In 1871, Birmingham AL was founded as an industrial enterprise.  The city’s major industries were iron and steel production.  The three principal raw materials used to manufacture steel were iron ore, limestone, and coal – all of which were readily available nearby.  Birmingham is the only place worldwide where all three minerals can be found in significant amounts in such close proximity.  This combined with this fabulous growth rate earned the city the nickname “The Magic City”.  Despite its small size in relation to other major metro areas, Birmingham has much to be proud of.  There are five Fortune 1000 companies and one Fortune 500 company that call this city home.  It is considered one of the largest banking centers in the US and one of the most important business centers in the Southeast.  Though still strong in manufacturing, Birmingham also boasts strong presences in the banking, insurance, medicine, publishing, and biotechnology industries.  The city was also recognized at one of the top cities for growth since 1990.  Even more so, Helena, AL, one of the city’s suburbs, is considered one of the best places to live in America.  (Statistics provided by Wikipedia.org)