Civitas and strength
After nearly 30 years living in her home, Bob and Rebecca Moody feel like they know Carolyn Cortner Smith.
Smith, a self-taught architect from outside Huntsville, designed and built their house on Cahaba Road as well as several around it in the 1910s and 1920s, all of them romantic with lots of stonework and eccentric details. Born in 1894, she lived in the home alone almost 50 years after her husband died and was known for being very irreverent. A story goes that when Auburn University offered her an honorary architecture degree, she didn’t accept it because the school did not allow women in its program when she had wanted to attend.
Legend also has it that in 1920 her car broke down on Cahaba Road, which then served as a route to Florida. She married the man who was sent to service her car and then settled in the area. She allegedly also gave English Village its name, and supposedly Al Capone stayed in her house when he was driving from Chicago to Florida.
Smith’s memory lives on in more than just architecture. The Civitas statue at the corner of Cahaba Road and Fairway Drive in English Village was created to evoke her memory, but not depict her literally. The merchants in the village celebrated her birthday at an open house event, Jazz with Civitas, in September.
Philip Morris, a Mountain Brook resident who served as the project manager for the statue, conceived the idea of a sculpture of a woman inspired by Smith and who would serve as a symbol of “making a place.” Civitas, the Latin word for citizens or a community, became the statue’s name.
“It was important that she have more strength than beauty,” Morris said.
Starting in 1995, Nimrod Long designed streetscapes to enhance all three villages and had created space for a piece of art on the corner that served as English Village’s focal point. Around that time, the clock tower was built to serve as the symbol of Crestline Village, and English Village needed a symbol of its own.
That’s where Morris came in. He chose sculptor James Barnhill to bring his vision to life. Barnhill had created an Echo sculpture for the Southern Living Garden at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, and Morris, a longtime editor of Southern Living, was familiar with his work and knew Barnhill was known for his female figures.
Morris wanted Civitas to be presented as an architect. In one hand she holds a compass, an architect’s tool, and in the other a miniature of the building that stands behind her. At the base is a miniature of her home and the building where Billy’s is now located. Her flapper-style dress denotes the era in which Smith was designing homes.
The objects she holds and sits by not only represent history but also “the civic act of making a place,” Morris said.
“It’s a reflection of how the city of Mountain Brook has done such a great job,” he said.
For Barnhill, it was important that she be the right scale for the space and “hold the corner,” Morris said. As a result, she is one and three-quarters of life size, so she would be 9 feet tall if she stood up.
A group, including Morris and the Moodys, helped raise around $20,000 to cover the additional costs over the $50,000 the city had budgeted. Civitas was installed and dedicated in 1988, with family members of Smith coming to take part in the celebration.
As she nears her 30th birthday, Civitas continues to stand firmly on her corner, commemorating both the history and present of the village. Morris and the Moodys, who both live within walking distance, check on her regularly.