Trussville

Downtown Trussville has recently become a hub for entertainment, with outdoor concert venues and a walkable shopping and dining district, but Philip King says, “It still has that small-town feel.” “Born and raised” in Trussville, King works as a local Realtor with the Keller Williams office in Downtown Trussville. He remembers when his hometown was just a small residential suburb with “maybe a diner or two.” Back then, locals had to drive about 16 miles into Birmingham to buy groceries. Today, about 15 to 20 years later, King says, “You really don’t have to leave town for anything.” There are national retailers, big box stores, and a new entertainment district packed with local shops and restaurants. But, “even with all the growth and development,” King says, “it’s still one of those places where you’ll always see someone you know.” “A lot of people don’t ever wanna leave; I still see all the buddies I grew up and went to high school with – they all wanted to raise their kids here, too.”   The Trussville community had a vision to create a new, walkable entertainment district in the heart of downtown, and in 2020, their hard work and detailed planning finally paid off. Now, a Main Street mixed-use space stretches across four city blocks in the heart of Downtown Trussville. The Trussville Entertainment District is packed with all kinds of local businesses. There are old-fashioned soda shops like the Three Earred Rabbit, entertainment-style restaurants like Trussville Social and a couple of breweries, too. An independent bookstore and a few other local shops are found within the four-block radius, but antique stores, boutiques and more local restaurants sit just across the street. Further down the road, there’s a Winn Dixie and a commercial strip with national retailers and fast-food chains.   “Starting in April through November,” Aldridge says, “we have a weekly farmers market every Tuesday and Saturday. She says there’s always fresh produce, local honey, farm-raised meats and fresh eggs at the market. “There’s even one gentleman who brings up fresh seafood from the gulf every Saturday.” On top of all the local goodies, Aldrige says, “There are a few vendors who do crafts, and they’ll even have little concerts afterward; I know one man who comes every week to play his guitar.”   The recent commercial developments have brought several new subdivisions to Downtown Trussville. There are brand-new contemporary craftsman homes with exposed rafters and larger modern farmhouses with wrap-around front porches. Most of the downtown residential boroughs were built between the 1990s and 2000s. These homes feature new traditional architecture, with sturdy brick exteriors and double gable roofs. Some two-story craftsman townhomes sit across from Veteran’s Memorial Park, while the smaller one-story townhomes are found closer to the center of town. Throughout Downtown Trussville, a few well-preserved prairie and ranch-style homes date back to the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s. Most listings in Downtown Trussville range from $350,000 to $500,000, but the smaller townhomes can cost closer to $250,000. Trussville has its own city school district, which King says “is one of the highest-rated school systems in Alabama.” Cahaba Elementary recently ranked in the top three for state-wide reading proficiency, with over 95% of third graders reading at or above grade level. Hewitt-Trussville Middle was named an A+ College Ready School of Distinction in 2023. In 2020, Hewitt-Trussville High earned its National Blue Ribbon School title. All three schools score a solid A on Niche. There’s always something fun to do in Downtown Trussville. Families can spend Friday nights racing go-karts or playing old-school arcade games at the Trussville PlayStation. More kid-friendly fun is just across the highway at Masonic Park. Kids can race down the slides and climb on the rubber dinosaurs while parents relax underneath the playground’s central pavilion. A paved walking path snakes around the park, passing by the adjacent local library and community pool. As it makes its way around the baseball fields, the trail exits the park and crosses over the Cahaba River. From here, it forks in two directions. Locals can follow the trail about a mile north to access the Trussville Youth Sports Facility or a half mile south to visit Veteran’s Memorial Park. This quiet green space recently added a new monument “to honor our military veterans,” Aldridge says. “You can walk around the memorial and see all the names of the Trussville residents who’ve served in different branches of the military.” Gadsden Highway, or US Route 11, is the main road running through Downtown Trussville, connecting to Interstate 59 and Interstate 459 at its south end. Residents can follow I-59 about 16 miles southwest to access Downtown Birmingham. I-459 is a direct expressway to Interstate 20, which runs from South Carolina to the west edge of Texas.