Dina Hendrix

About Mountain Brook

As one of the most-sought after suburbs of Birmingham, Mountain Brook serves as a standard for suburban life in a forested setting. Developed as a residential subdivision on the ridge of Red Mountain and Shades Mountain, Mountain Brook is just five miles from downtown Birmingham yet looks and feels like a tree-covered paradise.

Community

Many business and professional leaders from Birmingham and the southeastern region of the United States live in Mountain Brook. Mountain Brook is the first city in Alabama to adopt a council-manager form of local government. Preserving Mountain Brook's forests is an important priority for the community. In fact, Mountain Brook has a separate Tree Commission that is consulted whenever a new building project takes place. The community is well-known for its architecture, including three historic villages with English Tudor styles.

Schools and Education

The Mountain Brook public school system has four elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. The district consistently earns awards as one of the best school systems in the state and in the entire nation. Only Mountain Brook Elementary has yet to receive the Blue Ribbon Award from the U.S. Department of Education. A three-year high school with an enrollment of about 1,000 students, Mountain Brook High School is one of the top high schools in country for academics, athletics, and performing arts. MBHS graduates include three Rhodes scholars and one Fulbright scholar. The school has won more state championships than any other public high school in the state!

Recreation and Culture

Over 90 percent of Mountain Brook's 12 square miles of land is covered by trees. This beautiful natural setting creates plenty of opportunities for residents to enjoy green spaces, parks, and trails. Several neighborhoods in Mountain Brook, including Brookwood Forest and Cherokee Band, are noted for having homes set into a forest setting complete with recreational bridle paths. Two of Birmingham's major attractions, the Birmingham Zoo and Birmingham Botanical Gardens, are located right next to each other on one of the western edges of Mountain Brook. Some residents live within walking distance of these cultural gems. Mountain Brook residents can also take advantage of the nearby Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center on the UAB campus.

Economics and Infrastructure

The economy of Mountain Brook is both local and global. The school system and the parks employ many of the residents who do not commute into Birmingham to work at such companies as Regions Financial Corporation, AT&T, St. Vincent's Health System, the Honda manufacturing plant, or BBVA Compass. Numerous malls and plazas are located along the highways that lie outside of Mountain Brook, putting services and shopping within an easy drive in any direction from town.