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Mobile is the third most populous city in the
SouthernThe Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
US state of
AlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
and is the
county seatA county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of
Mobile CountyMobile County[p] is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of a tribe of Indians, the Maubila tribe . As of 2011, its population was 415,704. Its county seat is Mobile, Alabama...
. It is located on the
Mobile RiverThe Mobile River is located in southern Alabama in the United States. Formed out of the confluence of the Tombigbee and Alabama rivers, the approximately river drains an area of of Alabama, with a watershed extending into Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee. Its drainage basin is the...
and the central
Gulf Coast of the United StatesThe Gulf Coast of the United States, sometimes referred to as the Gulf South, South Coast, or 3rd Coast, comprises the coasts of American states that are on the Gulf of Mexico, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and are known as the Gulf States...
. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest municipality on the Gulf Coast between
New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
and
St. Petersburg, FloridaSt. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
. Mobile is the principal municipality of the Mobile
Metropolitan Statistical AreaIn the United States a metropolitan statistical area is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are not legally incorporated as a city or town would be, nor are they legal administrative divisions like...
(MSA), a region of 412,992 residents which is composed solely of Mobile County and is the second largest MSA in the state. Mobile is included in the Mobile-
DaphneDaphne is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, on the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay. The city is located along I-10, 11 miles east of Mobile and 150 miles southwest of the state capital of Montgomery. The United States Census 2000 lists the population of the city as 16,581 making...
–
FairhopeFairhope is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, on a sloping plateau, along the cliffs and shoreline of Mobile Bay. The 2010 census lists the population of the city as 16,176....
Combined Statistical AreaThe United States Office of Management and Budget defines micropolitan and metropolitan statistical areas. Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas consist of one or more counties...
with a total population of 591,599 the second largest combined statistical area in the state behind
BirminghamBirmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
.
Mobile began as the first capital of colonial
French LouisianaLouisiana or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682–1763 and 1800–03, the area was named in honor of Louis XIV, by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle...
in 1702. The city gained its name from the Native American
MobilianThe town of Mabila was a small fortress town known to Chief Tuskaloosa in 1540, in a region of present-day central Alabama. The exact location has been debated for centuries...
tribe that the French colonists found in the area of
Mobile BayMobile Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The Mobile River and Tensaw River empty into the northern end of the...
. During its first 100 years, Mobile was a colony for
FranceKingdom of France is the early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century...
, then
BritainThe former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
, and lastly Spain. Mobile first became a part of the United States of America in 1810, with the annexation of
West FloridaWest Florida was a region on the north shore of the Gulf of Mexico, which underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. West Florida was first established in 1763 by the British government; as its name suggests it largely consisted of the western portion of the region...
under President
James MadisonJames Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
. It then left that union in 1861 when Alabama joined the
Confederate States of AmericaThe Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
, which collapsed in 1865.
Located at the junction of the
Mobile RiverThe Mobile River is located in southern Alabama in the United States. Formed out of the confluence of the Tombigbee and Alabama rivers, the approximately river drains an area of of Alabama, with a watershed extending into Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee. Its drainage basin is the...
and
Mobile BayMobile Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The Mobile River and Tensaw River empty into the northern end of the...
on the northern
Gulf of MexicoThe Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
, the city is the only seaport in Alabama. The
Port of MobileThe Port of Mobile, located in Mobile, Alabama, United States, is the only deep-water port in the state, and was the 9th largest by tonnage in the nation in 2008. It is located along the Mobile River where it empties into Mobile Bay...
has always played a key role in the economic health of the city beginning with the city as a key trading center between the French and Native Americans down to its current role as the 9th-largest port in the United States.
As one of the
Gulf CoastThe Gulf Coast of the United States, sometimes referred to as the Gulf South, South Coast, or 3rd Coast, comprises the coasts of American states that are on the Gulf of Mexico, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and are known as the Gulf States...
's cultural centers, Mobile houses several art museums, a symphony orchestra, a professional opera, a professional ballet company, and a large concentration of historic architecture. Mobile is known for having the oldest organized carnival celebrations in the United States, dating to the 18th century of its early colonial period. It was also host to the first formally organized Carnival
mystic societyA mystic society is a Carnival social organization, similar to a krewe in New Orleans, that presents parades and/or balls for the enjoyment of its members, guests, and the public. The term came to be used in this context in Mobile, Alabama. Mystic society membership is secret. The societies have...
or "
kreweA krewe is an organization that puts on a parade and or a ball for the Carnival season. The term is best known for its association with New Orleans Mardi Gras, but is also used in other Carnival celebrations around the Gulf of Mexico, such as the Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa, Florida, and...
" in the United States, dating to 1830. People from Mobile are known as Mobilians.
Colonial
The European settlement of Mobile, then known as
Fort Louis de la LouisianeThe Old Mobile Site was the location of the French settlement La Mobile and the associated Fort Louis de La Louisiane, in the French colony of New France in North America, from 1702 until 1712. The site is located in Le Moyne, Alabama, on the Mobile River in the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta...
, started in 1702, at Twenty-seven Mile Bluff on the
Mobile RiverThe Mobile River is located in southern Alabama in the United States. Formed out of the confluence of the Tombigbee and Alabama rivers, the approximately river drains an area of of Alabama, with a watershed extending into Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee. Its drainage basin is the...
, as the first capital of the
French colonyThe French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...
of
LouisianaLouisiana or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682–1763 and 1800–03, the area was named in honor of Louis XIV, by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle...
. It was founded by
French CanadianFrench Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
brothers
Pierre Le Moyne d'IbervillePierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] (16 July 1661 – 9 July 1702 (probable)was a soldier, ship captain, explorer, colonial administrator, knight of...
and
Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de BienvilleJean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienvillepronounce] was a colonizer, born in Montreal, Quebec and an early, repeated governor of French Louisiana, appointed 4 separate times during 1701-1743. He was a younger brother of explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville...
, to establish control over France's Louisiana claims. Bienville was made governor of French Louisiana in 1701. Mobile's Roman Catholic parish was established on 20 July 1703, by
Jean-Baptiste de la Croix de Chevrières de Saint-VallierJean-Baptiste de la Croix de Chevrière de St. Vallier was appointed to the see of Quebec as bishop in 1685 by Louis XIV. But, Blessed Pope Innocent XI was not granting any more bulls of investiture....
,
Bishop of QuebecThe Archdiocese of Québec is the oldest Catholic see in the New World north of Mexico. The archdiocese was founded as the Apostolic Vicariate of New France in 1658 and was elevated to a Diocese in 1674 and an Archdiocese in 1819...
. The parish was the first established on the
Gulf Coast of the United StatesThe Gulf Coast of the United States, sometimes referred to as the Gulf South, South Coast, or 3rd Coast, comprises the coasts of American states that are on the Gulf of Mexico, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and are known as the Gulf States...
. In 1704 the
ship PélicanPélican was the ship that brought additional pioneers and yellow fever to the original Mobile site in 1704....
delivered 23 French women to the colony, along with
yellow feverYellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
which passengers had contracted at a stop in
HavanaHavana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
. Though most of the "
Pélican girls" recovered, numerous colonists and neighboring Native Americans died from the illness. This early period was also the occasion of the arrival of the first African slaves, transported aboard a French supply ship from
Saint-DomingueThe labour for these plantations was provided by an estimated 790,000 African slaves . Between 1764 and 1771, the average annual importation of slaves varied between 10,000-15,000; by 1786 it was about 28,000, and from 1787 onward, the colony received more than 40,000 slaves a year...
. The population of the colony fluctuated over the next few years, growing to 279 persons by 1708, yet descending to 178 persons two years later due to disease.
These additional outbreaks of disease and a series of floods caused Bienville to order the town relocated several miles downriver to its present location at the confluence of the
Mobile RiverThe Mobile River is located in southern Alabama in the United States. Formed out of the confluence of the Tombigbee and Alabama rivers, the approximately river drains an area of of Alabama, with a watershed extending into Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee. Its drainage basin is the...
and
Mobile BayMobile Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The Mobile River and Tensaw River empty into the northern end of the...
in 1711. A new earth and palisade
Fort Louis was constructed at the new site during this time. By 1712, when
Antoine CrozatAntoine Crozat, marquis du Châtel , French founder of an immense fortune, was the first private proprietary owner of French Louisiana from 1712 to 1717....
took over administration of the colony by royal appointment, the colony boasted a population of 400 persons. The capital of
LouisianaLouisiana or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682–1763 and 1800–03, the area was named in honor of Louis XIV, by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle...
was moved to
BiloxiBiloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....
in 1720, leaving Mobile in the role of military and trading center. In 1723 the construction of a new brick fort with a stone foundation began and it was renamed
Fort CondéFort Conde, located in Mobile, Alabama, is a reconstruction, at 4/5 scale, as a third of the original 1720s French Fort Condé at the site...
in honor of
Louis Henri, Duc de BourbonLouis Henri de Bourbon, Duke of Bourbon, Prince of Condé was head of the cadet Bourbon-Condé branch of the French royal House of Bourbon from 1710 to his death, and served as prime minister to his kinsman Louis XV from 1723 to 1726.Despite...
and prince of Condé.
In 1763, the
Treaty of ParisThe Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. It ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War...
was signed, ending the
French and Indian WarThe French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
. The treaty ceded Mobile and the surrounding territory to Great Britain, and it was made a part of the expanded British
West FloridaWest Florida was a region on the north shore of the Gulf of Mexico, which underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. West Florida was first established in 1763 by the British government; as its name suggests it largely consisted of the western portion of the region...
colony. The British changed the name of Fort Condé to Fort Charlotte, after
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-StrelitzCharlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the Queen consort of the United Kingdom as the wife of King George III...
,
King George III'sGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
queen.
The British were eager not to lose any useful inhabitants and promised religious tolerance to the French colonists, ultimately 112 French Mobilians remained in the colony. The first permanent Jewish presence in Mobile began in 1763 as a result of the new religious tolerance. Jews had not been allowed to officially reside in colonial French Louisiana due to the
Code NoirThe Code noir was a decree originally passed by France's King Louis XIV in 1685. The Code Noir defined the conditions of slavery in the French colonial empire, restricted the activities of free Negroes, forbade the exercise of any religion other than Roman Catholicism , and ordered...
, a decree passed by France's King Louis XIV in 1685 that forbade the exercise of any religion other than Roman Catholicism, and ordered all Jews out of France's colonies. Most of these colonial era Jews in Mobile were merchants and traders, and added to the commercial development of Mobile. In 1766 the population was estimated to be 860, though the town's borders were smaller than they had been during the French colonial efforts. During the
American Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, West Florida and Mobile became a refuge for
loyalistsLoyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
fleeing the other colonies.
While the British were dealing with their rebellious colonists along the Atlantic coast, the
Spanish entered the warSpain actively supported the Thirteen Colonies throughout the American Revolutionary War, beginning in 1776 by jointly funding Roderigue Hortalez and Company, a trading company that provided critical military supplies, through financing the final Siege of Yorktown in 1781 with a collection of gold...
as an ally of France in 1779. They took the opportunity to order
Bernardo de GalvezBernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Viscount of Galveston and Count of Gálvez was a Spanish military leader and the general of Spanish forces in New Spain who served as governor of Louisiana and Cuba and as viceroy of New Spain.Gálvez aided the Thirteen Colonies in their quest for independence and led...
, Governor of Louisiana, on an expedition east to retake Florida and captured Mobile during the
Battle of Fort CharlotteThe Battle of Fort Charlotte or the Siege of Fort Charlotte was a two-week siege conducted by Spanish General Bernardo de Gálvez against the British fortifications guarding the port of Mobile during the American Revolutionary War...
in 1780 as part of this campaign. They wished to eliminate any British threat to their Louisiana colony, which they had received from France in the 1763 Treaty of Paris. Their actions were also condoned by the revolting American colonies, as evidenced by the presence of Oliver Pollack, representative of the American Continental Congress, and because
West FloridaWest Florida was a region on the north shore of the Gulf of Mexico, which underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. West Florida was first established in 1763 by the British government; as its name suggests it largely consisted of the western portion of the region...
, for the most part, remained loyal to the British Crown. The fort was renamed
Fortaleza CarlotaFort Conde, located in Mobile, Alabama, is a reconstruction, at 4/5 scale, as a third of the original 1720s French Fort Condé at the site...
, with the Spanish holding Mobile as a part of Spanish
West FloridaWest Florida was a region on the north shore of the Gulf of Mexico, which underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. West Florida was first established in 1763 by the British government; as its name suggests it largely consisted of the western portion of the region...
until 1813, when it was seized by the U.S. General
James WilkinsonJames Wilkinson was an American soldier and statesman, who was associated with several scandals and controversies. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, but was twice compelled to resign...
during the
War of 1812The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
.
19th century
By the time Mobile was included in the
Mississippi TerritoryThe Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 7, 1798, until December 10, 1817, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Mississippi....
in 1813, the population had dwindled to roughly 300 people. The city was included in the
Alabama TerritoryThe Territory of Alabama was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 15, 1817, until December 14, 1819, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Alabama.-History:...
in 1817, after
MississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
gained statehood. Alabama was granted statehood in 1819; Mobile's population had increased to 809 by that time. As the river frontage areas of Alabama and Mississippi were settled by farmers and the
plantation economyA plantation economy is an economy which is based on agricultural mass production, usually of a few staple products grown on large farms called plantations. Plantation economies rely on the export of cash crops as a source of income...
became established, Mobile's population exploded. It came to be settled by merchants, attorneys, mechanics, doctors and others seeking to capitalize on trade with these upriver areas. Mobile was well situated for trade, as its location tied it to a river system that served as the principal navigational access for most of Alabama and a large part of Mississippi. By 1822 the city's population was 2800.
From the 1830s onward, Mobile expanded into a city of commerce with a primary focus on the cotton trade. The waterfront was developed with wharves, terminal facilities, and fireproof brick warehouses. The exports of cotton grew in proportion to the amounts being produced in the
Black BeltThe Black Belt is a region of the U.S. state of Alabama, and part of the larger Black Belt Region of the Southern United States, which stretches from Texas to Maryland. The term originally referred to the region underlain by a thin layer of rich, black topsoil developed atop the chalk of the Selma...
; by 1840 Mobile was second only to New Orleans in cotton exports in the nation. With the economy so focused on one crop, Mobile's fortunes were always tied to those of cotton, and the city weathered many financial crises. Though Mobile had a relatively small slave-owning population compared to the inland
plantationPlantations were an important aspect of the history of the American South, particularly the antebellum .-Planter :The owner of a plantation was called a planter...
areas, it was the slave-trading center of the state until surpassed by
MontgomeryMontgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
in the 1850s. By 1853, there were fifty Jewish families living in Mobile, including Philip Phillips, an attorney who was elected to the Alabama State Legislature and then to the United States Congress. By 1860 Mobile's population within the city limits had reached 29,258 people; it was the 27th largest city in the United States and 4th largest in what would soon be the
Confederate States of AmericaThe Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
. The free population in the whole of Mobile County, including the city, consisted of 29,754 citizens, of which only 1195 were black. Additionally, 1785 slave owners held 11,376 slaves, for a total county population of 41,130 people.
During the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Mobile was a Confederate city. The first
submarineA submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
to successfully sink an enemy ship, the
H. L. HunleyH. L. Hunley was a submarine of the Confederate States of America that played a small part in the American Civil War, but a large role in the history of naval warfare. The Hunley demonstrated both the advantages and the dangers of undersea warfare...
, was built in Mobile. One of the most famous naval engagements of the
warThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
was the
Battle of Mobile BayThe Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was an engagement of the American Civil War in which a Federal fleet commanded by Rear Adm. David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fleet led by Adm...
, resulting in the
UnionDuring the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
taking possession of
Mobile BayMobile Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The Mobile River and Tensaw River empty into the northern end of the...
on 5 August 1864. On 12 April 1865, 3 days after the surrender of
Robert E. LeeRobert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
at
Appomattox CourthouseThe Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought on the morning of April 9, 1865, was the final engagement of Confederate States Army General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia before it surrendered to the Union Army under Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, and one of the last battles of the American...
, the city of Mobile surrendered to the
Union armyThe Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
to avoid destruction following the Union victories at the
Battle of Spanish FortThe Battle of Spanish Fort took place from March 27 to April 8, 1865 in Baldwin County, Alabama, as part of the Mobile Campaign of the Western Theater of the American Civil War....
and the
Battle of Fort Blakely-Sources:**-External links:*...
. Ironically, on 25 May 1865, the city suffered loss when some three hundred people died as a result of an
explosionOn May 25, 1865, in Mobile, Alabama, in the Southern United States, an ordnance depot or "magazine" exploded, killing some 300 persons. This event occurred just after the end of the American Civil War, during the occupation of the city by victorious Federal troops....
at a
federalThe federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
ammunition depot on Beauregard Street. The explosion left a 30 feet (9 m) deep hole at the depot's location, sunk ships docked on the Mobile River, and the resulting fires destroyed the northern portion of the city.
Federal Reconstruction in Mobile began after the Civil War and effectively ended in 1874 when the local
DemocratsThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
gained control of the city government. The last quarter of the 19th century was a time of economic depression and municipal insolvency for Mobile. One example can be provided by the value of Mobile's exports during this period of depression. The value of exports leaving the city fell from $9 million in 1878 to $3 million in 1882.
20th century
The turn of the 20th century brought the
Progressive EraThe Progressive Era in the United States was a period of social activism and political reform that flourished from the 1890s to the 1920s. One main goal of the Progressive movement was purification of government, as Progressives tried to eliminate corruption by exposing and undercutting political...
to Mobile and saw Mobile's economic structure evolve along with a significant increase in population. The population increased from around 40,000 in 1900 to 60,000 by 1920. During this time the city received $3 million in federal grants for harbor improvements to deepen the shipping channels in the harbor. During and after World War I, manufacturing became increasingly vital to Mobile's economic health, with shipbuilding and steel production being two of the most important.
During this time, social justice and race relations in Mobile worsened, however. In 1902 the city government passed Mobile's first
segregationRacial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
ordinance, one that segregated the city streetcars. It legislated what had been informal practice, enforced by convention. Mobile's African-American population responded to this with a two-month boycott, but the law was not repealed. After this, Mobile's de facto segregation was increasingly replaced with legislated segregation as whites imposed
Jim Crow lawsThe Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
to maintain dominance.
The
red imported fire antSee main article Fire ant.The red imported fire ant , or simply RIFA, is one of over 280 species in the widespread genus Solenopsis...
was first introduced into the United States via the Port of Mobile. Sometime in the late 1930s they came ashore off of South American cargo ships, where they lived in the soil used as ballast on those ships.
World War II led to a massive military effort causing a considerable increase in Mobile's population, largely due to the massive influx of workers coming to Mobile to work in the shipyards and at the
Brookley Army Air FieldMobile Downtown Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles south of the central business district of Mobile, a city in Mobile County, Alabama, United States. It is also known as Brookley Field. The airport is part of the Brookley Complex, an industrial complex which lies on the...
. Between 1940 and 1943, more than 89,000 people moved into Mobile to work for war effort industries. Mobile was one of eighteen U.S. cities producing Liberty ships. Its
Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding CompanyThe Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company located in Mobile, Alabama, was one of the largest marine production facilities in the United States of America during the 20th century. Beginning operation in 1917, the shipyard is presently owned by The Lehman Group The Alabama Drydock and...
supported the war effort by producing ships faster than the Axis powers could sink them. Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation, a subsidiary of
Waterman Steamship CorporationWaterman Steamship Corporation is an American deep sea ocean carrier, specializing in liner services and time charter contracts. It is owned by International Shipholding Corporation, based in Mobile, Alabama....
, focused on building
freightersA cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
,
Fletcher class destroyerThe Fletcher class were a class of destroyers built by the United States during World War II. The class was designed in 1939 as a result of dissatisfaction with the earlier destroyer leader types...
s, and
minesweepersA minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
.
The years after World War II brought about changes in Mobile's social structure and economy. Instead of shipbuilding being a primary economic force, the paper and chemical industries began to expand, and most of the old military bases were converted to civilian uses. Following the war, African Americans stepped up their efforts to achieve equal rights and social justice. Some residents of Mobile had considered the city to be tolerant and racially accommodating compared to other cities in
the SouthThe Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, especially as the police force and
Spring Hill CollegeSpring Hill College is a private, Roman Catholic Jesuit liberal arts college in the United States. It was founded in 1830 on the Gulf Coast in Mobile, Alabama, by Most Rev. Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile, Alabama...
were integrated in the 1950s. Buses and lunch counters were voluntarily desegregated by the early 1960s. Mobile's African-American citizens were not as content with the
status quoStatu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
as such residents believed. In 1963 three African-American students brought a case against the Mobile County School Board for being denied admission to Murphy High School. The court ordered that the three students be admitted to Murphy for the 1964 school year, leading to the desegregation of Mobile County's school system. The Civil Rights Movement led to the end of legal racial segregation with passage of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...
.
In the late 1960s, Mobile's economy was dealt a blow with the closing of
Brookley Air Force BaseMobile Downtown Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles south of the central business district of Mobile, a city in Mobile County, Alabama, United States. It is also known as Brookley Field. The airport is part of the Brookley Complex, an industrial complex which lies on the...
. This and other factors ushered in a period of economic depression that lasted through the 1970s.
The Alabama legislature passed the Cater Act in 1949 allowing cities and counties to set up industrial development boards (IDB) to issue municipal bonds as incentives to attract new industry into their local areas. The city of Mobile did not establish a Cater Act board until 1962. George E. McNally, Mobile's first Republican mayor since Reconstruction, was the driving force behind its creation. The existing Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, considering itself better qualified to attract new businesses and industry to the area, saw the new IDB as a serious rival. After several years of political squabbling, the Chamber of Commerce emerged victorious. While McNally's IDB prompted the Chamber of Commerce to become more proactive in attracting new industry, the chamber effectively shut Mobile city government out of economic development decisions.
Beginning in the late 1980s, the new mayor,
Mike DowMichael Craig Dow is an American politician who was the four-term mayor of Mobile, Alabama , and is widely credited in the area, along with Arthur Outlaw, whose 15 year plan he followed, of spurring the redevelopment of downtown Mobile...
, and the city council began an effort termed the "String of Pearls Initiative" to make Mobile into a competitive city. The city initiated construction of numerous new facilities and projects, and the restoration of hundreds of historic downtown buildings and homes. Violent crime was reduced, and city and county leaders attracted new business ventures to the area.
Shipbuilding began to make a major comeback in Mobile in 1999 with the founding of
Austal USAAustal USA is the American branch of operations for Australia-based shipbuilder Austal. The facility is based in Mobile, Alabama and employs more than 1000 workers with expansions currently underway.-History:...
.
The effort to transform Mobile into a more competitive city continued into the 21st century under a new
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
mayor,
Sam JonesSamuel Leon Jones is serving his first term as mayor of his hometown, Mobile, Alabama. He is Mobile's first African American mayor. He ran on a platform of safety, efficient government, historic preservation and bringing employers to the city....
, and the city council.
Geography
Mobile is located at 30°40'46" North, 88°6'12" West (30.679523, −88.103280), in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Alabama. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 159.4 square miles (412.8 km²), with 117.9 square miles (305.4 km²) of it being land, and 41.5 square miles (107.5 km²), or 26.1% of the total, being water. The elevation in Mobile ranges from 10 feet (3 m) on Water Street in downtown to 211 feet (64 m) at the Mobile Regional Airport.
Climate
Mobile's geographical location on the
Gulf of MexicoThe Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
provides a mild
subtropical climateA humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...
(
KoppenThe Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Cfa), with an average annual temperature of 66.8 °F (19.3 °C). Normal average monthly temperatures from January through December range from a 40 °F (4.4 °C) minimum and 91 °F (32.8 °C) maximum. The city has hot, humid summers and mild, rainy winters. A 2007 study by
WeatherBillWeatherBill is an online service, launched in January 2007, that helps people and businesses adapt to climate change. The company’s technology platform enables the real-time pricing and purchasing of customizable weather insurance using proprietary global weather simulation modeling and local...
, Inc. determined that Mobile is the wettest city in the contiguous 48 states, with 66.3 inches (168.4 cm) of average annual rainfall over a 30-year period. Mobile averages 120 days per year at least 0.01 inch (0.0254 cm) of rain. Snow is rare in Mobile, with the last snowfall being on February 12, 2010.
Mobile is occasionally affected by major tropical storms and hurricanes. Mobile suffered a major natural disaster on the night of 12 September 1979 when
Category 3The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale , or the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale , classifies hurricanes — Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms — into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
Hurricane FredericHurricane Frederic was the sixth tropical cyclone, third hurricane and second major hurricane of the 1979 Atlantic hurricane season. Frederic was the costliest hurricane to ever hit the U.S. Gulf Coast at that particular time...
passed over the heart of the city. The storm caused tremendous damage to Mobile and the surrounding area. Mobile had moderate damage from
Hurricane OpalHurricane Opal was a Category 4 hurricane that formed in the Gulf of Mexico in September 1995.Opal was the ninth hurricane and the strongest of the abnormally active 1995 Atlantic hurricane season...
on October 4, 1995 and
Hurricane IvanHurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde-type hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic hurricane season...
on September 16, 2004. Mobile also suffered millions of dollars in damage from
Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
on August 29, 2005. A storm surge of 11.45 feet (3.49 m), topped by higher waves, damaged eastern sections of Mobile, with extensive flooding in downtown,
Battleship ParkwayBattleship Parkway, commonly referred to locally and in the media as the "Causeway", is an elevated long causeway that carries US 90 and US 98 eastbound across Mobile Bay from the Bankhead Tunnel in Mobile, Alabama to Spanish Fort, Alabama. The roadway itself is a four-lane divided highway for...
, and the elevated
Jubilee ParkwayThe Jubilee Parkway is a pair of parallel concrete viaduct bridges that carry Interstate 10 across Mobile Bay from the George Wallace Tunnel in Mobile, Alabama eastbound to Spanish Fort/Daphne, Alabama. The bridges are similar in design to the I-10 Twin Span Bridge near New Orleans, Louisiana. Each...
, destroying the electronic speed-limit fog-warning signals.
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, distinguishing it from all other cities in the state of Alabama. The annual
CarnivalCarnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
celebration is perhaps the best illustration of this. Mobile is the birthplace of
Mardi GrasThe terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
in the United States and has the oldest celebration, dating to the early 18th century during the French colonial period. Carnival in Mobile has evolved over the course of 300 years from a sedate French Catholic tradition into a mainstream multi-week celebration across the spectrum of cultures. Mobile's official cultural ambassadors are the
Azalea Trail MaidsThe Azalea Trail Maids are a group of fifty high school seniors chosen yearly to serve as "Official Ambassadors" for the city of Mobile, Alabama. The Maids, wearing extravagant antebellum-style dresses and using mannerisms of the era, make appearances at many local, state, and national events...
, meant to embody the ideals of
Southern hospitalitySouthern hospitality is a phrase used in American English to describe the stereotype of residents of the Southern United States as particularly warm and welcoming to visitors to their homes, or to the South in general.__FORCETOC__...
.
Carnival and Mardi Gras
Mobile's Carnival celebrations start as early as November with several
ballsA ball is a formal dance. The word 'ball' is derived from the Latin word "ballare", meaning 'to dance'; the term also derived into "bailar", which is the Spanish and Portuguese word for dance . In Catalan it is the same word, 'ball', for the dance event.Attendees wear evening attire, which is...
, with the
paradeA parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
s usually beginning after January 5. Carnival celebrations end promptly at the stroke of midnight on
Mardi GrasThe terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
, signaling the beginning of
Ash WednesdayAsh Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...
and the first day of
LentIn the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
. In Mobile, locals use the term Mardi Gras as a shorthand to refer to the entire Carnival season, although it literally means Fat Tuesday in French, the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. During this time Mobile's
mystic societiesA mystic society is a Carnival social organization, similar to a krewe in New Orleans, that presents parades and/or balls for the enjoyment of its members, guests, and the public. The term came to be used in this context in Mobile, Alabama. Mystic society membership is secret. The societies have...
build colorful Carnival floats and parade throughout downtown with masked society members tossing small gifts, known as
throws, to parade spectators. Mobile's mystic societies, essentially private clubs, also give formal
masquerade ballA masquerade ball is an event which the participants attend in costume wearing a mask. - History :...
s, which are almost always invitation only and are oriented to adults.
Mobile first celebrated Carnival in 1703 when French settlers began the festivities at the
Old Mobile SiteThe Old Mobile Site was the location of the French settlement La Mobile and the associated Fort Louis de La Louisiane, in the French colony of New France in North America, from 1702 until 1712. The site is located in Le Moyne, Alabama, on the Mobile River in the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta...
. Mobile's first Carnival society began in 1711 with the
Boeuf Gras Society (Fatted Ox Society). In 1830 Mobile's Cowbellion de Rakin Society was the first formally organized and masked mystic society in the United States to celebrate with a parade. The Cowbellions got their start when Michael Krafft, a cotton factor from
PennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, began a parade with rakes, hoes, and cowbells. The
Cowbellians introduced horse-drawn floats to the parades in 1840 with a parade entitled, "Heathen Gods and Goddesses". The
Striker's Independent SocietyThe Strikers Independent Society is a mystic society founded in 1843in Mobile, Alabama and participated in Carnival during New Year's Eve and New Year's Day celebrations....
was formed in 1843 and is the oldest surviving mystic society in the United States.
Carnival celebrations in Mobile were canceled during the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. In 1866
Joe Cain]Joseph Stillwell Cain, Jr. is largely credited with the rebirth of Mardi Gras celebrations in Mobile, Alabama, stopped due to the Civil War....
revived Mardi Gras parades when he paraded through the city streets on Fat Tuesday while costumed as a fictional
ChickasawThe Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
chief named
Slacabamorinico. He celebrated the day in front of the occupying
Union ArmyThe Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
troops. The year 2002 saw Mobile's Tricentennial celebrated with parades that represented all of Mobile's mystic societies, both black and white.
Archives and libraries
The
National African American Archives and MuseumThe National African American Archives and Museum, formerly the Davis Avenue Branch of the Mobile Public Library, is an archive and history museum located in Mobile, Alabama...
features the history of "Colored Carnival", African-American participation in Mobile's
Mardi Gras; authentic artifacts from the era of slavery, and portraits and biographies of famous African Americans. The University of South Alabama Archives houses primary source material relating to the history of Mobile and southern Alabama, as well as the university's history. The archives are located on the ground floor of the USA Spring Hill Campus and are open to the general public. The Mobile Municipal Archives contains the extant records of the City of Mobile, dating from the city's creation as a municipality by the Mississippi Territory in 1814. The majority of the original records of Mobile's colonial history (1702–1813) are housed in Paris, London,
SevilleSeville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, and
MadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
. The Mobile Genealogical Society Library and Media Center is located at the Holy Family Catholic Church and School complex. It features handwritten manuscripts and published materials for use in genealogical research. The
Mobile Public LibraryThe Mobile Public Library is public library system primarily serving Mobile County, Alabama. The system is a department of the city of Mobile and receives funding from Mobile County and the city of Saraland.-History:...
system serves Mobile and consists of eight branches across Mobile County, featuring its own large local history and genealogy division housed in a facility next to the newly restored and enlarged Ben May Main Library on Government Street. The Saint Ignatius Archives, Museum and Theological Research Library contains primary sources, artifacts, documents, photographs and publications that pertain to the history of Saint Ignatius Church and School, the Catholic history of the city, and the history of the Roman Catholic Church.
Entertainment and arts
The
Mobile Museum of ArtThe Mobile Museum of Art is an art museum located in Mobile, Alabama. It features extensive art collections from the Southern United States, the Americas, Europe, and non-western art...
features European, Non-Western, American, and Decorative Arts collections. The Saenger Theatre of Mobile was opened in 1927 and is a modern dynamic performing arts center. It is home to the
Mobile SymphonyThe Mobile Symphony Orchestra is the symphonic orchestra of Mobile, Alabama. Scott Speck, co-author of Classical Music for Dummies and Opera for Dummies is its current music director. They perform at the Mobile Saenger Theatre.-See also:...
, conducted by Maestro Scott Speck, and Space 301, a contemporary art gallery. It also serves as a small concert venue for the city. The
Mobile Civic CenterMobile Civic Center is a multi-purpose arena located in Mobile, Alabama. Owned by the City of Mobile and operated by SMG, the arena comprises three venues: A theater, an expo hall, and an arena. It is suitable for large indoor events; including sporting events and trade shows. The theater has...
contains three facilities under one roof. The 400000 sq ft (37,161 m²) building has an arena, a theater and an exposition hall. It is the primary concert venue for the city and hosts a wide variety of events. It is home to the
Mobile OperaMobile Opera is an opera company located in Mobile, Alabama and is one of the oldest performing arts organizations in the United States, as well as the oldest in Mobile itself, having been founded as the "Mobile Opera Guild" in 1945. Under its founder, Madame Rose Palmai-Tenser, a European concert...
and the Mobile Ballet. The 60-year old
Mobile OperaMobile Opera is an opera company located in Mobile, Alabama and is one of the oldest performing arts organizations in the United States, as well as the oldest in Mobile itself, having been founded as the "Mobile Opera Guild" in 1945. Under its founder, Madame Rose Palmai-Tenser, a European concert...
averages about 1,200 attendees per performance. A wide variety of events are held at Mobile's Arthur C. Outlaw Convention Center. It contains a 100000 sq ft (9,290 m²) exhibit hall, a 15000 sq ft (1,394 m²) grand ballroom, and sixteen meeting rooms. Additionally, the city sponsors
BayFestBayFest is an annual three day music festival in the heart of downtown Mobile, Alabama.-History:Growing from an initial attendance of 50,000 people in 1995 BayFest has become known for its array of musical talent suited to a wide variety of tastes...
, an annual three-day music festival with over 125 live musical acts on nine stages.
Museums
Mobile is home to a variety of museums.
Battleship Memorial ParkBattleship Memorial Park is a military history park and museum located on the western shore of Mobile Bay in Mobile, Alabama. It has a collection of notable aircraft and museum ships including the South Dakota-class battleship USS Alabama and Gato-class submarine USS Drum...
is a military park on the shore of Mobile Bay and features the World War II era
battleshipA battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
, the World War II era
submarineA submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
,
Korean WarThe Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
and
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
Memorials, and a variety of historical military equipment. The Museum of Mobile chronicles 300 years of Mobile history and material culture and is housed in the historic
Old City Hall (1857)Old City Hall, also known as the Southern Market, is a historic complex of adjoining buildings in Mobile, Alabama, that currently houses the Museum of Mobile. The complex was built from 1855 to 1857 to serve as a city hall and as a marketplace...
. The
Oakleigh Historic ComplexOakleigh is a historic house museum in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It is the centerpiece of the Oakleigh Historic Complex, a grouping of buildings that contain a working-class raised cottage, a former slave quarters, and a modern archives building. The name for the estate comes from a...
features three house museums that interpret the lives of people from three levels of Mobile society in the mid-19th century. The
Mobile Carnival MuseumThe Mobile Carnival Museum is a history museum that chronicles over 300 years of Carnival and Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama. The museum is housed in the historic Bernstein-Bush mansion on Government Street in downtown Mobile.-Features:...
, which houses the city's
Mardi GrasMardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama[pronounce] is the oldest annual Carnival celebration in America, having begun in 1703,over 15 years before New Orleans was founded ....
history and memorabilia, documents the variety of floats, costumes, and displays seen during the history of the festival season. The
Bragg-Mitchell MansionThe Bragg-Mitchell Mansion, also known as the Bragg-Mitchell House, is a historic house museum in Mobile, Alabama. It was built in 1855 by Judge John Bragg and is one of the most photographed buildings in the city as well as one of the more popular tourist attractions. The house has been...
(1855),
Richards DAR HouseThe Richards DAR House is a historic house museum in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The Italianate style house was completed in 1860 for Charles and Caroline Richards. It is a contributing property to the De Tonti Square Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic...
(1860), and the
Condé-Charlotte HouseThe Conde-Charlotte House, also known as the Kirkbride House, is a historic house museum in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The earliest section of the building, the rear kitchen wing, was built in 1822. The main section of the house was added a few decades later and is two and a half floors...
(1822) are historic
antebellumAntebellum architecture is a term used to describe the characteristic neoclassical architectural style of the Southern United States, especially the Old South, from after the birth of the United States in the American Revolution, to the start of the American Civil War...
house museums. Fort Morgan, Fort Gaines, and
Historic Blakeley State ParkBlakeley is a ghost town in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. It was the location of a major fort during the Civil War. The town is now in an Alabama historic state park known as Historic Blakeley State Park near Spanish Fort....
figure into local
American Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
history. The Mobile Medical Museum is housed in the historic Vincent-Doan House (1827) and features artifacts and resources that chronicle the history of medicine in Mobile. The Phoenix Fire Museum is located in the restored Phoenix Volunteer Fire Company Number 6 building and features the history of fire companies in Mobile from their organization in 1838. The Mobile Police Department Museum features exhibits that chronicle the history of law enforcement in Mobile. The
Gulf Coast ExploreumThe Gulf Coast Exploreum is a non-profit science center that features three permanent exhibitions, a wide variety of traveling exhibitions, a virtual theater, and an IMAX theater in downtown Mobile, Alabama...
is a non-profit science center located in downtown. It features permanent and traveling exhibits, an
IMAXIMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
dome theater, a digital 3D virtual theater, and a hands-on chemistry laboratory. The
Dauphin Island Sea LabThe Dauphin Island Sea Lab is Alabama's primary marine education and research center. DISL is the home site of the Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium and was founded by an act of the Alabama State Legislature in 1971. It also has a public aquarium specializing in estuarine organisms, the...
is located south of the city near the mouth of
Mobile BayMobile Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The Mobile River and Tensaw River empty into the northern end of the...
. It houses the Estuarium, an aquarium which illustrates the four habitats of the
Mobile BayMobile Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The Mobile River and Tensaw River empty into the northern end of the...
ecosystemAn ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
: the
river deltaThe Mobile River is located in southern Alabama in the United States. Formed out of the confluence of the Tombigbee and Alabama rivers, the approximately river drains an area of of Alabama, with a watershed extending into Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee. Its drainage basin is the...
,
bayMobile Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The Mobile River and Tensaw River empty into the northern end of the...
, barrier islands and
Gulf of MexicoThe Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
.
Parks and other attractions
The
Mobile Botanical GardensThe Mobile Botanical Gardens were founded in 1974, and are located on Museum Drive in the Spring Hill community in Mobile, Alabama. The gardens are situated on and are a blend of cultivated areas and natural habitats, including the Rhododendron Garden, Camellia Wintergarden, Fern Glade, Fragrance...
feature a variety of flora spread over 100 acres (40 ha). It contains the Millie McConnell
RhododendronRhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
Garden with 1,000 evergreen and native azaleas and the 30 acre (12 ha)
Longleaf PinePinus palustris, commonly known as the Longleaf Pine, is a pine native to the southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from eastern Texas to southeast Virginia extending into northern and central Florida....
Habitat. The
Bellingrath Gardens and HomeBellingrath Gardens and Home is a botanical garden and mansion located on the Fowl River in Theodore, a suburb of Mobile, Alabama. The site was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on September 14, 1977 and on the National Register of Historic Places on October 19,...
are located on
Fowl RiverFowl River is a brackish river in Mobile County, Alabama. It originates near Theodore and then splits into the East Fowl River and the West Fowl River. The East Fowl River discharges into Mobile Bay south of Belle Fontaine. The West Fowl River discharges into the Mississippi Sound east of Coden...
and contain 65 acre (26 ha) of landscaped gardens and a 10500 sq ft (975 m²) mansion dating to the 1930s. The 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center is a new facility for exploring the Mobile, Spanish, Tensaw, Appalachee, and Blakeley River delta. "5 Rivers" as it is affectionately known to locals, was established by the State of Alabama to be a "Gateway to the Mobile Delta" and contains within its grounds a Theatrette; Exhibit Hall; Meeting, Wedding and Party facilities; a myriad of boat and adventure tours operated by Five Rivers Delta Safaris, walking trails and a Canoe and Kayak Landing.
Mobile has more than 45 public parks with some that are of special interest.
Bienville SquareBienville Square is a historic city park in the center of downtown Mobile, Alabama. Bienville Square was named for Mobile’s founder, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville...
is a historic park dating to 1850 in the Lower Dauphin Street Historic District and is named for Mobile's founder, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville. This park was once a principal gathering place for the citizens of the city and remains popular today.
Cathedral SquareCathedral Square is a municipal park in Mobile, Alabama. It is bordered by the streets of North Claiborne, Dauphin, North Jackson, and Conti.-History:...
is a performing arts park in the Lower Dauphin Street Historic District overlooked by the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.
Fort CondéFort Conde, located in Mobile, Alabama, is a reconstruction, at 4/5 scale, as a third of the original 1720s French Fort Condé at the site...
is a reconstruction of the original Fort Condé, built on the old fort's footprint. It is the city's official welcome center and living history museum. Spanish Plaza is a downtown park that honors the Spanish occupation of the city between 1780 and 1813. It features the "Arches of Friendship", a fountain presented to Mobile by the city of
MálagaMálaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
, Spain.
Langan ParkLangan Park, also known as Municipal Park, is a municipal park in the Spring Hill neighborhood of Mobile, Alabama. The park opened in 1957 and was named for Joseph Langan, former state senator and city commissioner. It features lakes, natural spaces, tennis courts, children’s playgrounds and...
is a 720 acre (291 ha) municipal park that features lakes and natural spaces. It is home to the Mobile Museum of Art, Azalea City Golf Course, Mobile Botanical Gardens and Playhouse in the Park.
Historic architecture
Mobile has antebellum architectural examples of Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, and
Creole cottageCreole cottage is a term loosely used to refer to a type of vernacular architecture indigenous to the Gulf Coast of the United States. Within this building type comes a series of variations. An expanded version of this type of building is commonly referred to as Gulf Coast cottage, with the...
. Later architectural styles found in the city include the various
VictorianThe term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
types,
shotgunThe shotgun house is a narrow rectangular domestic residence, usually no more than 12 feet wide, with doors at each end. It was the most popular style of house in the Southern United States from the end of the American Civil War , through the 1920s. Alternate names include shotgun shack,...
types, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival,
Spanish Colonial RevivalThe Spanish Colonial Revival Style was a United States architectural stylistic movement that came about in the early 20th century, starting in California and Florida as a regional expression related to history, environment, and nostalgia...
,
Beaux-Arts and many others. The city currently has nine major historic districts consisting of
Old Dauphin WayThe Old Dauphin Way Historic District is a historic district in the city of Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was named for Dauphin Way, now known as Dauphin Street, which bisects the center of the district from east to west. The district is roughly bounded by Broad Street on the east,...
,
Oakleigh GardenThe Oakleigh Garden Historic District is a historic district in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on 13 April 1972. It is centered on Washington Square and was originally bounded by Government, Marine, Texas, and Ann Streets...
,
Lower Dauphin StreetThe Lower Dauphin Street Historic District is a historic district in the city of Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on 9 February 1979. The district encompasses all of Dauphin Street from Water Street to Jefferson Street. It covers and...
,
LeinkaufThe Leinkauf Historic District is a historic district in the city of Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on 24 June 1987. It is roughly bounded by Government, Eslava, Lamar, and Monterey Streets. The district covers and contains 303...
,
De Tonti Square-References:...
,
Church Street EastThe Church Street East Historic District is a historic district in the city of Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on 16 December 1971. Since a boundary increase on 13 January 1984, it is roughly bounded by Broad, Conti, Water, Claiborne, and...
,
Ashland PlaceThe Ashland Place Historic District is a historic district in the city of Mobile, Alabama, United States. The neighborhood gained its name from a Greek Revival antebellum house called Ashland that once stood on Lanier Avenue. Ashland was famous as the home of Augusta Evans Wilson. The house...
,
CampgroundThe Campground Historic District is a historic district in the city of Mobile, Alabama, United States. Named for the Old Camp Ground, a military encampment that occupied the property during the American Civil War, this historically African American neighborhood was placed on the National Register...
, and
MidtownThe Midtown Historic District is a historic district in the city of Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on 29 November 2001. It is roughly bounded by Taylor Avenue, Government Street, Houston Street, Kenneth Street, Springhill Avenue, and...
.
Mobile has a number of historic structures spread throughout the city. Some of Mobile's historic churches include
Christ Church CathedralChrist Church Cathedral, also known simply as Christ Church, is a historic Episcopal cathedral located in Mobile, Alabama, USA.-History:...
, the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception,
Emanuel AME ChurchEmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church is a historic African American church in Mobile, Alabama. Emanuel AME began when church trustees purchased a vacant lot for their church in 1869, as African Americans in Mobile established their own congregations following the American Civil War. The...
,
Government Street Presbyterian ChurchGovernment Street Presbyterian Church is one of the oldest and least-altered Greek Revival church buildings in the United States. The architectural design is by James Gallier, James Dakin, and Charles Dakin. The trio also designed Barton Academy, four blocks down Government Street to the west...
,
St. Louis Street Missionary Baptist ChurchSt. Louis Street Missionary Baptist Church is a historic African American church in Mobile, Alabama. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 08, 1976, due to its architectural and historic significance.-History:St...
,
State Street AME Zion ChurchState Street African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church is a historic African American church in Mobile, Alabama. It is the oldest documented Methodist church building in Alabama...
,
Stone Street Baptist ChurchStone Street Baptist Church is a historic African American Baptist church in Mobile, Alabama. The congregation was established well before the American Civil War, with Stone Street Baptist recognized today as one of Alabama's most influential...
,
Trinity Episcopal ChurchTrinity Episcopal Church is a historic church in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was the first large Gothic Revival church built in Alabama. The design was by architects Frank Wills and Henry Dudley.-History:...
,
St. Francis Street Methodist ChurchSt. Francis Street Methodist Church, officially St. Francis Street United Methodist Church, is a historic United Methodist Church building in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The current structure was built in 1896 by the architectural firm of Watkins and Johnson. It was placed on the National...
, Saint Joseph's Roman Catholic Church,
Saint Francis Xavier Catholic ChurchSaint Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church, also known as St. Francis Xavier Church, is a historic Roman Catholic church building in the Toulminville neighborhood of Mobile, Alabama, United States. It serves as the parish church for St. Francis Xavier Parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of...
, Saint Matthew's Catholic Church,
Saint Paul's Episcopal ChapelSaint Paul's Episcopal Chapel is a historic Episcopal church building in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was built in 1859 in a vernacular Gothic Revival style. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as a part of the 19th Century Spring Hill Neighborhood Thematic...
, and
Saint Vincent de PaulSaint Vincent de Paul, now known as Prince of Peace Church is a historic Roman Catholic church building in Mobile, Alabama. It was designed by a local architect, James H. Hutchisson, in the Gothic Revival style. The current building was built in 1874 and dedicated on January 21, 1877...
. The
Sodality ChapelThe Sodality Chapel is a historic Roman Catholic chapel building on the campus of Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was built in 1850 in a simple Greek Revival style. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as a part of the 19th Century Spring...
and
St. Joseph's Chapel at Spring Hill College are two historic churches on that campus. Two historic Roman Catholic convents survive, the
Convent and Academy of the VisitationThe Convent and Academy of the Visitation, properly known today as the Visitation Monastery, is a historic complex of Roman Catholic religious buildings and a small cemetery in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The buildings and grounds were documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1937...
and the
Convent of MercyThe Convent of Mercy, known today as the St. Francis Place Condominiums, is a small complex of historic Roman Catholic religious buildings in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It consists of two buildings, the former convent and the former school...
.
Barton AcademyBarton Academy is a historic Greek Revival school building located on Government Street in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was under construction from 1836 to 1839 and was designed by architects James H. Dakin, Charles B. Dakin, and James Gallier. Gallier and the Dakin brothers also designed...
is a historic Greek Revival school building and local landmark on Government Street. The
Bishop Portier HouseThe Bishop Portier House is a historic residence in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It sits diagonally across from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, and faces Cathedral Square. It is owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile. The house, built circa 1834, is one of Mobile's best...
and the
Carlen HouseThe Carlen House, also known as the Carlen House Museum, is a historic house museum in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The house was built in the Gulf Coast cottage style in 1843. It was the residence of Michael and Mary Carlen, Irish immigrants, and their twelve children...
are two of the many surviving examples of
Creole cottageCreole cottage is a term loosely used to refer to a type of vernacular architecture indigenous to the Gulf Coast of the United States. Within this building type comes a series of variations. An expanded version of this type of building is commonly referred to as Gulf Coast cottage, with the...
s in the city. The
Mobile City HospitalMobile City Hospital, also known as Old Mobile General Hospital, is a historic Greek Revival hospital building in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was built in 1830 by Thomas S. James and served as a hospital for the city of Mobile from 1831 until 1966. It was administered for the city by the...
and the
United States Marine HospitalThe United States Marine Hospital is a historic Greek Revival hospital building in Mobile, Alabama, United States. Construction began in 1838 and was completed in 1842. It was designed by architect Frederick Bunnell and was operated by the Marine Hospital Service from its opening until it closed,...
are both restored
Greek RevivalThe Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
hospital buildings that predate the Civil War. The
Washington Firehouse No. 5Washington Firehouse No. 5 is a historic fire station in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The two-story brick Greek Revival building was built in 1851 at a cost of $5,500. It was constructed to house the privately run Washington Fire Company...
is a Greek Revival fire station, built in 1851. The
Hunter HouseThe Bettie Hunter House is a historic African American residence in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was the residence of Bettie Hunter, a former slave who grew wealthy from a successful hack and carriage business she operated in Mobile with her brother, Henry. The fall of New Orleans during the...
is an example of the
ItalianateThe Italianate style of architecture was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. In the Italianate style, the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian Renaissance architecture, which had served as inspiration for both Palladianism and...
style and was built by a successful 19th century African American businesswoman. The
Shepard HouseMonterey Place, best known as the Shepard House, is a historic residence in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The house was designed by architect George Franklin Barber in 1897 for Charles Martin Shepard, the general passenger agent for the Mobile and Ohio Railroad in Mobile...
is a good example of the Queen Anne style. The
Scottish Rite TempleThe Scottish Rite Temple, now known as The Temple Downtown, is a historic former masonic building in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was built to serve as the meeting place for the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry...
is the only surviving example of
Egyptian Revival architectureEgyptian Revival is an architectural style that uses the motifs and imagery of ancient Egypt. It is attributed generally to the public awareness of ancient Egyptian monuments generated by Napoleon's conquest of Egypt and Admiral Nelson's defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of the Nile during 1798....
in the city. The
Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio Passenger TerminalThe Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio Passenger Terminal is a historic train station in Mobile, Alabama, United States. Architect P. Thorton Mayre designed the Mission Revival style terminal for the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. It was completed in 1907 at a total cost of $575,000...
is an example of the
Mission RevivalThe Mission Revival Style was an architectural movement that began in the late 19th century for a colonial style's revivalism and reinterpretation, which drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century Spanish missions in California....
style.
The city has several historic cemeteries that were established after the colonial era. They replaced Mobile's colonial Campo Santo, of which no traces remain. The
Church Street GraveyardChurch Street Graveyard is a historic city cemetery located in Mobile, Alabama. The cemetery is situated on and is surrounded by a brick wall that dates to 1830...
contains above-ground tombs and monuments spread over 4 acre (2 ha) and was founded in 1819, during the height of the yellow fever epidemics. The nearby 120 acre (49 ha)
Magnolia CemeteryMagnolia Cemetery is a city cemetery located in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The cemetery is situated on and was established in 1836. From that time onward it served as Mobile's primary burial site during the 19th century. It is the final resting place for many of Mobile's 19th and early 20th...
was established in 1836 and was Mobile's primary burial site during the 19th century with approximately 80,000 burials. It features tombs and many intricately carved monuments and statues. The Catholic Cemetery was established in 1848 by the Archdiocese of Mobile and covers more than 150 acre (61 ha). It contains plots for the
Brothers of the Sacred HeartThe Brothers of the Sacred Heart are a Catholic religious congregation founded in 1821 by the Reverend André Coindre . Its Constitutions were modeled upon those of the Jesuits, while its Rule of Life was based upon the Rule of Saint Augustine. Its members bind themselves for life by simple vows of...
,
Little Sisters of the PoorThe Little Sisters of the Poor is a Roman Catholic religious order for women. It was founded in the 19th century by Saint Jeanne Jugan near Rennes, France. Jugan felt the need to care for the many impoverished elderly who lined the streets of French towns and cities.This led her to welcome an...
,
Sisters of CharityMany religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity as part of their name. The rule of Saint Vincent for the Daughters of Charity has been adopted and adapted by at least sixty founders of religious orders around the world in the subsequent centuries....
, and
Sisters of MercyThe Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....
, in addition to many other historically significant burials. Mobile's
JewishCongregation Sha'arai Shomayim is the oldest Jewish congregation in the state of Alabama and one of the oldest Reform Jewish congregations in the United States. Located in Mobile, the congregation was formally organized in 1844...
community dates back to the 1820s and the city has two historic Jewish cemeteries,
Ahavas Chesed CemeteryAhavas Chesed Cemetery, is a historic Jewish cemetery located in Mobile, Alabama. It was established by the Ahavas Chesed congregation in 1898...
and
Sha'arai Shomayim CemeterySha'arai Shomayim Cemetery is a historic Jewish cemetery located in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was established by Congregation Sha'arai Shomayim in 1876 after their previous cemetery, Jewish Rest in the adjacent Magnolia Cemetery, was filled to capacity. The cemetery is situated on and is...
.
Demographics
The 2010 census determined that there were 195,111 people residing within the city limits. Mobile is the center of
AlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
's second-largest metropolitan area, which consists of all of Mobile County.
Metropolitan MobileMetropolitan Mobile has a population of 412,992 within Mobile County Alabama in the southwestern tip of Alabama. The Mobile metropolitan area is the third-largest metropolitan area in the state of Alabama. The Mobile–Daphne–Fairhope combined statistical area also includes the micro but...
had a population of 412,992 as of 2010 census.
2006 census estimates indicated that there were 73,057 households, out of which 22,225 had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29,963 were married couples living together, 15,360 had a female householder with no husband present, 3,488 had a male householder with no wife present, and 24,246 were non-families. 20,957 of all households were made up of individuals and 7,994 had someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The racial makeup of the city was 48.2% White, 47.9% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.8% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 0.5% from other races, 0.9% from two or more races, and 1.2% of the population were Latino. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.23. Same-sex couple households comprised 0.9% of all households.
The population was spread out with 7.1% under the age of 5, 73.6% over 18, and 13.4% over 65. The median age was 35.6 years. The male population was 47.6% and the female population was 52.4%. The median income for a household in the city was $37,439, and the median income for a family was $45,217. The per capita income for the city was $21,612. 21.3% of the population and 17.6% of families were below the poverty line.
Government
Since 1985 the government of Mobile has consisted of a mayor and a seven member
city councilA city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
. The mayor is elected
at-largeAt-large is a designation for representative members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent the whole membership of the body , rather than a subset of that membership...
and the council members are elected from each of the seven city council districts. A
supermajorityA supermajority or a qualified majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level or type of support which exceeds a simple majority . In some jurisdictions, for example, parliamentary procedure requires that any action that may alter the rights of the minority has a supermajority...
of five votes is required to conduct council business. This form of city government was chosen by the voters after the previous form of government, which used three city commissioners who were elected at-large, was ruled to substantially dilute the African American vote in the 1975 case
Bolden v. City of MobileMobile v. Bolden, 446 U.S. 55 , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that electoral districts must be drawn without racially discriminatory intent to warrant constitutional protection. In Gomillion v...
. Municipal elections are held every four years.
The current mayor,
Sam JonesSamuel Leon Jones is serving his first term as mayor of his hometown, Mobile, Alabama. He is Mobile's first African American mayor. He ran on a platform of safety, efficient government, historic preservation and bringing employers to the city....
, was elected in September 2005 and is the first African American mayor of Mobile. As of January 2006, the city council is composed of Fredrick Richardson, Jr. from District 1, William Carroll from District 2, Clinton Johnson from District 3, John C. Williams from District 4, Reggie Copeland, Sr. from District 5, Connie Hudson from District 6, and Gina Gregory from District 7. Reggie Copeland, Sr. is currently serving as Council President with Fredrick Richardson, Jr. serving as Council Vice President.
In January 2008, the city hired EDSA, an urban design firm, to create a new comprehensive master plan for the downtown area and surrounding neighborhoods. The planning area is bordered on the east by the Mobile River, to the south by Interstate 10 and Duval Street, to the west by Houston Street and to the north by Three Mile Creek and the neighborhoods north of Martin Luther King Avenue.
Public facilities
Public schools in Mobile are operated by the
Mobile County Public School SystemMobile County Public School System is a school district based in the Mobile County Public Schools Central Office Campus in an unincorporated area in Mobile County, Alabama United States....
. The Mobile County Public School System has an enrollment of over 65,000 students, employs approximately 8,500 public school employees, and had a budget in 2005–2006 of $617,162,616. The State of Alabama operates the
Alabama School of Mathematics and ScienceThe Alabama School of Mathematics and Science is a public residential high school in midtown Mobile, Alabama. Along with the Alabama School of Fine Arts, they are considered the state's top magnet school and draw students from around the state...
on Dauphin Street in Mobile, which boards advanced Alabama high school students. It was founded in 1989 to identify, challenge, and educate future leaders.
Private facilities
Mobile also has a large number of private schools, most of them being
parochialA parochial school is a school that provides religious education in addition to conventional education. In a narrower sense, a parochial school is a Christian grammar school or high school which is part of, and run by, a parish.-United Kingdom:...
in nature. Many of these belong to the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of MobileThe Archdiocese of Mobile is a Roman Catholic archdiocese comprising the lower 28 counties of Alabama. It is the metropolitan seat of the Province of Mobile, which includes the suffragan bishopric sees of the Diocese of Biloxi, the Diocese of Jackson, and the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama...
. The private Catholic institutions include
McGill-Toolen Catholic High SchoolMcGill-Toolen Catholic High School, located in Mobile, Alabama, is a private co-educational high school operated by the educational system of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile.-History:...
(1896), Corpus Christi School, Little Flower Catholic School (1934), Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic School (1900), Saint Dominic School (1961), Saint Ignatius School (1952), Saint Mary Catholic School (1867), Saint Pius X Catholic School (1957), and Saint Vincent DePaul Catholic School (1976). The private Protestant institutions include
St. Paul's Episcopal SchoolSt. Paul's Episcopal School is an independent, religious, co-educational preparatory school in Mobile, Alabama.- History :St. Paul's Episcopal School was founded in 1947 with one section of twenty kindergarten students. William S. Mann, former Rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, nurtured the...
(1947), Mobile Christian School (1961), St. Lukes Episcopal School (1961), Cottage Hill Baptist School System (1961),
Faith AcademyFaith Academy is a private, Christian school in Mobile, Alabama. It describes itself as non-denominational and boasts 1900 students in K-12th grade. The school opened as a small offshoot of a church in 1969. In the 2005-2006 school year, Faith Academy received the Blue Ribbon award from the AISA...
(1967), and Trinity Lutheran School (1955).
UMS-Wright Preparatory School- History :The UMS-Wright Preparatory School has its foundation in the life of one man—Julius Tutwiler Wright. His goal was an education for the whole person-mental, moral, and physical-intensively tailored to the needs of the individual student. His goal remains central today to the educational...
(1893) is an independent, non-religious, co-educational
preparatory schoolA university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
.
Tertiary
Major colleges and universities in Mobile that are accredited by the
Southern Association of Colleges and SchoolsThe Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is one of the six regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation...
include the University of South Alabama, Spring Hill College, the University of Mobile, Bishop State Community College, and Faulkner University.
The
University of South AlabamaThe University of South Alabama is a public, doctoral-level university in Mobile, Alabama, USA. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. No other areas of the state were willing to support such a...
is a public, doctoral-level university established in 1963. The university is composed of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Mitchell College of Business, the College of Education, the College of Engineering, the College of Medicine, the Doctor of Pharmacy Program, the College of Nursing, the School of Computer and Information Sciences, and the School of Continuing Education and Special Programs.
Bishop State Community CollegeBishop State Community College, founded 1927, is a state-supported, two-year, public, historically black college located in Mobile, Alabama U.S.A.- History :...
, founded in 1927, is a public,
historically African AmericanHistorically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community....
,
community collegeIn the United States, community colleges are primarily two-year public institutions of higher education and were once commonly called junior colleges....
. Bishop State has four campuses in Mobile and offers a wide array of associate degrees.
Faulkner UniversityFaulkner University is a private Christian university, located in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, and affiliated with the Church of Christ. The University was founded in 1942 as Montgomery Bible School. In 1953 the school's name was changed to Alabama Christian College . In 1965, the college was moved to...
is a four-year private
Church of ChristChurches of Christ are autonomous Christian congregations associated with one another through common beliefs and practices. They seek to base doctrine and practice on the Bible alone, and seek to be New Testament congregations as originally established by the authority of Christ. Historically,...
-affiliated university based in
Montgomery, AlabamaMontgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
. The Mobile campus was established in 1975 and offers bachelor's degrees in Business Administration, Management of Human Resources, and Criminal Justice. It also offers associate degrees in Business Administration, Business Information Systems, Computer & Information Science, Criminal Justice, Informatics, Legal Studies, Arts, and Science.
Spring Hill CollegeSpring Hill College is a private, Roman Catholic Jesuit liberal arts college in the United States. It was founded in 1830 on the Gulf Coast in Mobile, Alabama, by Most Rev. Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile, Alabama...
, chartered in 1830, was the first Catholic college in the southeastern U.S. and is the third oldest
JesuitThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
college in the country. This four-year private college offers graduate programs in Business Administration, Education, Liberal Arts, Nursing (MSN), and Theological Studies. Undergraduate divisions and programs include the Division of Business, the Communications/Arts Division, International Studies, Inter-divisional Studies, the Language and Literature Division, Nursing (BSN), Philosophy and Theology, Political Science, the Sciences Division, the Social Sciences Division, and the Teacher Education Division.
The
University of MobileThe University of Mobile is an American four-year, private, Baptist-affiliated university in Mobile, Alabama. The master's-level university has an enrollment of 1,577.-History:...
is a four-year private Baptist-affiliated university that was founded in 1961. It consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Christian Studies, School of Education, the School of Leadership Development, and the School of Nursing.
Several other post-secondary institutions have a campus in Mobile, including the Alabama Institute Of Real Estate, American Academy Of Hypnosis, Bealle School Of Real Estate, Charles Academy Of Beauty Culture,
Fortis CollegeFortis College is a private post-secondary, for-profit institution that was established in 1969 and is operated by Education Affiliates. It was formerly Bohecker College, a sister school to the Centerville, Ohio Rets Technical Institute...
,
ITT Technical InstituteITT Technical Institute is a for-profit technical institute with over 130 campuses in 38 states of the United States. ITT Tech is owned and operated by ITT Educational Services, Inc. , a publicly traded company headquartered in Carmel, Indiana. ITT Educational Services, Inc...
,
Remington CollegeRemington College is an affiliated group of privately owned non-profit post-secondary educational institutions. Remington Colleges, Inc. operates 20 campuses in several US states. Some of the affiliated institutions have been in operation since the 1940s. It is a for-profit college...
and White And Sons Barber College.
Healthcare
Mobile serves the central Gulf Coast as a regional center for medicine. The city is served by over 850 physicians and 175 dentists. There are four major medical centers within the city limits: Mobile Infirmary Medical Center with 704 beds, Springhill Medical Center with 252 beds,
Providence HospitalProvidence Hospital is a 349-bed high-rise hospital in the U.S. city of Mobile, Alabama. The hospital tower was completed in 1987. The building sits at the center of a campus, it rises approximately and 11 stories...
with 349 beds, and the University of South Alabama Medical Center with 346 beds and a level I trauma center. Additionally, the University of South Alabama also operates USA Children's & Women's Hospital with 219 beds, dedicated exclusively to the care of children and women, and Mobile Infirmary Medical Center operates Infirmary West with 100 acute care beds. In 2008, the University of South Alabama opened the USA Mitchell Cancer Center Institute. The center is home to the first academic cancer research center in the Gulf Coast region. BayPointe Hospital and Children's Residential Services is a 94-bed psychiatric hospital that houses a residential unit for children, an acute unit for children and adolescents, and an involuntary hospital unit for adults undergoing evaluation ordered by the Mobile Probate Court. The city has a broad array of outpatient surgical centers, emergency clinics, home health care services, assisted-living facilities and
skilled nursing facilitiesA nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
.
Economy
Aerospace, steel, ship building, retail, services, construction, medicine, and manufacturing are Mobile's major industries. After experiencing economic decline for several decades, Mobile's economy began to rebound in the late 1980s. Between 1993 and 2003 13,983 new jobs were created as 87 new companies were founded and 399 existing companies were expanded. 1,700 new jobs were created from February 2003 to February 2004. Following the global economic downturn, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated Mobile's unemployment rate at 7.8% in January 2009.
Economic expansion
Mobile's
Alabama State DocksThe Port of Mobile, located in Mobile, Alabama, United States, is the only deep-water port in the state, and was the 9th largest by tonnage in the nation in 2008. It is located along the Mobile River where it empties into Mobile Bay...
underwent the largest expansion in its history by expanding its container processing and storage facility and increasing container storage at the docks by over 1,000% at a cost of over $300 million, thus positioning Mobile for rapid container processing growth. As of 2008, the Port of Mobile was the 9th largest by tonnage in the United States.
In 2005
Austal USAAustal USA is the American branch of operations for Australia-based shipbuilder Austal. The facility is based in Mobile, Alabama and employs more than 1000 workers with expansions currently underway.-History:...
, based in Mobile, expanded their production facility for US defense and commercial aluminium shipbuilding. Austal announced in November 2010 upon winning another multi billion dollar defense contract it will yet again expand its facilities in downtown, adding over 2,200 jobs.
Brookley Complex
The Brookley Complex, also known as the Mobile Downtown Airport, is an industrial complex and airport located 3 miles (5 km) south of the central business district of the city. It is currently the largest industrial and transportation complex in the region with over 100 companies, many of which are
aerospaceAerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
, and 4000 employees on 1700 acre (688 ha). Brookley includes the largest private employer in Mobile County,
Mobile Aerospace EngineeringST Mobile Aerospace Engineering provides commercial aircraft maintenance to the North and South American aerospace markets. It is located within the Brookley Complex in Mobile, Alabama and is the largest employer in Mobile County, Alabama. The work force includes technical, engineering and...
, a subsidiary of
Singapore Technologies EngineeringST Engineering Ltd is an integrated engineering group providing solutions and services in the aerospace, electronics, land systems and marine sectors. Headquartered in Singapore, the group reported revenues of $5.05b in FY2007. With a market capitalisation of about $10b, it ranks among the...
.
Air
Local airline passengers are served by the
Mobile Regional AirportMobile Regional Airport is a joint public and military use airport located 11 nautical miles west of the central business district of Mobile, a city in Mobile County, Alabama, United States. It is also near Pascagoula, Mississippi....
, with direct connections to five major hub airports:
CharlotteCharlotte Douglas International Airport is a joint civil-military public international airport located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Established in 1935 as Charlotte Municipal Airport, in 1954 the airport was renamed Douglas Municipal Airport after former Charlotte mayor Ben Elbert Douglas, Sr...
,
DallasDallas/Fort Worth International Airport is located between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, and is the busiest airport in the U.S. state of Texas...
,
AtlantaHartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , known locally as Atlanta Airport, Hartsfield Airport, and Hartsfield–Jackson, is located seven miles south of the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States...
,
HoustonGeorge Bush Intercontinental Airport, is a Class B international airport in Houston, Texas, serving the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Located north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and U.S. Highway 59...
, and
MemphisMemphis International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located three miles south of the central business district of Memphis, a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States....
. It is served by
American Eagle AirlinesAmerican Eagle Airlines is a brand name used by American Eagle Airlines, Inc. , based in Fort Worth, Texas, and Executive Airlines based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the operation of passenger air service as regional affiliates of American Airlines. All three airlines are wholly owned subsidiaries...
(with service to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport),
Continental ExpressContinental Express is the operating brand name used by a number of independently owned regional airlines providing regional jet feeder service under agreement with Continental Airlines...
(with service to George Bush Intercontinental Airport),
Delta ConnectionDelta Connection is the name under which a number of individually owned regional airlines and one wholly owned regional carrier operate short and medium haul routes in association with Delta Air Lines Inc...
(with service to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and Memphis International Airport), and
US Airways ExpressUS Airways Express is an airline brand name, rather than a fully certified airline, and as such, the US Airways Express name is used by several individually owned airlines or airline holding companies which provide regional airline and commuter service for US Airways.Operations are conducted from...
(with service to Charlotte/Douglas International Airport). The
Mobile Downtown AirportMobile Downtown Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles south of the central business district of Mobile, a city in Mobile County, Alabama, United States. It is also known as Brookley Field. The airport is part of the Brookley Complex, an industrial complex which lies on the...
serves corporate, cargo and private cargo aircraft.
Rail
Mobile is served by four
Class I railroadA Class I railroad in the United States and Mexico, or a Class I rail carrier in Canada, is a large freight railroad company, as classified based on operating revenue.Smaller railroads are classified as Class II and Class III...
s, including the
Canadian National RailwayThe Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
(CNR),
CSX TransportationCSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
(CSX), the
Kansas City Southern RailwayThe Kansas City Southern Railway , owned by Kansas City Southern Industries, is the smallest and second-oldest Class I railroad company still in operation. KCS was founded in 1887 and is currently operating in a region consisting of ten central U.S. states...
(KCS), and the
Norfolk Southern RailwayThe Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...
(NS). The
Alabama and Gulf Coast RailwayThe Alabama and Gulf Coast Railway is one of several Class III short-line railroad companies owned by RailAmerica, Inc. It operates of track from the Pensacola, Florida export terminals, west of downtown, north to Columbus, Mississippi, with trackage rights along BNSF Railway to Amory, Mississippi...
, a
Class III railroadA Class III railroad, as defined by the Surface Transportation Board, is a railroad with an annual operating revenue of less than $20 million . The term only applies to United States railroads, but is sometimes applied to other countries...
, links Mobile to the
Burlington Northern and Santa Fe RailwayThe BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...
at
Amory, MississippiAmory is a city in Monroe County, Mississippi, United States. The population is 6,956 as of the 2000 census.-History:Amory was the first planned city in Mississippi. The Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham Railroad needed a mid-point between Memphis, Tennessee and Birmingham, Alabama for their...
. These converge at the Port of Mobile, which provides
intermodal freight transportIntermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation , without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The method reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damages and...
service to companies engaged in importing and exporting. Other railroads include the Terminal Railway of Alabama State Docks (TASD), a
switching railroadA switching and terminal railroad is a freight railroad company whose primary purpose is to perform local switching services or to own and operate a terminal facility. Switching is a type of operation done within the limits of a yard...
, and the
CG RailwayThe CG Railway is a terminal railroad as reported by the Association of American Railroads. The CGR is headquartered in Mobile, Alabama and is owned and operated by the International Shipholding Corporation. The railroad operates an approximate train ferry between the Port of Mobile at Mobile,...
, a rail ship service to
CoatzacoalcosCoatzacoalcos is a major port city in the southern part of the Mexican state of Veracruz, on the Coatzacoalcos River. Coatzacoalcos comes from an indigenous word meaning "Site of the Snake" or "Where the snake hides"...
,
VeracruzVeracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
. The city was served by
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
's
Sunset LimitedThe Sunset Limited is a passenger train that for most of its history has run between New Orleans, Louisiana and Los Angeles, California, and that from early 1993 through late August 2005 also ran east of New Orleans to Jacksonville, Florida, making it during that time the only true transcontinental...
passenger train service until 2005, when the service was suspended because of the effects of
Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. There are plans for the service to be resumed.
Roadways
Two major interstate highways and a spur converge in Mobile.
Interstate 10Interstate 10 is the fourth-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90, I-80, and I-40. It is the southernmost east–west, coast-to-coast Interstate Highway, although I-4 and I-8 are further south. It stretches from the Pacific Ocean at State Route 1 in Santa Monica,...
runs northeast to southwest across the city while
Interstate 65Interstate 65 is a major Interstate Highway in the United States. The southern terminus is located at an intersection with Interstate 10 in Mobile, Alabama, and its northern terminus is at an interchange with Interstate 90 , U.S. Route 12, and U.S...
starts in Mobile at Interstate 10 and runs north. Interstate 165 connects to Interstate 65 north of the city in
PrichardPrichard is a city in Mobile County, Alabama, in the United States.Prichard borders the north side of Mobile, as well as the Mobile suburbs of Chickasaw, Alabama, Saraland, Alabama, and the unincorporated sections of Eight Mile, Alabama. As of 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the...
and joins Interstate 10 in downtown Mobile. Mobile is well served by many major highway systems. United States Highways US 31, US 43, US 45, US 90 and US 98 radiate from Mobile traveling east, west, and north. Mobile has three routes east across the Mobile River and Mobile Bay into neighboring
Baldwin County, Alabama-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*85.7% White*9.4% Black*0.7% Native American*0.7% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.5% Two or more races*4.4% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
. Interstate 10 leaves downtown through the
George Wallace TunnelThe George Wallace Tunnel is a tunnel along Interstate 10 in Mobile, Alabama that crosses beneath the Mobile River.It, like the smaller Bankhead Tunnel a few blocks upriver from it, was constructed in Mobile at the shipyards of the Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company from 1969-1973...
under the river and then over the bay across the
Jubilee ParkwayThe Jubilee Parkway is a pair of parallel concrete viaduct bridges that carry Interstate 10 across Mobile Bay from the George Wallace Tunnel in Mobile, Alabama eastbound to Spanish Fort/Daphne, Alabama. The bridges are similar in design to the I-10 Twin Span Bridge near New Orleans, Louisiana. Each...
to
Spanish FortSpanish Fort is a suburb of Mobile, Alabama in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, located on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. The 2000 census lists the population of the city as 5,423. It is part of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley micropolitan area....
/
DaphneDaphne is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, on the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay. The city is located along I-10, 11 miles east of Mobile and 150 miles southwest of the state capital of Montgomery. The United States Census 2000 lists the population of the city as 16,581 making...
. US 98 leaves downtown through the
Bankhead TunnelThe Bankhead Tunnel is a tunnel in Mobile, Alabama that begins on Government Street in downtown Mobile, travels eastbound under the Mobile River, and emerges to join the Battleship Parkway....
under the river onto Blakeley Island and then over the bay across the
Battleship ParkwayBattleship Parkway, commonly referred to locally and in the media as the "Causeway", is an elevated long causeway that carries US 90 and US 98 eastbound across Mobile Bay from the Bankhead Tunnel in Mobile, Alabama to Spanish Fort, Alabama. The roadway itself is a four-lane divided highway for...
into Spanish Fort, Alabama. US 90 travels over the Cochrane–Africatown USA Bridge to the north of downtown onto Blakeley Island where it becomes co-routed with US 98.
Mobile's public transportation is the Wave Transit System which features buses with 18 fixed routes and neighborhood service. Baylinc is a public transportation bus service provided by the Baldwin Rural Transit System in cooperation with the Wave Transit System that provides service between eastern
Baldwin County-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*85.7% White*9.4% Black*0.7% Native American*0.7% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.5% Two or more races*4.4% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
and downtown Mobile. Baylinc operates Monday through Friday.
Greyhound LinesGreyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
provides intercity bus service between Mobile and many locations throughout the United States. Mobile is served by several taxi and limousine services.
Water
The
Port of MobileThe Port of Mobile, located in Mobile, Alabama, United States, is the only deep-water port in the state, and was the 9th largest by tonnage in the nation in 2008. It is located along the Mobile River where it empties into Mobile Bay...
has public, deepwater terminals with direct access to 1500 miles (2,414 km) of inland and intracoastal waterways serving the
Great LakesThe Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
, the
OhioThe Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
and
TennesseeThe Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...
river valleys (via the
Tennessee-Tombigbee WaterwayThe Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway is a 234-mile man-made, artificial waterway that extends from the Tennessee River to the junction of the Black Warrior-Tombigbee River system near Demopolis, Alabama, United States. The Tenneessee-Tombigbee Waterway links commercial navigation from the nation’s...
), and the
Gulf of MexicoThe Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. The Alabama State Port Authority owns and operates the public terminals at the Port of Mobile. The public terminals handle
containerizedContainerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...
, bulk, breakbulk, roll-on/roll-off, and heavy-lift cargoes. The port is also home to private bulk terminal operators, as well as a number of highly specialized shipbuilding and repair companies with two of the largest floating dry docks on the Gulf Coast.
The city is currently home port for
Carnival Cruise LinesCarnival Cruise Lines is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Doral, Florida, a suburb of Miami in the United States. Originally an independent company founded in 1972 by Ted Arison, the company is now one of eleven cruise ship brands owned and operated by Carnival Corporation & plc...
'
Carnival Elation cruise shipA cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
, which sails on four, five, and seven day itineraries to the Western Caribbean from the Alabama Cruise Terminal on Water Street. The first cruise ship to call the port home was the
HolidayMS Grand Holiday is a Holiday class cruise ship, formerly owned by Carnival Cruise Lines. In April, 2010, she underwent dry dock refurbishment and was then transferred to the Ibero Cruises fleet...
, which left the city in November 2009 so that a larger and newer ship could take its place. The Carnival Fantasy operated from Mobile from then until the Carnival Elation arrived in May 2010.
In early 2011, Carnival announced that despite fully booked cruises the company will cease operations from the Port of Mobile in October 2011.
Austal USAAustal USA is the American branch of operations for Australia-based shipbuilder Austal. The facility is based in Mobile, Alabama and employs more than 1000 workers with expansions currently underway.-History:...
operates a shipyard on the Mobile River and launched in 2008.
Print
Mobile's
Press-RegisterThe Press-Register is a daily newspaper serving the southwest Alabama counties of Mobile and Baldwin. The newspaper is a descendant of one founded in 1813, making the Press-Register Alabama's oldest newspaper...
is Alabama's oldest active newspaper, dating back to 1813. The paper focuses on
MobileMobile County[p] is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. Its name is in honor of a tribe of Indians, the Maubila tribe . As of 2011, its population was 415,704. Its county seat is Mobile, Alabama...
and
Baldwin-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*85.7% White*9.4% Black*0.7% Native American*0.7% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.5% Two or more races*4.4% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
counties and the city of Mobile, but also serves southwestern Alabama and southeastern Mississippi. Mobile's alternative newspaper is the
Lagniappe. The Mobile area's local magazine is
Mobile Bay Monthly. The
Mobile Beacon is an alternative focusing on the African-American communities of Mobile.
Mod Mobilian is a website with a focus on cultured-living in Mobile.
Television
Mobile is served locally by four television stations:
WPMI 15WPMI is the NBC-affiliated television station for South Alabama and much of the Emerald Coast of Florida. Licensed to Mobile, the station broadcasts on digital UHF channel 15. WPMI's transmitter is located near Robertsdale. The station is owned by Newport Television, LLC as part of a duopoly with...
(
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
), WKRG 5 (
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
),
WALA 10Wala can refer to:Places* Wala , a small island in Vanuatu, and a popular destination for cruise ships*Wala , a volcano in Papua New GuineaPeople*Wala of Corbie , an advisor to the Frankish kings including Charlemagne...
(
FoxFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
), and WFNA 55 (
CWThe CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
). The regional area is also served by
WEAR 3WEAR is the ABC affiliated television station for the Mobile, Alabama/Pensacola, Florida viewing area. It is licensed to Pensacola and is one of two major commercial stations in the market that is licensed on the Florida side of the market, the other being sister station WFGX, a MyNetworkTV affiliate...
(
ABCThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
) and
WJTC 44WJTC is an independent television station in Mobile, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida and is owned by Newport Television, LLC, which also owns WPMI in Mobile. WJTC's transmitter is located in Robertsdale, Alabama.-History:...
, an independent station. They are both based in
Pensacola, FloridaPensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
. Mobile is included in the Mobile –
PensacolaPensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
–
Fort Walton BeachFort Walton Beach is a city in southern Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. As of 2005, the population estimate for Fort Walton Beach was 19,992, and as of 2010, the population estimate for Fort Walton Beach is 19,507 recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau...
designated market area, as defined by
Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
, and is ranked 61st in the United States for the 2007–08 television season.
Radio
Fourteen
FMFM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
radio stations transmit from Mobile:
WABB-FMWABB-FM is a radio station broadcasting a Top 40 format serving the Mobile, Alabama area, with coverage in the Pensacola, Florida, area. It first began broadcasting in 1973...
,
WAVH,
WBHY
, WBLX, WDLT,
WHILWHIL-FM , is an NPR-affiliated radio station in Mobile, Alabama. It primarily features classical music and news and talk programming. WHIL-FM's signal travels in about a 45-mile radius from Mobile--serving the extreme southern tip of Alabama along the state's portion of the Gulf Coast , as well as...
,
WKSJWKSJ-FM is a radio station licensed to serve Mobile, Alabama, USA. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications and the broadcast license is held by CC Licenses, LLC....
, WKSJ-HD2,
WMXCWMXC is a radio station licensed to serve Mobile, Alabama, USA. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications and the broadcast license is held by CC Licenses, LLC....
,
WMXCWMXC is a radio station licensed to serve Mobile, Alabama, USA. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications and the broadcast license is held by CC Licenses, LLC....
-HD2,
WQUAWQUA is a radio station broadcasting a Religious format. Licensed to Citronelle, Alabama, USA. The station is currently owned by Family Worship Center Church, Inc.....
,
WRKHWRKH is the call sign for the Mobile, Alabama classic rock formatted radio station known as "96.1 The Rocket". The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications.-Programming:...
,
WRKHWRKH is the call sign for the Mobile, Alabama classic rock formatted radio station known as "96.1 The Rocket". The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications.-Programming:...
-HD2, and
WZEWWZEW is a radio station broadcasting an Album Adult Alternative format. Licensed to Fairhope, Alabama, USA, the station serves the Mobile metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Dot Com Plus, LLC and features programming from Westwood One....
. Nine
AMAM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
radio stations transmit from Mobile:
WABBWABB is a radio station broadcasting a news and talk radio format serving the Mobile, Alabama, metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Dittman Broadcasting.-History:...
,
WBHYWBHY is a radio station broadcasting a Christian radio format. Licensed to Mobile, Alabama, USA, the station serves the greater Mobile area. The station is currently owned by Goforth Media, Inc...
,
WGOKWGOK , "Gospel 900") is a radio station serving the Mobile, Alabama, area with a Gospel music format. The station is under ownership of Cumulus Media.-History:...
,
WIJDWIJD is a radio station licensed to the community of Prichard, Alabama, USA, and serves the greater Mobile, Alabama, area. The station is owned by Wilkins Communications Network Inc. and the license is held by the Mobile Bay Corporation...
, WLPR,
WMOBWMOB is a radio station licensed to serve Mobile, Alabama, USA. The station, founded in 1961 as WLIQ, is owned by Buddy Tucker Association, Inc.WMOB broadcasts a religious format to the Mobile metropolitan area...
, WNGL, WNTM, and
WXQWWXQW is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Fairhope, Alabama. The station, established in 1964, is currently owned by Cumulus Media and the broadcast license is held by Cumulus Licensing LLC.-Programming:...
. The content ranges from Christian Contemporary to
Hip hopHip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
to Top 40.
ArbitronArbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
ranks Mobile's radio market as 93rd in the United States as of autumn 2007.
Sports
Mobile is the home of Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The
footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
stadium opened in 1948. With a current capacity of 40,646, Ladd-Peebles Stadium is the 4th largest stadium in the state. Ladd-Peebles Stadium has been home to the
Senior BowlThe Senior Bowl is a post-season college football exhibition game played in Mobile, Alabama which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those collegiate players who have completed their eligibility. First played in 1950 in Jacksonville, Florida, the game moved to Mobile's Ladd Peebles Stadium...
since 1951, featuring the best college seniors in
NCAAThe National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
football. The GoDaddy.com Bowl formerly the GMAC Bowl has been played since 1999 featuring opponents from the
Mid-American ConferenceThe Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
and
Conference USAConference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
. Since 1988, Ladd-Peebles Stadium has hosted the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic. The top graduating high school seniors from their respective states compete each June.
Ladd Stadium also hosts home games for the
University of South AlabamaThe University of South Alabama is a public, doctoral-level university in Mobile, Alabama, USA. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. No other areas of the state were willing to support such a...
football, which went undefeated in its 2009 inaugural season. The football program will move to Division I/FBS in 2013 as a member of the
Sun Belt ConferenceThe Sun Belt Conference is a college athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of Division I football competition . The Sun Belt has member institutions...
. South Alabama basketball is a respected mid-major, regularly competing for the Sun Belt Conference championship. South Alabama baseball also has a proud tradition, producing professional stars such as Luis Gonzalez,
Juan PierreJuan D'Vaughn Pierre is an outfielder in Major League Baseball who is currently a free agent. He bats and throws left-handed....
,
Jon LieberJonathan Ray Lieber is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates , Chicago Cubs , New York Yankees , Philadelphia Phillies . He batted left-handed and threw right-handed...
, and
Adam LindAdam Alan Lind is an American professional baseball first baseman with the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball. He was drafted in the third round of the Major League Baseball amateur draft and was signed on June 30, 2004. He was first drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the eighth round of...
.
The public Mobile Tennis Center includes over 50 courts, all lighted and hard-court.
For golfers, Magnolia Grove, part of the
Robert Trent Jones Golf TrailThe Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail is a collection of championship caliber golf courses, designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., distributed across the state of Alabama, as part of investments by the Retirement Systems of Alabama. The Trail started with 378 holes at eight sites throughout the state,...
, has 36 holes. The Falls course was recently named the best par 3 course in America. Since 1999, the
LPGAThe LPGA, in full the Ladies Professional Golf Association, is an American organization for female professional golfers. The organization, whose headquarters is in Daytona Beach, Florida, is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from...
Tournament of Champions has been played annually at Magnolia Grove. The Crossings course is home of this tournament. Beginning in 2008, the
Bell Micro LPGA ClassicThe Avnet LPGA Classic is a women's progessional golf tournament on the LPGA Tour. The event is played in Mobile, Alabama, USA.The inaugural event was played from September 11 through 14, 2008, at the Magnolia Grove location on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, with total prize money of $1.4...
will also be held in Mobile. Mobile is also home to the
Azalea Trail RunThe Azalea Trail Run is an annual road running event held in late March in Mobile, Alabama which is considered one of the United States' premier road races. Runners, walkers, and wheelchair athletes from around the world and at all levels turn out for the event...
, which races through historic midtown and downtown Mobile. This 10k run has been an annual event since 1978. The Azalea Trail Run is one of the premier 10k road races in the U.S., attracting runners from all over the world.
Mobile's
Hank Aaron StadiumHank Aaron Stadium is a baseball park in Mobile, Alabama. It hosts the Mobile BayBears, a minor-league professional team in the Southern League. The stadium opened in 1997 and has a capacity of 6,000. The ballpark was named after Major League Baseball's home run king and Mobile native Hank Aaron...
is the home of the
Mobile BayBearsThe Mobile BayBears are a minor league baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks major league club. The BayBears play in Hank Aaron Stadium, named after baseball's former all-time home...
minor league baseballMinor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
team. As of December 2007, Mobile's University of South Alabama approved a NCAA Football program to be played at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
On June 8, 2010, the
American Basketball AssociationThe American Basketball Association, often abbreviated as ABA, is a semi-professional men's basketball league that was founded in 1999. The current ABA has no affiliation with the original American Basketball Association that merged with the National Basketball Association in 1976...
announced that a team would be starting in the Mobile Area. The team will be named the
Mobile Bay HurricanesThe Mobile Bay Hurricanes are a franchise of the American Basketball Association based in Mobile, Alabama that will debut in the 2010-2011 season. Former NBA star Jason Caffey was named head coach for the team but was relieved of his duties and was replaced by Aaron Tucker 6 games into the 2010-11...
and will play its home games on the campus of
Davidson High SchoolW. P. Davidson High School is a four-year senior high school located in Mobile, Alabama. Its first class graduated in 1963. The school operates in the Mobile County Public School System...
. Also in 2010, the
Southern Indoor Football LeagueThe Southern Indoor Football League was an indoor football league based in the Southern and Eastern United States. The most recent incarnation of the league was a consolidation of an earlier league of the same name that was formed by Thom Hager along with Dan Blum, Robert Winfrey and Dan Ryan in...
announced that a team would be formed in the Mobile Area. The team will be called the Mobile Bay Tarpons and will play its home games at the
Mitchell CenterMitchell Center is a 10,041-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. It was completed in 1998 and is the home court for University of South Alabama Jaguars basketball teams...
.
Sister cities
Mobile has registered sister city arrangements with the following cities:
Additionally, it has pending sister city arrangements with:
LiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, United Kingdom Bursa, Turkey
Former sister cities:
See also
External links