Architecture Carnivals Fire Houses Ships Shipbuilding and
Southern Hospitality
Mobile Alabama is located at
the head of Mobile Bay and the Central Gulf Coast. Mobile was founded by the
French in 1702. During its first 100 years, Mobile was a colony of France,
Britain and Spain; it became a part of the United States of America in 1813.
Mobile Bay is the fourth
largest estuary in the US. The Mobile, Tensaw and several smaller rivers empty
into the northern end of the bay. Fish and crustaceans swarm the shallow
coastline and shore of the bay. Mobile Bay is the only place on earth where the
so called jubilees are a common
occurrence.
The
Port of Mobile’s deep water terminals have direct access to 1500
miles of inland and intra-coastal waterways and access to the Great Lakes, the
Ohio and Tennessee rivers. During WWII, the defense buildup resulted in a
considerable increase in the city's white middle-class and working-class
population, largely due to the massive influx of workers coming to work in the
shipyards were Liberty ships and tankers were built, along with destroyers and
minesweepers.
Experiential Tourism with the Traveler as Protagonist
Experiences designed around multiple
interests that ensure unique emotions; the traveler participates alongside
local cooks, artists, craftsmen, and expert tour guides in activities:
o rooted in the territory; it
can happen only there, and
o with uniquely local events,
experiments, food and wine tastings
o specifically modified and
tailored to your preferences
memorable unique
and unrepeatable!
To Know More About
It
Culture
Mobile is home to an array of cultural influences with its mixed French,
Spanish, Creole and Catholic heritage, in addition to British and African. The
city is home to several art museums, a symphony orchestra, a professional
opera, a professional ballet company and the oldest organized
Carnival celebrations
in the country, originating with the French Catholic colonial settlers.
Carnival in Mobile evolved over the course of 300 years from a beginning as a
sedate French Catholic tradition into the mainstream multi-week celebration
that today bridges a spectrum of cultures. Mobile's official cultural
ambassadors are the Azalea Trail Maids who embody the ideals of Southern
Hospitality.
The
Mobile Museum of Art features permanent exhibits that span several
centuries of art and culture. The permanent exhibits include the African and
Asian Collection Gallery, Altmayer Gallery of American art, Katharine C.
Cochrane Gallery of American Fine Art, Maisel European Gallery, Riddick Glass
Gallery, Smith Crafts Gallery, and the Ann B. Hearin Contemporary Art Gallery.
Battleship
Memorial Park is a military park on the shore of Mobile Bay and
features the World War II era USS Alabama and the submarine USS Drum as well as
Korean and Vietnam War memorials.
Architecture as the city’s principal
commercial corridor, Dauphin Street acquired such a reputation for quality. A
fire in 1839 destroyed the older wooden buildings on the street and the two-
and three-story brick commercial buildings that we see today began to be built.
Many of the early structures had the straight lintels and dentil moldings of
the Federal style. Reconstruction brought new building trends such as the
Italianate style and cast iron facades. The end of the 19th Century
brought the Victorian era and Revivalism which continued into the 20th
Century. Dauphin Street area has experienced a recent revival because of the historic
preservation movement. Video
Fire Houses in the nineteenth century the
fire alarm was sounded by beating on a metal wagon wheel ring with a hammer.
Volunteers were always in a hurry to get to the fire because the company that
responded first got paid. By law, every citizen was required to have a fire
bucket, and three were required in cotton warehouses, taverns and hotels.
Creole Fire House #1, 1872 designed by James H. Hutchisson, this
two-story brick structure with arched central bay and full height second floor
windows. It was the first volunteer fire company in Mobile, founded in 1819 by
members of Mobile’s Creole community. The fire company was absorbed into the
city department in 1888 and finally disbanded in 1970. The Creoles were people
of mixed heritage who formed their own schools, churches and social
organizations. It is said that the Creole #1 was usually the first to get to
the fire because they bought rejected race horses, including Jack, the horse
who could follow his nose straight to the fire. Horse drawn equipment was used
until 1924. The company remained in the Dearborn Street house until the Central
Fire Station was built in 1926.
South Water Street
circa 1860 the front of the Elgin Building is one-of-a-kind in Mobile. It is a
cast iron facade ordered from the catalogue of the Badger Iron Works Co. in New
York and installed on a brick building. The façade is based on the waterfront
palazzos of 15th and 16th century Venice. The façade was designed by T.H.
Giles.
South Royal Street 1891 designed in 1891 by Rudolph Benz,
this commercial brick building is in the Queen Ann Style. The east and south
corners have turrets with pyramidal roofs. The building also has a variety of
decorative motifs and cast iron balconies.
102 Dauphin Street circa
1875 currently a two-story building
with rounded windows with cast iron hoods on the second floor; this building
was originally three stories. The decorative sills for the third floor windows
are still visible at the cornice line.
Bienville
Square circa 1850 was named for Mobile’s founder, Jean Baptist le Moyne Sieur
de Bienville, a French naval officer who became the governor of French
Louisiana. Bienville Square began its transition into a public Square in 1824
when the U.S. Congress passed an act transferring a large plot of land to the
City of Mobile. This plot was the site of the Old Spanish Hospital on the
southwest corner of the block. The Act specifically specified that the property
be forever used as a city park. The Square became a popular place to promenade, and by the
spring of 1890 installation of an Acanthus
Fountain in the center was underway. The fountain was placed in honor of
Dr. George A. Ketchum, a prominent physician, civic leader and president of the
Bienville Water Works. In 1905, Teddy Roosevelt spoke in the Square about the
importance of the Panama Canal to the port of Mobile.
