Mobile, AL Summary

photo by gusto

Only a small section of Alabama touches on the coast and this occurs in the Mobile Bay area, which borders the Gulf of Mexico in the southwest of the state. This area is known as the “American Riviera” owing to the many vacationers drawn to the fine beaches of the resort town Gulf Shores, and the fishing opportunities. At the northern tip of Mobile Bay are the swamps and bayous of the Mobile River delta. Situated on the bay’s northwest, adjacent to the river estuary, is the port city of Mobile.

Mobile is a lively and elegant city. The state’s second-largest center, it has a population of 480,000. With its diverse heritage, Mobile is atypical of Alabama. The European influences are reflected in the Colonial buildings, plazas, wide boulevards, fine trees and parks, Creole cuisine, and the country’s oldest Mardi Gras, which dates back to 1704. These elements bring a saner and less commercialized New Orleans to mind. Mobile’s historic districts are replete with oaks, dogwoods, magnolias, and azaleas. The latter are best seen in March and April when visitors can follow the wellmarked Azalea Trail for 27 miles around Mobile.

Mobile’s ideal location has long rendered it of interest to colonial powers. The first European in the area was the Spanish explorer Alonso de Pineda who sailed into Mobile Bay in 1519. In 1559 Tristan de Luna organized small short-lived settlements on the bay.

A French-Canadian settlement, known as Fort Louis de la Mobile, was founded just north of the bay in 1702 by Pierre and Jean Baptiste Le Moyne. It served as an outpost for trading and defense.

The first permanent European settlement in Alabama, it served as the capital of French Louisiana until 1722. Owing to river floods the settlement was moved south to the site of present-day Mobile in 1711. When the French gave most of their Louisiana colony to Britain in 1763, the Mobile area became part of British West Florida. It was ceded to Spain in 1783, taken by US forces in 1813, and incorporated as a US city in 1819.

Mobile became vital to the economy of Alabama as a major shipment point for cotton producers. It was also a crucial Confederate port in the Civil War, and the Battle of Mobile Bay (1864) was Alabama’s most important Civil War battle.

An on-site reconstruction of Fort Conde (demolished in 1820) now functions as a museum and the Mobile Visitors’ Center. There are guided tours and daily demonstrations of musket and cannon fire. The USS Alabama is permanently moored in Battleship Park, which also features the submarine USS Drum and an interesting indoor aircraft pavilion.

During the Historic Mobile Homes Tour in March, private homes are open for tours. To the north of the fort is the Church Street Historic District, which includes two museums: the Phoenix Fire Museum and the Museum of Mobile, where resplendent Mardi Gras costumes, historic armaments, maritime artifacts, and Civil War memorabilia are housed.

Also within the city are the interactive child-oriented diversions of the fascinating Exploreum Museum of Science, the Mobile Museum of Art, and the National African-American Archives and Museum. Yet another activity that is highly recommended is a tour through the delta swamps on a passenger boat, which departs from Chickasaw Marina.

To the south of Mobile are the outstanding Bellingrath Gardens.

Southeast of Mobile, along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, are the very popular beaches of Gulf Shores. To its east is Gulf State Park and to its west are Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, Pleasure Island and Fort Morgan, which was built in 1834 to defend Mobile Bay.

The fort is the departure point for thoroughly enjoyable ferry trips to Dauphin Island.

Mobile sits at the intersection of I-65 and I-10 and is serviced by an airport, trains, and buses.