Travelogue: Mobile
Alabama’s port city and its Battle House Hotel
During a recent road trip, I decided to stop and stay the night in the city of Mobile on the Gulf of Mexico in the south of Alabama. For full disclosure, I had never been to Alabama. I associated the state with various points of particular interest: a Confederate-themed state flag, coach Bear Bryant, Governor George Wallace, the rock song “Sweet Home Alabama”, NASA, the protest march on Selma and the Birmingham newspaper that bought and published my articles early in my journalism.
Mine was a lovely night in Mobile. While driving into the city, the first thing I noticed was its dramatic landscape. As I drove into Mobile from the east, roads seemed to float on water. There are several oil rigs, bridges, vistas, waterways and, then, Mobile rises at the water’s edge. I pulled into a downtown parking garage near a place called the Battle House Hotel. It’s branded and managed as a Renaissance hotel for the Marriott company, though it’s owned by a government workers’ pension fund.
This complication and more were explained by the skilled concierge who guided me on a private tour. When I checked into the palatial hotel, which looks as fabulous in reality as it does online (maybe more so), I inquired with serious interest in its history. The young workers at the front desk looked at one another and almost answered in unison: “Let us send for Mister George.”
Mr. George made the visit both more memorable and meaningful. After checking into the room, which was nicely appointed, I returned to the lobby and waited for this renowned concierge, whom the ladies at the front desk assured me is the most knowledgeable employee about the hotel history. An older gentleman dressed the old-fashioned way arrived. His eyes locked on me as though he could tell I was the one who’d expressed interest in the story of the Battle House Hotel. At first, his eyes lit up with surprise and enthusiasm, as though he was delighted that a guest could want to know facts about a building. Then, Mr. George summoned what I can only describe as a sense of pride in his work. Moving with grace very, very slowly, he spoke with precision about the story of each space in the Battle House Hotel. After an hour, he’d given me a grand tour of Mobile’s storied hotel. Mr. George knew the answer to every question I asked.
It’s not the history one might expect. No presidents stayed here, as far as I know. There are no Civil War battle connections to the hotel’s name. It’s a simple and elegant downtown hotel which parallels the history of an industrial city on a river by a saltwater port. Mr. George spun tales of the French, the Spanish, the British, the Indians, oil rigs, balls, gulf storms and devastating fire.
One of Mobile’s impressive aspects is its offshore oil drilling. The model (pictured here) of the Noble Clyde Boudreaux oil well, displayed in a Battle House Hotel showcase, includes a plaque which provides relevant details about the oil drilling ship machinery which draws oil from the earth: the rig water depth is 10,000 feet, with oil drilling depth at 35,000 feet, a hull size 318‘ x 210‘ x 100‘ and a conventional mooring system. The 1987 oil rig was rebuilt by Signal International in 2007.
I also find it interesting that Mobile, Alabama’s been governed under six flags:
1702 to 1763 French flag
1763 to 1780 British flag
1780 to 1813 Spanish flag
1813 to 1861 first United States of America flag
1852 to 1861 pre-Civil War period
1861 to 1864 Alabama/Confederate flag
1864 to present second United States of America flag
Opened in 1852, the Battle House Hotel (tel: 251-338-2000 — the address is 26 N. Royal Street, Mobile, Alabama 36602) features many ballrooms, conference rooms and a splendid dining hall, where I ate breakfast. The hotel’s Crystal ballroom has been the site for many city galas. Step into its whispering arches—the second I visited in recent months (read about the St. Louis whispering arches here)—where one’s whispers travel over 35 feet, linger in its grand lobby and immerse in its Southern history. The Battle House hotel hosted America’s original Mardi Gras—and, in the original hotel, the city’s first official Mardi Gras ball—which I’m told resembles a tamer carnival, not a scene from Caligula.
Finally, nighttime dining in a nearby office tower’s restaurant afforded a panoramic view with a delicious meal and dessert. Having dinner atop the city’s tallest skyscraper put the port and its oil ships and cityscape into a wider perspective that makes me want to discover, learn and know about Mobile, Alabama.
Travelogues
Mr. George. Great character. Nice story.