Vintage Downtown Mobile

Mobile is Alabama’s oldest city, which became part of the state in 1819. Mobile is filled with magnificent historic districts and dozens of landmarked homes and buildings. During its first 100 years, Mobile was a colony of France, Great Britain, and Spain. During the American Civil War, Mobile was a Confederate city. The turn of the 20th Century brought rapid economic boom, shipbuilding, steel, cotton, iron, and several other new industries were built, which attracted a large number of immigrants and doubled the population. During this time, the city received $3 million in federal grants for harbor improvements to deepen the shipping channels. The shipbuilding industry grew significantly during World War II, which resulted in a considerable increase in the city’s middle-class and working-class population. The postwar era saw a rapid decline of jobs in the shipyard and defense industry.

Alabama State Port Authority Facilities where CSA provides stevedoring and terminal services The Port of Mobile (ASPA) has the capacity to handle a wide range of different cargo (bulk, breakbulk, project cargo and containers) having approximately 24 vessel calls per month. This ability, coupled with an excellent transportation infrastructure in both rail and highways, gives Mobile a competitive edge in the Gulf region.

                               ~ Unloading a banana steamer, Mobile, Alabama, 1906 ~

 Construction of the Bankhead Tunnel began in 1938. It was named for John Hollis Bankhead, an Alabama native who served in both houses of the State Legislature, as well as the United States Senate from 1907-1920. He was also the grandfather of Tallulah Bankhead. Built at a cost of $4 million (or more than $65 million today), it cut 7 1/2 miles off the time needed to cross from Mobile to the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay. The tunnel opened February 20, 1941. On that first day, and for the only time in its history, bicycles and pedestrians were allowed to travel through the tunnel. Legend has it that nearly 75,000 people took advantage of the opportunity and were led by then-mayor Cecil F. Bates. The Bankhead Tunnel was designed by and constructed by Wayne Palmer. To help pay for the tunnel, a toll of 25 cents per car was charged from the structure's opening until 1973, when the George Wallace Tunnel was completed. This 25 cents toll was much cheaper than the $1.00 per car charged to cross the old Cochrane Bridge or the $3.10 per vehicle toll charged by the old steamboats.

The Bankhead Tunnel consists of seven sections (two sections of 255 feet each and five sections of 298 feet each). Its tubes were constructed by the Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company. When completed, the tubes were floated down river and sunk into place. At the time it opened, the Bankhead Tunnel was an engineering marvel. Its completion made news around the country. Since its opening, millions of cars have traversed its 3,389 feet. Today, because it is so narrow, only passenger cars and light trucks are allowed through it. Heavier vehicles must either use the Wallace Tunnel or travel around the city using the Cochrane-Africatown Bridge.

Cornerstone placed, 1835; Consecrated for worship 1850; Twin towers completed in the 1890's. the edifice serves a congregation formally organized in 1704 making it the mother church of Alabama and oldest parish on the Gulf Coast. 

On a bitterly cold December day in 1850 the Diocese of Mobile, less than 35 years old, celebrated its patronal feast, the Immaculate Conception, by consecrating a cathedral whose cornerstone had been laid in 1835. It represented a monumental expression of faith on the part of the Catholic community, led by Bishop Michael Portier (d. 1859), assisted by benefactors in France and Rome, and, closer to home, those whom one contemporary paper called "their fellow citizens of every creed!" Bishop Martin John Spalding of Louisville who preached for the occasion said of the edifice: "It is almost worthy of God."

A heroic challenge was set by Bishop Portier in laying foundations for a church 162 feet in length and 90 feet in width. It met his vision for "the future of Mobile," and for the family of faith in Alabama and Florida which the Cathedral has served for more than 150 years. Subsequent generations met the promise of completing the church, sometimes following the original plan, but also in response to circumstances such as the fire of 1954 that could have destroyed the whole structure.