Journal & Topics Media Group

MADE IN MOBILE

City Takes Pride In Battleships, Mardi Gras, Revitalization

Plunging into Mobile Bay, our tour of Mobile, Alabama, began with a big splash and a watery spray on a Gulf Coast Ducks boat.

Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) for U.S. Navy docked at Austal, shipbuilder and defense prime contractor.

A fun start, we were rewarded with an entertaining excursion and a great view of nearby Battleship Park, downtown Mobile and the warships in various stages of construction by Austal. The warships docked at Austal are LCS (Littoral Combat Ships), which are relatively small-surface vessels intended for operations in the littoral (close-to-shore) zone by the U.S. Navy.

Austal is a global shipbuilder and defense prime contractor with its United States operation located on the bay. In 2009, Austal employed over 800 engineers, designers, production and support staff. They now employ over 4,000.

Most people think Mardi Gras and New Orleans go hand-in-hand as “the” place to experience this festival. Don’t tell this to a Mobile native, because Mardi Gras actually began in 1703 when French pioneers brought the festival to the New World at Twenty-Seven Mile Bluff, the first settlement of Mobile. At one time, the city was called the Paris of the South.

Preparations for this historical event begin months in advance. Galas abound from Thanksgiving through Fat Tuesday. There are fabulous balls, a king and queen are crowned, young men spend hundreds of dollars on their “throws,” which are the beads, Moon Pies and other trinkets bought from “Throw Houses.” A height restriction exists on floats, but trees still must be trimmed and traffic lights raised for the parade. Floats tell a story based on a theme.

Elegantly-beaded train worn in a past Mardi Gras parade in Mobile.

Mardi Gras Carnival Museum is a must see to view the amazing costumes worn in past Mardi Gras parades. You will no doubt gasp in amazement at the very weighty jewel laden trains (all made by hand…no sewing machines) and crowns worn by past kings and queens of the fest.

Mardi Gras is a mega industry for this Alabama city bringing an economic windfall every year of a quarter-billion dollars.

Developers in Mobile are adapting old churches, part of a national trend, into restaurants, theaters and concert venues. Cliff Inge was from Mobile and wanted to become part of the Mobile downtown revitalization project. In 1996, his wife, Ginna Inge, came to the city and saw St. Francis Street Methodist Church which, she said, was run down and scary. The old church is now beautifully restored as a concert/party venue with soulful acoustics you can only hear in a 120-year-old church. It can hold 500-700 people depending on standing/sitting. In 1984, St. Francis Street Methodist joined the National Register of Historic Places, but its doors would close 10 years later as the city’s population shifted west. The once beautiful space became place of refuge for the homeless. Revitalization arrived in 2015 with the Inges who transformed it into the elegantly beautiful venue it is today. It is now called The Steeple on St. Francis.

Battleship Memorial Park is home to the USS Alabama, known as “Lucky A” because she didn’t lose a single American life to enemy fire during World War II. Destined to be scrapped in the 1960s, a battleship commission was formed and money raised throughout the state including school children’s donations amounting to $800,000 (in 1964 a lot of money). The USS Alabama was towed from Bremerton, WA, down the West Coast making her way into Mobile Bay on Sept. 14, 1964. Exhibits at Battleship Memorial Park tell stories of heroism and honors all veterans of all wars. A grove of trees is planted at the park in the shape of Alabama.

Lobby of GulfQuest, National Maritime Museum of the Gulf Coast.

Gulf Quest, the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico is also a must see. An interactive maritime museum with five decks is built as a container ship headed out to sea. The exhibits are incredible on this full-size container ship. The Helm Theater is a simulator identical to those used to train professional boat pilots. A fascinating and fun experience you might get the chance to navigate vessels around the Port of Mobile and Mobile Bay based on models of real downtown Mobile and Mobile Bay. Another educational exhibit is the centerpiece of the Grand Lobby at the museum. It’s an interactive map of the Gulf of Mexico, “America’s Sea”, which takes you on a journey around the Gulf pointing out many geographic locations to explore.

Art begins at the entrance to Mobile Museum of Art with its impressive floor to ceiling windows looking out on a beautiful water view at Langan Park. Celebrating 200 years of Alabama history dedicated to Alabama’s Bicentennial featuring William Christenberry, the late artist’s work is “everything” about Alabama, his native state.

An exhibition called “Mobile Delta: Glass & Light by Rene Culler” features glass art pieces depicting species found in the rich delta.

Sunset on a pontoon delta safari was a welcome relaxing time on board the Osprey after our tour of 5 Rivers Delta Center. Manager Hank Burch of Alabama’s 5 Rivers Delta Research Center said its mission is to be a gateway to the five rivers to teach and support the Delta.

Fishermen enjoying the peaceful serenity of the Lower Delta.

Our guide on the pontoon, Chris Wiber, was very knowledgeable and fun to listen to as we navigated the Lower Delta. Gliding along on the Mobile-Tensaw Delta we learned this Delta is the second largest in the Continental United States where the Mobile, Spanish, Tensaw, Apalachee and Blakely Rivers flow into Mobile Bay.

The Mobile area has a wealth of interesting things to see and do so. Check out these websites:

www.mobilebay.org; www.gulfcoastducks.com; www.gulfquest.org; www.mobilecarnivalmuseum.com; www.mobilemuseumofart.com; www.thesteeplemobile.com; www.ussalabama.com;www.dcnr.state.al.us/outdooradventures/5rivers

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