About City of Mobile Alabama
Mobile is a city in the state of Alabama that also serves as the county seat for the Mobile County. It is the principal city in the Mobile Metropolitan region and is as well the biggest city in the Mobile – Daphne – Fairhope Combined Statistical region. This Alabama city has the distinction of being the sole saltwater port in the state, and is situated along the Mobile River, at the head of the Mobile Bay and the north-central part of the Gulf Coast.
The city of Mobile was founded in the year 1702 by the French who made it the capital of their colonial La Louisiane, also referred to as New France. Over its first one hundred years, Mobile was ruled by the French, Spanish and the English. It eventually became part of the United States in 1814. This occurred after President James Madison decided to annex it from the Spanish. The city of Mobile is widely regarded as one of the leading cultural hubs in the Gulf Coast region.
To this end, it is home to a number of renowned art museums, a symphony orchestra, a professional opera and a professional ballet company. Mobile as well has one of the biggest concentrations of historic architecture in the region. This Alabama city is also well noted for possessing the oldest organized carnival or Mardi Gras celebrations in the country. Its French colonists celebrated this festival from the early 1800s. Starting from 1830, the city of Mobile has hosted the very first formally organized carnival mystic society parade in the nation. Mobile acquired its name from the Mobile Amerindian tribe whom the French colonists found residing in the Mobile Bay region.
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The city of Mobile’s French and Spanish past have given it a culture, which integrates French, Spanish, Creole, African and catholic heritages. The yearly carnival celebrations is one of the finest instances of how distinctive this Alabama city really is when compared to other cities in the state. Mobile was the birthplace for the celebration of Mardi Gras in the country, and has the oldest celebration of this kind which dates back to the early 18th century. The carnival in the city of Mobile has grown substantially over the past 3 centuries. At first it was a sedate French catholic traditional, but it has since then evolved into a mainstream multi-week celebration that bridges a variety of cultures. The city of Mobile also has a very vibrant art scene.
As such, the Mobile Museum of Art is highly respected arts museum in the region. It boasts of permanent exhibits, which span a couple of centuries of art and culture. This Mobile museum’s permanent exhibits comprise of the African and Asian Collection Gallery, the Riddick Glass Gallery, the Katharine Cochrane Gallery of American Fine Arts, the Smith Crafts Gallery, the Maisel European Gallery and the Anne Hearin Gallery of Contemporary Art. There is as well the Center for the Living Arts that operates the historic Saenger Theatre and Space 301. The last of which is a contemporary art gallery.
The Saenger Theatre, on its part, was first opened in the 1920s, and initially served as a film palace. Nowadays, the Saenger Theatre is a leading performing arts center as well as a popular concert venue. It is also the home base for the Mobile Symphony Orchestra. The city of Mobile is as well home to the Mobile Civic Center that consists of 3 different facilities located under one roof. This includes an arena, a theater and an exposition hall. The Mobile Civic Center serves as the primary concert venue in this Alabama city. Mobile also boasts of the Arthur C Outlaw Convention Center, which hosts a wide range of events in the city. The Arthur C Outlaw Convention Center comes complete with an exhibit hall, a grand ballroom and a grand total of 16 meeting rooms.
The city of Mobile has as well hosted the Gulf State Fair ever since the year 1955. Not to mention the Bayfest that is a yearly 3-day music festival, which features over 125 live music acts held on multiple stages in the downtown area. Mobile also boasts of numerous museums.
To begin with, there is the Battleship Memorial Park is a military park, which is located on the shores of the Mobile Bay. The Battleship Memorial Park features the World War II battleship; the USS Alabama, the submarine USS Drum along with a Korean and Vietnam War Memorials. There is the History Museum of Mobile too that puts to show more than 300 years of the city’s history, and is housed in the historic Old City Hall. The city of Mobile also home to the Oakleigh History Complex, which comes complete with 3 house museums that interpret the lives of Mobile’s 19th century society. This includes the enslaved, the working class and the upper class. There is as well the Mobile Carnival Museum, which is devoted to showcase this Alabama city’s Mardi Gras history and memorabilia. The last of which comprise of floats, costumes and displays seen in the carnival season.
Mobile Museum of Art
Situated in Langan Park, the Mobile Museum of Art is the biggest of its kind in this region. It is highly renowned for housing a permanent collection of more than 10,000 artworks, which span for over 2000 years. The Mobile Museum of Art also showcases a variety of regional art exhibits and traveling exhibits that are rotated on a regular basis. The genres of works of art put on show art this city of Mobile museum include both historical and contemporary artworks from a range of different regions. Some of the most notable are European, African, Asian, Americas and the non-western regions.
GulfQuest National Maritime Museum of the Gulf Coast
This city of Mobile museum is dedicated to present the maritime heritage of the Gulf Coast region. Its planning started in the 1990s, when the state and local leaders began thinking of constructing a hands-on facility to educate visitors about the Gulf of Mexico. It was eventually constructed between 2010 and 2015, and now comes complete with exhibits, displays and even theaters. Some of the most popular of its exhibits include the America’s Sea, Tools of Trade to name just but a few. While some of its theaters are the Take the Helm Theatre and the Discovery Hull Theater.
History Museum of Mobile
The History Museum of Mobile is housed in the Old City Hall, which is national historic landmark. This city of Mobile museum explores the history and the heritage of the city including its life and times. Its construction was completed in 1857, and it integrated the Italianate style of architecture. The History Museum of Mobile is well noted for chronicling over 300 years of Mobile’s history. This is brought about by in depth permanent, temporary and special exhibits that are rotated on a periodic basis. Some of the most popular permanent exhibits of this museum include the Old Ways, New Days exhibit, which is a presentation that explores the colonization of this Alabama city to the present moment. There is also the Walls and Halls exhibit, which showcases antique silver, ancient artifacts, works of art and furniture.
USS Alabama
This is a historic 2nd Great War battleship that was converted into a museum ship, and is now listed in the register of National Historic Landmarks. During the war, the USS Alabama served on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It was eventually decommissioned in 1947, and opened as a museum ship in 1965. Visitors get to explore parts of the ship including the ant-aircraft guns, the powder magazine and the inside of the main gun turrets. The USS Alabama has also served as a hurricane shelter, most recently during the Hurricane Katrina.