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Photo by Erin Nelson
Traffic moves through the intersection of Shades Crest Road and Montgomery Highway in March 2020.
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Photo courtesy of the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site.
This drawing shows an early rendering of the Vestavia Hills Shopping Center, now part of the Vestavia City Center.
Alan Coshatt practically grew up at the Vestavia Country Club.
His grandfather was one of the first members, and the family’s involvement with the club has continued down to Alan. Wanting to use his interest in history and landscape architecture to serve the club, Coshatt began researching the club’s history.
Sometime last fall, Coshatt received a message from a golf course architect in Sweden who had found an older drawing of the country club’s early layout. When Coshatt asked where the man found it, he got a surprising answer: in the National Archives, in the Olmsted collection.
After reaching out to the National Archives, Coshatt found proof of what had been, until late 2021, a rumor: one of the most famous names in landscape architecture, the Olmsted brothers, had a leading hand in creating early pieces of the city of Vestavia Hills.
John Olmsted and Fredrick Olmsted Jr. followed in their famous father’s footsteps and helped create some of the most recognizable landmarks in the United States, as well as playing a role in the creation of the National Park Service. The younger Frederick helped his father in the design of the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina.
The brothers designed college campuses, including Washington University in St. Louis and two closer to home, the University of Montevallo’s central campus and Howard College, now known as Samford University. They also helped create the National Park Service, protecting Niagara Falls and Yosemite Valley. For the golf enthusiasts, they helped lend a hand to the most well-known course in the country, Augusta National, the home of The Masters, as well as California’s Pasatiempo.
The brothers inherited a legacy from their father, who, In addition to the Biltmore, created New York’s Central Park and the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. Before joining forces with his brother, Frederick Jr. designed the National Mall, the White House grounds, the Jefferson Memorial and the master plan for Cornell University.
Coshatt said Frederick Sr. is known as the “father of landscape architecture.”
In his research, Coshatt found the brothers communicating with Vestavia’s first developer, Charles Byrd, for whom Byrd Park is named, about designing and creating Vestavia Gardens, the city’s first residential development on the former George Ward estate, as well as the first shopping center. The gardens are now the site of Vestavia Hills Baptist Church, while the shopping center now includes a number of stores, including Tecate and Pet Supermarket. The pair also had a role in designing the country club. Designs found in the archives detail how Byrd and the Olmsteds developed plans for a variety of stores to line the newly-formed city, along with plans for a restaurant on the former Ward estate and nearby residences.
Following a recommendation from a Howard College trustee, J.D. Pittman of the Pittman Tractor Co., Byrd reached out to the Olmsted firm on Oct. 29, 1947.
“Gentlemen, I understand that your Mr. C. R. Parker [Carl Rust Parker, a member of the Olmsted firm] will be in Birmingham somewhere around the 10th or 12th of November,” Byrd wrote in a letter included in the archives. “I have a project to be known as Vestavia Garden in Birmingham that I would like to discuss with Mr. Parker. If it is possible for him to see me on his trip here please ask him to write setting the date and time.”
The pair responded, asking Byrd to send them details. Not long after that, work began on the projects and continued for years, Coshatt said.
Byrd eventually created “Vestavia Gardens,” turning George Ward’s former estate into a restaurant before that area eventually became the church it is today. The drawings showing the level of detail created by the Olmsteds are “extraordinary,” Coshatt said.
“We need to have them up all over the city,” Coshatt said.
Shelia Bruce, head of the Vestavia Hills Historical Society, said there had always been rumors that the Olmsted brothers were somehow involved in the creation of Vestavia Hills, but no proof had ever been found until Coshatt received that email.
“It’s unbelievable news to the city,” Bruce said.
It’s “amazing” to consider that builders such as the Olmsteds, with their expertise and knowledge, contributed to the creation of the city, she said.
Bruce and Coshatt both said the Olmsted Archives are one of the most well-preserved archives in the entire National Archives.
It is obvious from reading the letters that the Olmsteds cared for the aesthetic of the city, Coshatt said. Byrd wanted to build a gas station across from what is now the Vestavia City Center. However, the Olmsteds requested that if that happens, it would only be a filling station, and not a repair shop, as it could impact the aesthetic of the city, Coshatt said.
Coshatt said his love of history led him to undertake a project like this.
“I’m kind of a junkie on this stuff,” Coshatt said. “It’s fascinating.”
Understanding the history of Vestavia Hills can impact the city into the future, Bruce said.
“How do you know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been?” she said.
Coshatt agreed and said it sets Vestavia apart from other cities.
“When you can tag your name to the Olmsted brothers, it raises the profile of who you are,” Coshatt said. “I think it lends credit to our city. … A lot of cities would give anything to have the Olmsted brothers connected to them, and we do.”
