: $23 (check only) to Birmingham Historical Society, One Sloss Quarters, Birmingham, AL 35222.
- BIRMINGHAM HISTORICAL SOCIETY, www.bhistorical.org, informs the public about notable architecture, community planning, and social history in Birmingham's past.
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MOUNTAIN BROOK VILLAGE QUIZ
How well do you know it--then & now?
1. Where did fashionable children shop in Mountain Brook Village in the 1950's? The Canterbury Shop and Lad and Lassie.
2. What local firm fabricated iron balconies and railings for the building that now houses Daniel-George Restaurant? Meadowcraft Furniture for which the Iron Art shop showcased its products in the Village.
3. What popular restaurant, established in 1913, sold bagels in other locations before moving to the Village in 1944? Browdy's Deli.
5. What descendant of the old-time five-and-dime first started in downtown and Woodlawn? Smith's Variety.
6. What is the largest number of gas stations that occupied Mountain Brook Village at one time? Seven (in the 1950s when Cahaba Road was a main thoroughfare--called the Florida Short Route).
7. What Navy man returned home from World War II to establish a very welcome independent hardware store? Lewis Little (the Village was his third location).
8. What merchants started out storing all their merchandise in their cars? Sisters-in-law Jeanette and Ellen Aland who opened Village Sportswear in 1957.
9. What French beauty salon, which continues today, espoused its own method of styling? Called "The Harper Method" in 1950 and now Harper's Salon.
10. Who is the only building in the Village built by Jemison & Company? The Mountain Brook Estates Building now housing Gilchrist's, Harrison's, and Pappagallo.
You are cordially invited to Researching Historic Homes: A Saturday Morning Workshop
July 18, 2009, 9:30 a.m.-Noon. Linn-Henley Library, 2100 Park Place
- Presenters
Linda Nelson, Director, Jeff erson County Historic Commission
Jim Baggett, Archivist, Birmingham Public Library
Jason Kirby, Librarian, Birmingham Public Library
- Author Panel & Book Signing
Cathy Adams, Worthy of Remembrance: A History of Redmont
Marjorie White, Th e Birmingham District-An Industrial History and Guide, Birmingham Homes: A Guide to Architectural Styles
- Resources of the library and requirements for historic designations and markers will be included in this hands-on session.
Sponsored by the Birmingham Public Library, Birmingham Historical Society, and the Jeff erson County Commission.
Digging Out of the Great Depression-Federal Programs at Work
Birmingham Public Library
Library Gallery
November 1-December 31, 2009
Opening Reception
November 1, 2009, 3:00-5:00 p.m.
Annual Reports
News and Newsletters
- March 2009
A Time to Celebrate Local Landmarks.
Election of Officers and Trustees
PRESERVATION AWARDS 2009
- February 2009
Grandmother's Garden.
What is an heirloom plant? Why grow heirloom plants?
Sources of Seeds and Plants.
What We Do at Duncan House Garden. Heirloom Varieties Currently Grown at Duncan House Gardens.
Tips to Try a Home Garden This Year.
Lists of Most Common Vegetables, Annuals, Perennials, and Medicinal Herbs.
- November 2008
Architecture As Art-Drawings from the D. O. Whilldin Collection (1904-1962) at the Birmingham Public Library Archives.
About D. O. Whilldin.
About Thomas Mark Shelby, His Research, and the Forthcoming BHS Book.
About the Whilldin Collection At Archives.
- February 2008
Society Publishes Park Letters: Hand Down Unharmed-Olmsted Files on Birmingham Parks, 1920-1925.
Annual Meeting Salutes Our Hero: M.P. Phillips
Cataloguing School Closures
Models for Successful Reuse of Historic School Buildings
- November 2007
Turning On Alabama-An Exhibition of Images and Artifacts from the Collections of the Alabama Power Company and the Alabama Historic Radio Society at Birmingham Public Library
Hand Down UnHarmed-Olmsted Files on Birmingham Parks, 1920-1925, the Society's forthcoming publication.
All Fixed for Fall-A Report from the Society's Duncan House Garden.
- May 2007
PRESERVATION WORKS. 2007 Preservation Awards.
- February 2007
An Evening in Celebration of Parks and People: Looking at Birmingham's Exciting Park Developments and a talk with Tupper Thomas. Feb. 27, 2007.
The Society's Olmsted Project.
The Caldwell of Caldwell Park.
Society News: Endowment Thriving; New Trustees and Officers to be elected.
- December 2006
Celebrating 40 Years of Historic Presevation. The Keynote Address to the Alabama Preservation Conference, By Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation,
Preservation Organizations in Birmingham,
Alabama Historical Commission: 40 Years of Educating and Preserving. By Ellen Mertins, AHC Director of Outreach. (Originally published in and reprinted with permission of DesignAlabama Journal.)
- November 2006
Parks for Birmingham, Putting Flesh on the Bones of Birmingham’s Civil Rights History.
- June 2006
Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Movement, Documenting and Listing Movement Churches on the National Register of Historic Places, and more...
- May 2006
Celebrate the 50th of the Movement at an Old Fashioned Movement Meeting
About "The Movement" and the Movement Churches
- February 2006
Revisit The Olmsted Vision and the Annual Meeting and the exhibit at the Botanical Gardens
Phillips High School: Can It Be a National Historic Landmark?
- May 2005
"Restore America": Preservation Week 2005 Activities
2005 Preservation Award Winners
- February 2005
Reflections on Art of the New South: Women Artists of Birmingham—Talks for the Annual Meeting
The Olmsted Vision: announcement of the forthcoming exhibit and publication
Registering Civil Rights Resources
- May 2004
"New Frontiers in Preservation": Preservation Week 2004 Activities
2004 Preservation Award Winners
- February 2004
The Houses We Live In—A Talk by Frances Robb at the Annual Meeting
Let's Hear for "the Ladies" of the Birmingham Art Club
- November 2003
Name That Style!
About the Illustrator of Birmingham Homes: Cheryl Morgan
Birmingham Illustrated: The Variety of Styles in the Magic City
Quick. How many house styles can you name in the Birmingham area?
- May 2003
"Cities, Suburbs and Countryside": Preservation Week 2003 Activities
2003 Preservation Award Winners
- February 2003
Theatrical Tales to be Told at the Little-Virginia Samford Theatre—Talks for the Annual Meeting
Birmingham Parks and Parkways: You Don't Know What You Have
The Little Theater—A Brief History
- November 2002
Maps from the Collection of Rucker Agee Exhibition
Rucker Agee: The Man Behind the Maps
- May 2002
"Preserving the Spirit of Place": Preservation Week 2002 Activities
2002 Preservation Award Winners
- February 2002
Motor on Over to the Motorsports Museum for the Annual Meeting
All Jazzed Up—J.L.Lown's book on Birmingham Jazz Greats
Motorcycle Mania— a look at the Barber Motorsports Museum
- November 2001
Discover Downtown Anew: Society Reissues The Discovery Tour
The Birmingham Public Library Archives Celebrates Twenty-five Years
Digging Deep—The Collections of the Birmingham Public Library Archives
Title That Treasure (architectural details of city center buildings)
- May 2001
"Renew, Restore, Rediscover Historic Schools": Preservation Week 2001 Activities
Powell School and its Honoree—James P. Powell, Birmingham's First Elected Mayor and Friend of Education
A Community Guide to Saving Older Schools
Alabama Architecture: Alice Bowsher's new book
- November 2000
Aspiration Attained—Birmingham's Historic Houses of Worship published and exhibited
Title That Treasure (churches and synagogues)
- November 1999
Vive Vulcan!: Long Live Our City Symbol - an exhibit and publication
National Trust for Historic Preservation lists Vulcan as an American Treasure
4th-6th Grade Teachers Receive 3,000 Vive Vulcan Packets
Vulcan and the Society
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