Vestavia Hills Baptist Church was constituted on May 6, 1957, and first met at Vestavia Hills City Hall. In 1958, the church purchased the George Ward estate, which included Ward’s home, Vestavia, a replica of a Roman temple built in the 1920s, a restaurant addition from the 1940s, and the Temple of Sybil. As the original structure deteriorated and church membership grew, the congregation razed Ward’s home, gave Sybil to the city, and built the present structure, completed in 1972. George Ward, born in Georgia, moved to Birmingham in 1871, where his family operated the city’s first hotel, the Relay House. A successful businessman, he was elected a Birmingham alderman in 1899, mayor from 1904 to 1910, and president of the Birmingham City Commission from 1913 to 1917. A progressive urban reformer, he oversaw construction of libraries, playgrounds, parks, and community centers, and improved services to Birmingham’s African American community. His home, Vestavia, built on Shades Mountain overlooking Birmingham, was modeled on the Roman Temple of the Vestal Virgins and was surrounded by elaborate gardens.