The Alabama coastal town also attracts sports fans to Hank Aaron Stadium and offers history buffs Fort Conde and several downtown museums.
The USS Alabama and nearby Bellingrath Gardens are the area’s best known tourist attractions, but Mobile, Alabama also offers numerous magnets for sports fans and history buffs. The sports attractions include:
- The American Sport Art Museum and Archives, which claims the nation’s largest collection of American sports art. The museum, which was founded in 1984, has more than 1500 photographs, paintings, posters and sculptures covering a wide variety of athletics and events. The museum is located on the United States Sports Academy campus across the bay from Mobile. Paintings, posters and sports apparel are available for sale at the museum, which is open to the public free of charge. It is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Hank Aaron Stadium, named after the home run king from Mobile. It is the home of the Mobile Bay Bears, a farm team for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Aaron’s childhood home was moved to the stadium as a museum and tribute to him and his family. The Bears play in the Class AA Southern League.
- Twenty-one golf courses within 30 miles of Mobile, including 10 within the city itself. The courses include 54 holes at Magnolia Grove, which is part of Alabama’s famous Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Six of the 21 courses in the area are public and 10 are semi-public. The Azalea, Gulf Pines, Linksman, Spring Hill and Magnolia Grove courses in the city are public.
Fort Conde
Mobile’s downtown district includes these historic buildings:
- Fort Conde. This is a scale model of the fort built in 1723 when Mobile was under attack from the warring British and Spanish navies. Tours are led by costumed guides.
- The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, which traces back to 1850. It has 12 German-designed stained-glass windows depicting New Testament scenes and a crypt where many bishops are buried.
- The Saenger Theater, a former vaudeville and movie house built in 1927. It has since been converted into a multi-use theater with 1,976 seats and is now the home of the Mobile Symphony Orchestra.
- The Bragg-Mitchell mansion, built in 1855. It is said to be Mobile’s most photographed building. The 20-room home features 19th Century artwork and furnishings.
Mobile Museum of Art
The city's downtown district also includes these museums:
- The Richards-DAR House Museum is in an 1860 home. It offers examples of 19th Century culture and features a cast iron façade depicting the four seasons of the year.
- The Museum of Mobile, features exhibits that trace the history and struggles of the city. It is housed in an 1857 building that once served as city hall.
- The Mobile Museum of Art contains Asian and African art, as well as American decorative glass art and European paintings and sculpture. The museum says its art works span 5,000 years.
- The Oakleigh Historic Complex includes the Cox-Deasy Cottage Museum and the Oakleigh House Museum, both recalling 19th Century life on the Gulf Coast.
Gulf Coast Exploreum
Other Mobile attractions include:
- The Gulf Coast Exploreum, which provides hands-on exhibits, entertainment and play areas to encourage the exploration of science.
- The 100-acre Mobile Botanical Gardens outside the downtown area is also a popular tourist attraction. It features more than 1,000 evergreen azaleas as well forested areas and trails. It also includes the Founders Fragrance and Texture Garden of plants and flowers, providing a variety of scents.
- The USS Alabama Memorial Park exhibits include the World War II battleship, as well as a submarine, tanks, military aircraft and artillery.
- Bellingrath Gardens is a 65-acre private estate that attracts visitors all year with its flowers and family home.
Additional information and locations of the area’s attractions are available at Mobile.alabama.com
Mobile is located near the Alabama Gulf coast, about 144 driving miles east of New Orleans; 170 miles south of Montgomery,
Copyright Carroll Trosclair. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
Join the Conversation