Susan Barclay is Main Street Birmingham’s Office Administrator and Development Associate. As her title suggests, Susan wears a lot of hats (and sometimes scarves, sunglasses and whatever else the job dictates).

Favorite Birmingham urban renewal project:  The rebirth of 20^th Street and 2^nd Avenue North downtown.  Both streets were home to shuttered, vacant storefronts.  Now there are interesting places to dine and shop, downtown residents walking dogs—a real sense of life has returned to the area.

If you could restore one building in Birmingham, what would it be?  The Terminal—wait, too late.  I would love to restore the two Sister Houses on Highland Avenue—they’ve fallen into disrepair and it would be wonderful to restore them to their former glory.

Favorite local food or restaurant?  Chez Fon Fon is my favorite restaurant in the city.  Miss Myra’s wins best BBQ, hands down—and you know we take our BBQ seriously in this town!

Hometown: I grew up in Huntsville, AL—the city with the most dense concentration of antebellum homes in the state!  The juxtaposition of the beautifully restored historic homes alongside the cutting edge high-tech companies and, of course, Marshall Space Flight Center, is fascinating.  I think it’s important to keep a careful eye on the past while looking forward to the future.

Favorite local artist or musician:  I love Charles Buchanan’s block prints and M.Blue Horn’s text paintings.  He recreates iconic images of Birmingham with his own twist and she brings aspects of the city to life with words and photographs—I have a small piece featuring the Angel at St. Mary’s which is very special.

Other community work:  St. Mary’s-on-the-Highlands, Cathedral Church of the Advent, the MS Society, Full Life Ahead Foundation, Alpha Gamma Delta

Family: I’m married to a Birmingham native, Ingram, and we have a force of nature four year old daughter.  The older she gets, the nicer she is to our three cats!

Email Susan