Tallahassee, FL

Downtown Tallahassee From FAMU

Tallahassee (pronounced /ˌtæləˈhæsi/) is the capital of the State of Florida, USA, and the county seat of Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida in 1824. In 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 168,979, while the 2007 Tallahassee metropolitan area is estimated at 352,319.



Tallahassee is the home of Florida State University, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee Community College and branches of Barry University, and Flagler College. The Florida State University - Florida A&M University College of Engineering is a joint project of the two institutions from which its name is derived. Two technical schools are located in Tallahassee: Lively Technical Center and Keiser College - Tallahassee.

City Flag

Tallahassee is a regional center for trade and agriculture, and is served by Tallahassee Regional Airport. With one of the fastest growing manufacturing and high tech economies in Florida, its major private employers include a General Dynamics Land Systems manufacturing facility (military and combat applications), Elbit Systems of America, Tallahassee Operations (a military communications manufacturing firm owned by Elbit Systems, Ltd., in Israel) and the manufacturing headquarters for Danfoss Turbocor (a manufacturer of oil-free high efficiency compressors). It is also home for the Figg Engineering Group, a bridge engineering firm, the Municipal Code Corporation, which specializes in the publication of municipal and county legal references, and a number of national law firms, lobbying organizations, trade associations and professional associations, including The Florida Bar and the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

Nickname(s): Tally, Tallytown, The T-Bag
Motto: A City For All Seasons

History

The name "Tallahassee" is a Muskogean Indian word often translated as "old fields". This likely stems from the Creek (later called Seminole) Indians who migrated from Georgia and Alabama to this region in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Upon arrival, they found large areas of cleared land previously occupied by the Apalachee tribe. Earlier, the Mississippian Indians built mounds near Lake Jackson around A.D. 1200, which survive today in the Lake Jackson Archaeological State Park.

Call Mansion

The expedition of Panfilo de Narvaez encountered the Apalachees, although it did not reach the site of Tallahassee. Hernando de Soto and his expedition occupied the Apalachee town of Anhaica in the winter of 1538-1539. Based on archaeological excavations, this site is now known to be located about one-half mile east of the present Florida State Capitol. The DeSoto encampment is believed to be the first place Christmas was celebrated in the continental United States.

Street View

Goodwood Plantation

During the 1600s, several Spanish missions were established in the territory of the Apalachee to procure food and labor for the colony at St. Augustine. The largest of these, Mission San Luis de Apalachee, has been partially reconstructed by the state of Florida.

Florida State Capitol; old building in front with new high-rise behind.

From 1821 through 1845, the rough-hewn frontier capital gradually grew into a town during Florida's territorial period. The Marquis de Lafayette, French hero of the American Revolution, returned for a grand tour of the United States in 1824. The US Congress voted to give him $200,000 (the same amount he had given the colonies in 1778), US citizenship, and a plot of land that currently makes up a portion of Tallahassee. In 1845, a Greek revival masonry structure was erected as the Capitol building in time for statehood. Now known as the "old Capitol," it stands in front of the Capitol high rise building, which was constructed in the 1970s.

During the American Civil War, Tallahassee was the only Confederate state capital east of the Mississippi not captured by Union forces. A small engagement, the Battle of Natural Bridge, was fought south of the city on March 6, 1865.

Following the Civil War, much of Florida's industry moved to the south and east, a trend that continues today. The end of slavery hindered the cotton and tobacco trade, and the state's major industries shifted to citrus, lumber, naval stores, cattle ranching and tourism. The post-Civil War period was also when many former plantations in the Tallahassee area were purchased by wealthy northerners for use as winter hunting preserves. In 1899 the city reached -2 °F (-19 °C) (the only sub-zero Fahrenheit reading in Florida to date) during the Great Blizzard of 1899.

Until World War II, Tallahassee remained a small southern town, with virtually the entire population living within a mile of the Capitol. The main economic drivers were the universities and state government, where politicians met to discuss spending money on grand public improvement projects to accommodate growth in places such as Miami and Tampa Bay, hundreds of miles away from the capital. By the 1960s, there was a movement to transfer the capital to Orlando, closer geographically to the growing population centers of the state. That motion was defeated, however, and the 1970s saw a long-term commitment by the state to the capital city with construction of the new capitol complex and preservation of the old Florida State Capitol building.

Bank of Florida, Calhoun & Appalachia Parkway

In recent years, Tallahassee has seen an increase in growth, mainly in government and research services associated with the state, Florida State University, and Florida A&M University.

Geography and climate

Tallahassee is noted for its hilly terrain, and the state capitol is located on one of the highest hills in the city. The elevation varies from near sea level to just over 200 feet. The flora and fauna are more typical of those found in the mid-south and low country regions of South Carolina and North Carolina. Although some palm trees grow in the city, they are the more cold-hardy varieties like the state tree, the Sabal Palmetto. Pines, magnolias and a variety of oaks are the dominant trees. Of the latter, the Southern Live Oak is perhaps the most emblematic of the city.

Tallahassee City Hall

Tallahassee has a hot and humid subtropical climate, with long summers and mild, short winters. Summers in Tallahassee are hotter than in the Florida peninsula, and it is one of the few cities in the state to occasionally record temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 °C). The summer weather is characterized by brief intense showers and thunderstorms that form along the afternoon sea breeze from the Gulf of Mexico. The average summertime high temperature is 92 °F(32 °C). Conversely, the city is much cooler in the winter.

The Columns, Park & Adams Streets

In December and January, the average high temperature is 64 °F(18 °C) and the average low is 42°F (6°C). On occasion, temperatures fall into the 20s and 10s (below -1°C) at night, and temperatures in the single digits (below -12°C) have been recorded. Over the last 100 years, the city has also recorded several snowfalls; the heaviest was 2.8 inches on February 13, 1958. A white Christmas occurred in 1989, and the Great Blizzard of 1993 also brought significant snow and very high winds. Historically, the city usually records at least observed flurries every three to four years, but on average, measurable amounts of snow (1"/25 mm or more) occur only every 16 years. The natural snow line (regular yearly snowfalls) ends 200 miles (320 km) to the north at Macon, Georgia. In addition, the city averages 34 nights where the temperature falls below freezing. The coldest temperature in Florida history was recorded in the city around the Great Blizzard of 1899, when it dropped to -2°F or -19°C on February 13th.

Thomas Randall House, 434 North Calhoun Street

Although several hurricanes have brushed Tallahassee with their outer rain and wind bands, in recent years only Hurricane Kate, in 1985, has struck Tallahassee directly. The Big Bend area of North Florida sees several tornadoes each year during the season, but none have hit Tallahassee in living memory. In extreme heavy rains, some low-lying parts of Tallahassee may flood, notably the Franklin Boulevard area adjacent to the downtown and the Killearn Lakes subdivision (which is not within the city limits proper) on the north side.

Robert Butler House, 3502 Old Bainbridge Road,

Languages

As of 2000, 91.99% of residents spoke English as their first language, while 4.11% spoke Spanish, and 0.63% spoke French as their mother tongue. In total, 8.00% of the total population spoke languages other than English.

City accolades

1988: Money Magazine's Southeast's three top medium size cities in which to live.

1992: Awarded Tree City USA by National Arbor Day Foundation

1999: Awarded All-America City Award by the National Civic League

2003: Awarded Tree Line USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation.

2006: Awarded "Best In America" Parks and Recreation by the National Recreation and Park Association.

2007: Recognized by Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine as one of the "Top Ten College Towns for Grownups" (ranking second, behind Chapel Hill, North Carolina)

2007: Ranked second on Epodunk's list of college towns.

Government and politics

City Hall

Tallahassee has traditionally been a Democratic city, and is one of the few cities in the South for left-wing activism, along with Asheville and Austin. The city has voted Democratic throughout its history with a high voter-turnout. As of April 2007 there were 85,343 Democrats and 42,230 Republicans in Leon County. Other affiliations accounted for 22,284 voters.

Consolidation

Voters of Leon County have gone to the polls four times to vote on consolidation of Tallahassee and Leon County governments into one jurisdiction combining police and other city services with already shared (consolidated) Tallahassee Fire Department and Leon County Emergency Medical Services. Tallahassee's city limits would increase from 98.2 square miles (254 km2) to 702 square miles (1,820 km2). Roughly 36 percent of Leon County's 250,000 residents live outside the Tallahassee city limits.

James Kirksey House, 325 North Calhoun Street

The proponents of consolidation have stated that the new jurisdiction would attract business by its very size. Merging governments would cut government waste, duplication of services, etc. Professor Richard Feiock of the Department of Public Administration of Korea University and the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy of Florida State University states that no discernible relationship exists between consolidation and the local economy.

Federal representation

The United States Postal Service operates post offices in Tallahassee. The Tallahassee Main Post Office is located at 2800 South Adams Street. Other post offices in the city limits include Centerville Station, Leon Station, Park Avenue Station, and Westside Station.

Urban planning and expansion

Florida State Capitol, Downtown Tallahassee

The first plan for the Capitol Center was the 1947 Taylor Plan, which consolidated several of the government buildings in one downtown area. In 1974, the Capitol Center Planning Commission for the City of Tallahassee, Fla. responded to the growth of its urban center with a conceptual plan for the expansion of its Capitol Center. Hisham Ashkouri, working for The Architects' Collaborative, led the urban planning and design effort. Estimating growth and related development for approximately the next 25 years, the program projected the need for 213,677 m² (2.3 million feet²) of new government facilities in the city core, with 3,500 dwelling units, 0.4 km² (100 acres) of new public open space, retail and private office space, and other ancillary spaces. Community participation was an integral part of the design review, welcoming Tallahassee residents to provide input as well as citizens’ groups and government agencies, resulting in the creation of six separate Design Alternatives. The best elements of these various designs were combined to develop the final conceptual design, which was then incorporated into the existing Capitol area and adjacent areas.

Education:

Universities and colleges

Barry University School of Adult and Continuing Education - Tallahassee Campus
Flagler College - Tallahassee Campus
Florida A&M University
Florida State University
Keiser University - Tallahassee
Lewis M. Lively Area Vocational-Technical School
Tallahassee Community College

Places of interest

Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park
Challenger Learning Center
Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park
Florida State Capitol
Florida Supreme Court
Lake Ella
Lake Jackson
Lake Jackson Mounds Archaeological State Park
Lake Munson
Lake Talquin
Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science (MOAS)
Mission San Luis de Apalachee
Museum of Fine Arts at Florida State University
Myers Park
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
North Florida Fairgrounds
Railroad Square
Tallahassee Antique Car Museum
Tallahassee Museum
Tom Brown Park
Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium
Located nearby are:

Florida Caverns State Park in Marianna,Florida
Monticello Opera House in Monticello, Florida
Natural Bridge Battlefield State Historic Site near Woodville
Wakulla Springs State Park near Crawfordville
Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee - Administration Building is on the National Register of Historic Places

Festivals and events

First Friday festivals at Railroad Square
Downtown Getdown (Seasonal)
Greek Food Festival
Red Hills Horse Trials
Seven Days of Opening Nights
Springtime Tallahassee
Southern Shakespeare Festival
Tallahassee Film Festival
Tallahassee Wine and Food Festival
Winter Festival

Sports

The Florida A&M University Rattlers compete in the NCAA Division 1, and the Championship Subdivision in football.
The Florida State University Seminoles compete in the NCAA Division 1, and the Bowl Subdivision in football.
The Tallahassee Community College Eagles compete in the Panhandle Conference in Men's and Women's basketball, baseball and softball.
Local public high schools and middle schools compete in athletics, and share Gene Cox Stadium for football.
The Tallahassee Tiger Sharks were an ECHL team from 1994-2001.
The Tallahassee Scorpions were an EISL team that played from 1997-98.
The Tallahassee Tigers were an American Basketball Association.
The Tallahassee Titans were an Indoor Football team that played their only season in the American Indoor Football Association.

Transportation

Aviation

Tallahassee Regional Airport (KTLH)
Tallahassee Commercial Airport (K68J)

Mass transit

StarMetro (formerly TalTran) provides bus service throughout the city.

Railroads

CSX operates two rail lines in the city. Amtrak's Sunset Limited historically served the city, but has been suspended since Hurricane Katrina.

Defunct railroads

The Tallahassee-St. Marks Railroad, now a state trail.
The Carrabelle, Tallahassee and Georgia Railroad.

Notable residents (past and present)

Michelle McCool - World Wrestling Entertainment Diva (Formally Diva Champion)
Cannonball Adderley — Grammy Award-winning jazz musician (for "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at 'The Club'")
Art Agnos — former Mayor of San Francisco, California
Wally Amos — founder of the "Famous Amos" chocolate chip cookie brand; actor
Reubin Askew — politician, former Governor of Florida
Red Barber — sportscaster, Radio Hall of Fame member
Matt Battaglia — actor and former NFL player
Brett Blizzard — collegiate and professional basketball player
Konrad E. Bloch — Nobel Prize-winning biochemist, who helped learn about the functioning of cholesterol
Robert "Bobby" C. Bowden — college football coach, winner of two BCS National Championships
James M. Buchanan — winner of Nobel Prize in economics
Jim Butterworth — documentary filmmaker, winner of DuPont-Columbia Award for "Seoul Train"
Ted Bundy — serial killer
Robert Olen Butler — Pulitzer Prize-winning author for A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain (fiction)
Ricky Carmichael — Motocross/Supercross Champion
Lawton Chiles — politician and FSU research fellow; former US Senator and Governor of Florida.
George Clinton — musician, founder of Funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic
Leroy Collins — politician and Governor of Florida (Leroy Collins was the only Tallahassee native to serve as Florida's Governor.)
Rita Coolidge — Grammy Award-winning singer for From the Bottle to the Bottom and Lover Please.
Bradley Cooper — member of 1984 and 1988 Bahamas Summer Olympics team
Gene Cox — State of Florida Sports Hall of Fame member (Leon High School football coach)
Jim Cramer — host of CNBC's Mad Money
Kim Crosby — NASCAR driver, with a best race finish of 20th, in 2004
John Darnielle — lead singer of The Mountain Goats
Dwight F. Davis — founder of the international tennis Davis Cup
Paul Dirac — Nobel Prize-winning physicist whose theories predicted antimatter
Walter Dix - U.S. track team member and medalist at 2008 Beijing Olympics
Cathy Jenéen Doe — actress
Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte — attorney, civil-rights activist, former Dean of the Florida State University Law School, former President of Florida State University, President of the American Bar Association and the American Judicature Society
Ernst von Dohnányi — composer and pianist
Kyan Douglas — the "grooming expert" from "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"
Faye Dunaway — Academy Award and Golden Globe Award winning actress
Sylvia Earle — former chief scientist for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Carrie Englert (Zimmerman) — member of 1976 U.S. Summer Olympics team [21]
Eugene Figg — engineer for such bridges as Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Linn Cove Viaduct, and Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge
Carlisle Floyd — opera composer - Susannah (1955) and others
Neil Frank — former Director of the National Hurricane Center
Ron J. Friedman — writer of Disney's Academy Award nominated film Brother Bear
Michael Gaines — Swift TE for the Detroit Lions
DaVanche (Ron) Galimore — member of 1980 U.S. Summer Olympics team [21]
Willie Galimore — member of College Football Hall of Fame, and NFL football player
Althea Gibson — winner of several Wimbledon and US Open tennis championships
Parris N. Glendening — former Governor of Maryland
Carolyn S. Griner — former Director of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
Ken Harnden — hurdler and sprinter who represented Zimbabwe in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games
Tahesia Harrigan — professional sprinter (BVI)
Janice Harsanyi — vocalist and professor
Bob Hayes — gold-medal winner on 1964 U.S. Summer Olympics team; NFL football player
Robert B. Hilton — Tallahassee newspaper owner and Confederate congressman during the American Civil War
Cheryl Hines — actress, 2006 Emmy-nominee
Polly Holliday — actress, Golden Globe winner (for television series Alice).
Taylor Jacobs — professional football player - wide receiver with Washington Redskins, San Francisco 49ers, and Denver Broncos
Marty Jannetty - A Retired professional wrestler , best known for his work with WWE
Reggie Jefferson — former MLB player
Brad Johnson - NFL quarterback
Brandy Johnson — member of 1988 U.S. Summer Olympics team
Will Kirby — Big Brother 2 (2001) winner
Desmond Koh — amateur swimmer who represented Singapore in the 1988, 1992, and 1996 Olympic Games
Sir Harold Kroto — Nobel Prize-winning chemist who helped discover fullerenes
Christine Lahti — film actress and director, winner of Academy Award for Leiberman in Love, and well as two Golden Globes and an Emmy for her role in Chicago Hope
Marshall Ledbetter — Protester who took over the Florida Capitol Building
Scott Maddox — Former Mayor
Doug Marlette — Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist
Max Mayfield — former Director of the National Hurricane Center
Jerrie Mock — aviator and first woman to fly around the world solo
Jim Morrison — lead singer and lyricist of The Doors
Catherine Willis Gray Murat — great-grandniece of George Washington
Prince Achille Murat — nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte
Kenneth Minihan — former director of the National Security Agency
Robert S. Mulliken — physicist and chemist who won both the Priestley Medal and the Nobel Prize
Brian Olson — member of 1996, 2000 and 2004 U.S. Summer Olympics teams [22]
Burgess Owens — professional football player, member of Oakland Raider team that won Super Bowl XV
Bill Peterson - college and NFL head football coach
X. William Proenza — former Director of the National Hurricane Center
Elise Ray — gymnast, represented United States in 2000 Olympic Games
Gabrielle Reece — professional volleyball player, model
Ashlee Register — Duel Season 1 contestant, winner with $1,795,000. Ranked 5th in American game show winnings records.
Burt Reynolds — Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor
Marcus Roberts — jazz pianist, composer and music professor at Florida State University
C. Paul Robinson — former director of Sandia National Laboratories
Anika Noni Rose — Tony Award-winning actress, as Emmie Thibodeaux in Caroline, or Change
Deion Sanders — FSU football star, former National Football League cornerback, Major League Baseball outfielder, and is currently an NFL Network commentator
Robert Schrieffer — Nobel Laureate, BCS Theory of Superconductivity
Winston Scott — NASA astronaut
Jeff Shaara — author (Gods and Generals and many others)
Michael Shaara — Pulitzer prize-winning author (for The Killer Angels)
Richard Simmons — fitness expert
Charles Kenzie Steele — clergyman and civil rights activist
Orson Swindle — Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission
T-Pain — hip hop and R&B singer (born Faheem Najm)
Norman Thagard — NASA astronaut, flying on three different U.S. Space Shuttles, and on one Russian mission to the Mir space station.
Ernest I. Thomas — raiser of the original flag at Iwo Jima
Marion Tinsley — World Checkers Champion 1955-58, 1975-91.
Butch Trucks (Claude Hudson Trucks) — Drummer, member of the Allman Brothers band
Steven Tyler — Lead Singer, Aerosmith
Jeff VanderMeer — World Fantasy Award-winning author (for the novella The Transformation of Martin Lake)
Charlie Ward — 1993 Heisman Trophy winner
Craig Waters — spokesman for the Florida Supreme Court
Chris Weinke — 2000 Heisman Trophy winner
Ellen Taaffe Zwilich — Pulitzer prize-winning composer (for Three Movements for Orchestra (Symphony No. 1))

Notable Tallahassee groups and organizations

Boys' Choir of Tallahassee
Business & Professional Women/Tallahassee — community club
Cold Water Army — music group
Creed — rock band
Cream Abdul Babar — music group
The Crüxshadows — music group
Dead Prez — Alternative hip hop duo
Gamelan Hanuman Agung — Balinese gamelan ensemble
FAMU Marching 100 — marching band
FSU Marching Chiefs — marching band
Look Mexico — rock band
Mayday Parade — music group
Mira — music group
No Address — music group
Socialburn — rock band
Springtime Tallahassee — community festival group
Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra — symphony orchestra
Woman's Club of Tallahassee

Tallahassee in popular culture

HBO reinacts the December 7, 2000, Florida Supreme Court argument during filming November 4, 2007.Tallahassee has been represented well in popular culture through the years in television programs, popular music, film, and the news. It has been referenced by Bing Crosby, and in Stephen King's The Green Mile and the hit television series Lost on ABC. Freddy Cannon recorded the hit single "Tallahassee Lassie". The lyrics to Aerosmith's song "Last Child" read: "Take me back to a south Tallahassee/Down cross the bridge to my sweet sassafrassy."

Supernanny: Local radio host for station 107.1, Blythe Newsome, participated in an episode of ABC's prime time show Supernanny, during Tropical Storm Fay in October 2008.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was filmed in Tallahassee in February 2009 and aired April 12, 2009.

In the early 1980s the movie Something Wild was filmed in Tallahassee and used many FSU students as extras.

In November 2007, the HBO movie Recount was filmed for five days in downtown Tallahassee. The movie featured Kevin Spacey, Laura Dern, Tom Wilkinson, Dennis Leary, Bob Balaban, John Hurt, and Ed Begley, Jr. It recreated the 36-day controversy over Florida's disputed 2000 presidential election vote. Two of the five days of shooting were inside and directly in front of the Florida Supreme Court Building, where major aspects of the 2000 controversy were decided. Many Tallahasses residents served as extras, and the Rickards High School band was featured in one street scene. The film had its broadcast premiere on May 25, 2008.

T-Pain wrote the song Tallahassee Love in 2007
The song "We Taken Over" which featured Akon and T.I included Tallahassee in the lyrics.

Mobile, AL

From top: Pincus Building, Old City Hall and Southern Market, Fort Condé, Barton Academy, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, and the skyline of downtown Mobile from the Mobile River.

Mobile (IPA: /moʊˈbiːl/) is the third most populous city in the Southern U.S. state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 198,915 during the 2000 census. Mobile is the principal municipality of the Mobile Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 399,843 residents which is composed solely of Mobile County and is the second largest MSA in the state. Mobile is included in the Mobile-Daphne-Fairhope Combined Statistical Area with a total population of 540,258, the second largest combined statistical area in the state.

Mobile Flag

Mobile began as the first capital of colonial French Louisiana in 1702. The city gained its name from the Native American Mobilian tribe that the French colonists found in the area of Mobile Bay. During its first 100 years, Mobile was a colony for France, then Britain, and lastly Spain. Mobile first became a part of the United States of America in 1813, left the United States with Alabama in 1861 to become a part of the Confederate States of America, and then returned to the United States in 1865.

Seal Of Mobile, AL

Located at the junction of the Mobile River and Mobile Bay on the northern Gulf of Mexico, the city is the only seaport in Alabama. The Port of Mobile 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 10th largest port in the United States.

Nickname(s): The Port City or Azalea City or The City of Six Flags

As one of the Gulf Coast'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 1700s of its early colonial period. It was also host to the first formally organized Carnival mystic society or "krewe" in the United States, dating to 1830. People from Mobile are known as Mobilians.

History

Colonial

European settlement of Mobile, then known as Fort Louis de la Louisiane, started in 1702, at Twenty-seven Mile Bluff on the Mobile River, as the first capital of the French colony of Louisiana. It was founded by French Canadian brothers Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, 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-Vallier, Bishop of Quebec. The parish was the first established on the Gulf Coast of the United States. In 1704 the ship Pélican delivered 23 French women to the colony, along with yellow fever which passengers had contracted at a stop in Havana. 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-Domingue. 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.

Mobile and Fort Condé in 1725.

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 River and Mobile Bay in 1711. A new earth and palisade Fort Louis was constructed at the new site during this time. By 1712, when Antoine Crozat took over administration of the colony by royal appointment, the colony boasted a population of 400 persons. The capital of Louisiana was moved to Biloxi 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 Condé in honor of Louis Henri, Duc de Bourbon and prince of Condé.

In 1763, the Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the French and Indian War. The treaty ceded Mobile and the surrounding territory to the Kingdom of Great Britain, and it was made a part of the expanded British West Florida colony. The British changed the name of Fort Condé to Fort Charlotte, after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, King George III's 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. 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 War, West Florida and Mobile became a refuge for loyalists fleeing the other colonies.

The Spanish captured Mobile during the Battle of Fort Charlotte in 1780. They wished to eliminate any British threat to their Louisiana colony, which they had received from France in 1763s Treaty of Paris. Their actions were also condoned by the revolting American colonies due to the fact that West Florida, for the most part, remained loyal to the British Crown. The fort was renamed Fortaleza Carlota, with the Spanish holding Mobile as a part of Spanish West Florida until 1813, when it was seized by the U.S. General James Wilkinson during the War of 1812.

19th century

HABS photo of the Southern Hotel (built c.1837) on Water Street.

By the time Mobile was included in the Mississippi Territory in 1813, the population had dwindled to roughly 300 people. The city was included in the Alabama Territory in 1817, after Mississippi 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 economy 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 Belt; 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 plantation areas, it was the slave-trading center of the state until surpassed by Montgomery in the 1850s. 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 America. The free population in the whole of Mobile County, including the city, consisted of 29,754 citizens, of which only 1195 were black. Additionally, 1785slave owners held 11,376 slaves, for a total county population of 41,130 people.

The Tacon-Barfield Mansion (built c. 1896) on Government Street.

During the American Civil War, Mobile was a Confederate city. The first submarine to successfully sink an enemy ship, the H. L. Hunley, was built in Mobile. One of the most famous naval engagements of the war was the Battle of Mobile Bay, resulting in the Union taking possession of Mobile Bay on 5 August 1864. On 12 April 1865, 3 days after the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Courthouse, the city of Mobile surrendered to the Union army to avoid destruction following the Union victories at the Battle of Spanish Fort and the Battle of Fort Blakely. Ironically, on 25 May 1865, the city suffered loss when some three hundred people died as a result of an explosion at a federal ammunition depot on Beauregard Street. The explosion left a 30-foot (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 Democrats 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 century brought the Progressive Era 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 segregation 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 it did not change the law. After this, Mobile's de facto segregation was increasingly replaced with legislated segregation as whites imposed Jim Crow to maintain dominance.

Dauphin Street looking east toward the RSA Battle House Tower and AmSouth Bank Building.

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 Field. 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 Company supported the war effort by producing ships faster than the Axis powers could sink them. Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation, a subsidiary of Waterman Steamship Corporation, focused on building freighters, Fletcher class destroyers, and minesweepers.

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.

After World War II and their sacrifices in service, 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 South, especially as the police force and one local college became 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 quo 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 1964.

In the late 1960s, Mobile's economy was dealt a blow with the closing of Brookley Air Force Base. This and other factors ushered in a period of economic depression that lasted through the 1970s. Beginning in the late 1980s, the city council and mayor 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. The effort continues into the present with new city government leadership.

Shipbuilding began to make a major comeback in Mobile. In 1999 Austal USA was founded, a joint venture of Australian shipbuilder Austal and Bender Shipbuilding (Bender would later sell its interest to Austal).

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 Carnival celebration is perhaps the best illustration of this. Mobile has the oldest Mardi Gras celebration, dating to the early 1700s of French colonial times. 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.

A Carnival parade on Royal Street in Mobile.

Mobile's Carnival celebrations start as early as November with several balls, with the parades usually beginning after January 5. Carnival celebrations end promptly at the stroke of midnight on Mardi Gras, signaling the beginning of Ash Wednesday and the first day of Lent. In Mobile, locals use the term Mardi Gras as a shorthand to refer to the entire Carnival season, although it literally means Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. During this time Mobile's mystic societies 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 balls, 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 Site. 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 Pennsylvania, 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 Society was formed in 1843 and is the oldest surviving mystic society in the United States.

Carnival celebrations in Mobile were cancelled during the American Civil War. In 1866Joe Cain revived Mardi Gras parades when he paraded through the city streets on Fat Tuesday while costumed as a fictional Chickasaw chief named Slacabamorinico. He celebrated the day in front of the occupying Union Army troops. The year 2002 saw Mobile's Tricentennial celebrated with parades that represented all of Mobile's mystic societies, both black and white.

In 2009, for the first time in the city's history, Mardi Gras reached the 1,000,000-attendee milestone during the 5-day citywide celebration .

Archives and libraries

The Ben May Main Library on Government Street.

The National African American Archives and Museum 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, Seville, and Madrid. 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 Library 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

Museum of Art

The Mobile Museum of 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 Symphony, 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 Center contains three facilities under one roof. The 400,000 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 Opera and the Mobile Ballet. The 60-year old Mobile Opera 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 100,000sq ft (9,290 m2) exhibit hall, a 15,000 sq ft (1,394 m2) grand ballroom, and sixteen meeting rooms. Additionally, the city sponsors BayFest, an annual three-day music festival with over 125 live musical acts on nine stages.

Front Entrance at The Saenger Theatre

Tourism

The Oakleigh Period House Museum

The Bragg-Mitchell Mansion

Museums

Mobile is home to a variety of museums. Battleship Memorial Park is a military park on the shore of Mobile Bay and features the World War II era battleship USS Alabama (BB-60), the World War II era submarine USS Drum (SS-228), Korean War and Vietnam War 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). The Oakleigh Historic Complex features three house museums that interpret the lives of people from three levels of Mobile society in the mid-19th century. The Mobile Carnival Museum, which houses the city's Mardi Gras history and memorabilia, documents the variety of floats, costumes, and displays seen during the history of the festival season. The Bragg-Mitchell Mansion (1855), Richards DAR House (1860), and the Conde-Charlotte House (1822) are historic antebellum house museums. Fort Morgan, Fort Gaines, and Historic Blakeley State Park figure into local American Civil War 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 Exploreum is a non-profit science center located in downtown. It features permanent and traveling exhibits, an IMAX dome theater, a digital 3D virtual theater, and a hands-on chemistry laboratory. The Dauphin Island Sea Lab is located south of the city near the mouth of Mobile Bay. It houses the Estuarium, an aquarium which illustrates the four habitats of the Mobile Bay ecosystem: the river delta, bay, barrier islands and Gulf of Mexico.

Mobile Dome

Parks and other attractions

Bienville Square from Saint Joseph Street.

Bienville Square

The Mobile Botanical Gardens feature a variety of flora spread over 100 acres (40 ha). It contains the Millie McConnell Rhododendron Garden with 1,000 evergreen and native azaleas and the 30-acre (12 ha) Longleaf Pine Habitat. The Bellingrath Gardens and Home are located on Fowl River and contain 65 acres (26 ha) of landscaped gardens and a 10,500 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.

The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is the motherchurch of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile.

The Conde-Charlotte House

Mobile has more than 45 public parks with some that are of special interest. Bienville Square 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 Square is a performing arts park in the Lower Dauphin Street Historic District overlooked by the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Fort Condé 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 Málaga, Spain. Langan Park 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.

The Bellingrath Gardens And Home

The moon bridge at Bellingrath.

A reflecting pool.

The Japanese garden

Historic architecture

A house within the De Tonti Square Historic District.

Mobile has antebellum architectural examples of Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, and Creole cottage. Later architectural styles found in the city include the various Victorian types, shotgun types, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival, Beaux-Arts and many others. The city currently has nine major historic districts consisting of Old Dauphin Way, Oakleigh Garden, Lower Dauphin Street, Leinkauf, De Tonti Square, Church Street East, Ashland Place, Campground, and Midtown.

Historic Districts

Old Dauphin Way

Shepard House

1569 Dauphin Street

1752 Dauphin Street

14 South Reed Avenue

1406 Brown Street

Oakleigh Garden Historic District

910 Government Street

300 Chatham Street

1005 Government Street

250 Chatham Street

1012 Palmetto Street

Lower Dauphin Street

Pincus Building

Washington Firehouse No. 5

Spira and Pincus Building

Merchants National Bank Building

Leinkauf Historic District

1464 Church Street

159 Michigan Avenue

211 Michigan Avenue

255 Dexter Avenue

260 Dexter Avenue

262 Dexter Avenue

De Tonti Square Historic District

The Richards DAR House at 256 Joachim Street.

258 State Street.

254 St. Anthony Street.

256 State Street.

261 Joachim Street.

Church Street East Historic District

The Martin Horst House on Conti Street.

Christ Church Cathedral.

Houses on St. Emanuel Street

The Bishop Portier House on Conti Street.

Ashland Place Historic District













Campground Historic District

Midtown Historic District

George Fearn House

103 Florence Place

104 Florence Place

129 Florence Place

143 Florence Place

Carlen House

The old United States Marine Hospital, restored and adapted for reuse by the Mobile County Health Department.

Mobile has a number of historic structures spread throughout the city. Some of Mobile's historic churches include Christ Church Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Emanuel AME Church, Government Street Presbyterian Church, St. Louis Street Missionary Baptist Church, State Street AME Zion Church, Stone Street Baptist Church, and Trinity Episcopal Church. Two historic Roman Catholic convents survive, the Convent and Academy of the Visitation and the Convent of Mercy. Barton Academy is a historic Greek Revival school building and local landmark on Government Street. The Bishop Portier House and the Carlen House are two of the many surviving examples of Creole cottages in the city. The Mobile City Hospital and the United States Marine Hospital are both restored Greek Revival hospital buildings that predate the Civil War. The Washington Firehouse No. 5 is a Greek Revival fire station, built in 1851. The Hunter House is an example of the Italianate style and was built by a successful 19th century African American businesswoman. The Shepard House is a good example of the Queen Anne style. The Scottish Rite Temple is the only surviving example of Egyptian Revival architecture in the city. The Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio Passenger Terminal is an example of the Mission Revival 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 Graveyard contains above-ground tombs and monuments spread over 4 acres (2 ha) and was founded in 1819, during the height of the yellow fever epidemics. The nearby 120-acre (49 ha) Magnolia Cemetery 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 acres (61 ha). It contains plots for the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, Little Sisters of the Poor, Sisters of Charity, and Sisters of Mercy, in addition to many other historically significant burials. Mobile's Jewish community dates back to the 1820s and the city has two historic Jewish cemeteries, Ahavas Chesed Cemetery and Sha'arai Shomayim Cemetery.