Discover 35 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Mobile (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: USS Alabama, Battleship Memorial Park, and GulfQuest. Also, be sure to include Ladd Peebles Stadium in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Mobile (Alabama).
Table of Contents
USS Alabama
WWII battleship with self-guided tours. USS Alabama is a retired battleship. She was the fourth and final member of the South Dakota class of fast battleships built for the United States Navy in the 1930s. The first American battleships designed after the Washington treaty system began to break down in the mid-1930s, they took advantage of an escalator clause that allowed increasing the main battery to 16-inch guns, but Congressional refusal to authorize larger battleships kept their displacement close to the Washington limit of 35,000 long tons. A requirement to be armored against the same caliber of guns as they carried, combined with the displacement restriction, resulted in cramped ships. Overcrowding was exacerbated by wartime modifications that considerably strengthened their anti-aircraft batteries and significantly increased their crews.
After entering service, Alabama was briefly deployed to strengthen the British Home Fleet, tasked with protecting convoys to the Soviet Union. In 1943, she was transferred to the Pacific for operations against Japan; the first of these was the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign that began in November that year. While operating in the Pacific, she served primarily as an escort for the fast carrier task force to protect the aircraft carriers from surface and air attacks. She also frequently bombarded Japanese positions in support of amphibious assaults. She took part in the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign in June–September and the Philippines campaign in October–December. After a refit in early 1945, she returned to the fleet for operations during the Battle of Okinawa and the series of attacks on the Japanese mainland in July and August, including several bombardments of coastal industrial targets.
Alabama assisted in Operation Magic Carpet after the war, carrying some 700 men home from the former war zone. She was decommissioned in 1947 and assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet, where she remained until 1962 when she was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register. A campaign to save the ship from the breakers' yard succeeded in raising the necessary funds, and Alabama was preserved as a museum ship in Mobile Bay, Alabama.[1]
Address: 2703 Battleship Pkwy, 36602-8003 Mobile
Battleship Memorial Park
Museum in the Mobile County, Alabama. Battleship Memorial Park is a military history park and museum on the western shore of Mobile Bay in Mobile, Alabama. It has a collection of notable aircraft and museum ships including the South Dakota-class battleship USS Alabama and Gato-class submarine USS Drum. USS Alabama and USS Drum are both National Historic Landmarks; the park as a whole was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage prior to that time, on October 28, 1977.[2]
Address: 2703 Battleship Pkwy, 36602 Mobile
GulfQuest
GulfQuest/National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico opened on September 26, 2015, is a non-profit interactive maritime museum dedicated to the maritime heritage and culture of the Gulf of Mexico. The 120,000 square foot museum, located on the riverfront in downtown Mobile, Alabama, is designed to look as if it were a ship headed into Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The museum features 90 interactive exhibits, simulators, theaters and artifact displays, complemented by artifacts and memorabilia displayed throughout "multiple decks" inside a full-sized replica of a container ship, displayed as if dockside. GulfQuest also features a museum store, a museum café and several event spaces.
Named "Attraction of the Year" for 2016 by the Alabama Department of Tourism, GulfQuest is the only fully interactive maritime museum in the world and the only maritime museum dedicated to the Gulf of Mexico. GulfQuest presents the history, culture, marine science and maritime traditions of the Gulf of Mexico region for visitors of all ages.[3]
Address: 155 S Water St, 36602-3710 Mobile
Ladd Peebles Stadium
Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. Ladd–Peebles Stadium is a stadium located in Mobile, Alabama.
Opened 74 years ago in 1948, it has a seating capacity of 33,471. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field for the Senior Bowl, the LendingTree Bowl through the 2020 season, and the University of South Alabama Jaguars through the 2019 season. After the 2019 season, the Jaguars moved to the new on-campus Hancock Whitney Stadium. In addition to football, the stadium is also used for concerts (maximum capacity 50,000), boxing matches, high school graduations, trade shows, and festivals. Numerous entertainers have performed at Ladd–Peebles Stadium.[4]
Address: 1621 Virginia St, 36604-1058 Mobile
Fort Conde
Replica of a historic fort with exhibits. Fort Charlotte, Mobile is a partially-reconstructed 18th-century fort in Mobile, Alabama.[5]
Address: 150 Royal st, 36602 Mobile
USS Drum
Museum in a WWII-era submarine. USS Drum is a Gato-class submarine of the United States Navy, the first Navy ship named after the drum, a type of fish. Drum is a museum ship in Mobile, Alabama, at Battleship Memorial Park.
Drum was laid down on 11 September 1940 at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, Maine. She was launched on 12 May 1941, sponsored by Mrs. Beatrice M. Holcomb, wife of Major General Thomas Holcomb, Commandant of the United States Marine Corps. The boat was commissioned on 1 November 1941, with Commander Robert H. Rice in command.
Drum was the twelfth of the Gato class but was the first completed and the first to enter combat in World War II. She is the oldest of her class still in existence.[6]
Address: USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, 36602 Mobile
Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception
Cathedral in Mobile, Alabama. The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is a cathedral serving Roman Catholics in the U.S. city of Mobile, Alabama. It is the seat of the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile. The cathedral is named for Mary, mother of Jesus, under her title, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing property to the Church Street East Historic District and Lower Dauphin Street Historic District and is listed on the Historic Roman Catholic Properties in Mobile Multiple Property Submission[7]
Address: 2 S Claiborne St, 36602 Mobile
Richards DAR House
Museum in Mobile, Alabama. The Richards DAR House is a historic house museum in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The Italianate style house was completed in 1860 for Charles and Caroline Richards. It is a contributing property to the De Tonti Square Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 7, 1972. The four Daughters of the American Revolution chapters in Mobile jointly operate and maintain the house. It is noted by architectural historians as one of Mobile's best preserved and elaborate examples of mid-19th century domestic architecture.[8]
Address: 256 N Joachim St, 36603-6472 Mobile
History Museum of Mobile
Building. Old City Hall, also known as the Southern Market, is a historic complex of adjoining buildings in Mobile, Alabama, that currently houses the History Museum of Mobile. The complex was built from 1855 to 1857 to serve as a city hall and as a marketplace. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1973, as a rare well-preserved example of a 19th-century multifunction civic and commercial building.[9]
Address: 111 S Royal St, 36602-3101 Mobile
Conde–Charlotte House
Museum in Mobile, Alabama. The Conde–Charlotte House, also known as the Kirkbride House, is a historic house museum in Mobile, Alabama. The earliest section of the building, the rear kitchen wing, was built in 1822. The main section of the house was added a few decades later and is two and a half floors. The entire structure is constructed of handmade brick with a smooth stucco plaster over the exterior.[10]
Address: 104 Theatre St, 36602 Mobile
Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center
Movie theater in Mobile, Alabama. The Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center is a non-profit science center that promotes science learning through a variety of activities, including exhibits, IMAX films, demonstrations, workshops and teacher professional development. Located in downtown Mobile, Alabama, Exploreumhas three permanent galleries: Hands On Hall, the Wharf of Wonder, and My BodyWorks, a health exhibit. The Exploreum also features interactive traveling exhibits, year-round with broad science content and supplementary, themed educational programming.[11]
Address: 65 Government St, 36602-3107 Mobile
Mobile Civic Center
Arena in Mobile, Alabama. Mobile Civic Center is a multi-purpose facility located in Mobile, Alabama. Owned by the City of Mobile and operated by ASM Global, the facility consists of three venues: a theater, an expo hall, and an arena. It is suitable for large indoor events including sporting events and trade shows. The theater seats for 1,938, while the expo hall can seat 3,000. The largest venue of the Mobile Civic Center is the arena, which can seat 10,112.
The Civic Center started redevelopment in March 2018.[12]
Address: 401 Civic Center Dr, 36602-2325 Mobile
Crescent Theater
Theater in New Haven, Connecticut. The Crescent Theater is a single-screen movie theater located in Mobile, Alabama. The theater mainly shows independent and arthouse cinema, though several mainstream films have been included. It also operates as the home of local cinema and film competitions, and has been used for music and improvisational comedy. It was first opened in 1885 as the Crescent Theater for vaudeville entertainment. In the intervening years, the building became a cinema and later was used for restaurants, before being reopened in October 2008 by Max Morey, the theater's owner and operator.[13]
Address: Mobile, 208 Dauphin St
Mobile Museum of Art
Modern art and glass exhibit. The Mobile Museum of Art is an art museum located in Mobile, Alabama. It features extensive art collections from the Southern United States, the Americas, Europe, and non-western art. The museum is host to exhibition programs which range from historical to contemporary, and educational programs.[14]
Address: 4850 Museum Dr, 36608-1917 Mobile
Meaher State Park
City park in Baldwin County, Alabama. Meaher State Park is a publicly owned recreation area located on Big Island, an island at the north end of Mobile Bay that lies within the city limits of Spanish Fort, Alabama. The state park occupies 1,327 acres along the shoreline of Ducker Bay, at the junction of Mobile Bay and the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta. It is surrounded by wetlands of the Mobile Bay estuary. The park is accessed from Battleship Parkway, known locally as the "Causeway," and is managed by Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.[15]
Cathedral Square
Cathedral Square is a municipal park in Mobile, Alabama. It is bordered by the streets of North Claiborne, Dauphin, North Jackson, and Conti.[16]
Address: 300 Conti St, 36602 Mobile
Saenger Theatre
Theater in Mobile, Alabama. The Saenger Theatre is a historic theater and contributing building to the Lower Dauphin Street Historic District in Mobile, Alabama. It was dedicated in January 1927. The Saenger Theatre is a Mobile landmark, known for its architecture and ties to local cultural history. The theater has been completely renovated in recent years with an upgraded electrical system, VIP facilities, new stage rigging and sound system. It is the official home of the Mobile Symphony Orchestra and also serves as the venue for movie festivals, concerts, lectures and special events.[17]
Address: Mobile, 6 South Joachim Street
Bienville Square
Park in Mobile, Alabama. Bienville Square is a historic city park in the center of downtown Mobile, Alabama. Bienville Square was named for Mobile's founder, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville. It takes up the entire block bordered by the streets of Dauphin, Saint Joseph, Saint Francis, and North Conception.[18]
Address: 109 Dauphin Street, Mobile
Mobile National Cemetery
Cemetery. Mobile National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Mobile, Alabama. It encompasses 5.2 acres, and as of the end of 2005, had 5,326 interments. It is an annex to the larger Magnolia Cemetery. Mobile National Cemetery is administered by Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola, Florida, and is currently closed to new interments.[19]
Bragg-Mitchell Mansion
Museum in Mobile, Alabama. The Bragg–Mitchell Mansion, also known as the Bragg–Mitchell House, is a historic house museum in Mobile, Alabama. It was built in 1855 by Judge John Bragg and is one of the most photographed buildings in the city as well as one of the more popular tourist attractions. The house has been attributed to John's brother, a local Alabama architect, Alexander J. Bragg.[20]
Address: 1906 Spring Hill Ave, 36607-2304 Mobile
Visitation Monastery
The Convent and Academy of the Visitation, properly known today as the Visitation Monastery, is a historic complex of Roman Catholic religious buildings and a small cemetery in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The buildings and grounds were documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1937. They were added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 24, 1992 as a part of Historic Roman Catholic Properties in Mobile Multiple Property Submission. It, along with the Convent of Mercy, is one of two surviving historic convent complexes in Mobile.[21]
Most Pure Heart of Mary
Catholic church in Mobile, Alabama. Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church is a Catholic church in Mobile, Alabama administered by the Josephites. The Knights of Peter Claver, the largest and oldest Black Catholic organization in the United States, was founded by congregants and priests from the parish in 1909. Its clergy and congregation later took an active role in the Civil Rights Movement.[22]
Mardi Gras Park
Park in Mobile, Alabama. Mardi Gras Park is a municipal park in downtown Mobile, Alabama, USA. The park is bounded by Government Street to the north, Royal Street to the east, Church Street to the south, and St. Emanuel Street to the west. The park opened in November 2016. It is located on the site of the old Mobile County Courthouse. The park features statues representing the Mardi Gras tradition of the City, including Mardi Gras royalty, jesters, and Joe Cain, who is largely credited with initiating the modern way of observing Mardi Gras and its celebrations in the city following the Civil War.[23]
Mobile Carnival Museum
Museum in Mobile, Alabama. The Mobile Carnival Museum is a history museum that chronicles over 300 years of Carnival and Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama. The museum is housed in the historic Bernstein-Bush mansion on Government Street in downtown Mobile.[24]
Address: 355 Government St, 36602-2315 Mobile
National African American Archives and Museum
Archive in Mobile, Alabama. The National African American Archives and Museum, formerly known as the Davis Avenue Branch of Mobile Public Library, is an archive and history museum located in Mobile, Alabama. It serves as a repository for documents, records, photographs, books, African carvings, furniture, and special collections that relate to the African-American experience in the United States. Some of the collection was developed when the building was part of the Mobile Public Library as the Davis Avenue Branch.[25]
Address: 564 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, Mobile
Trinity Episcopal Church
Building in Mobile, Alabama. Trinity Episcopal Church is a historic church in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was the first large Gothic Revival church built in Alabama. The building was designed by architects Frank Wills and Henry Dudley.[26]
Address: 1900 Dauphin Street, Mobile
Saint Joseph's Roman Catholic Church
Church building in Mobile, Alabama. Saint Joseph's Roman Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic church building in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It serves as the parish church for St. Joseph's Parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile.
St. Joseph's Parish is the third oldest in Mobile. It was formed in 1857 to serve Catholics too far removed from the downtown Cathedral and the Church of St. Vincent de Paul in South Mobile.
St. Joseph's Parish is approaching its 160th year of service with its congregation of faithful parishioners.[27]
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Church building in Mobile, Alabama. Saint Paul's Episcopal Chapel is a historic Episcopal church building in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was built in 1859 in a vernacular Gothic Revival style. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as a part of the 19th Century Spring Hill Neighborhood Thematic Resource on October 18, 1984.[28]
Address: 4051 Old Shell Rd, 36608 Mobile
Catholic Cemetery
Cemetery. Catholic Cemetery, formerly known as the Stone Street Cemetery, is a historic 150-acre cemetery located in Mobile, Alabama. It was established in 1848 by Michael Portier, a native of Montbrison, France and the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Mobile. The cemetery contains roughly 18,000 burials and has plots dedicated to various Roman Catholic religious institutes, including the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, Daughters of Charity, Little Sisters of the Poor, and Sisters of Mercy. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 3, 1991 as a part of the Historic Roman Catholic Properties in Mobile Multiple Property Submission.[29]
Church Street Graveyard
Cemetery in Mobile, Alabama. Church Street Graveyard is a historic city cemetery located in Mobile, Alabama. The cemetery is situated on 4 acres and is surrounded by a brick wall that dates to 1830. At the time that the cemetery was established it lay about a half mile away from most development, but it is now considered to be in downtown.[30]
Address: S Scott St, 36602 Mobile
Sha'arai Shomayim Cemetery
Cemetery in Mobile, Alabama. Sha'arai Shomayim Cemetery, also known as the Reformed Temple Jewish Cemetery, is a historic Jewish cemetery located in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was established by Congregation Sha'arai Shomayim in 1876 after their previous cemetery, Jewish Rest in the adjacent Magnolia Cemetery, was filled to capacity. The cemetery is situated on 15 acres and is surrounded by a 19th-century cast-iron fence and live oak trees. The entrance is through an ornamental arched gate inscribed with the congregation name in Hebrew letters.[31]
Cochrane–Africatown USA Bridge
Cable-stayed bridge in Mobile, Alabama. The Cochrane–Africatown USA Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge carrying US 90/US 98 Truck across the Mobile River from the mainland to Blakeley Island in Mobile, Alabama.[32]
Magnolia Cemetery
Cemetery in Mobile, Alabama. Magnolia Cemetery is a historic city cemetery located in Mobile, Alabama. Filled with many elaborate Victorian-era monuments, it spans more than 100 acres. It served as Mobile's primary, and almost exclusive, burial place during the 19th century. It is the final resting place for many of Mobile's 19th- and early 20th-century citizens. The cemetery is roughly bounded by Frye Street to the north, Gayle Street to the east, and Ann Street to the west. Virginia Street originally formed the southern border before the cemetery was expanded and now cuts east–west through the center of the cemetery. Magnolia contains more than 80,000 burials and remains an active, though very limited, burial site today.[33]
Address: 1202 Virginia St, 36604-2366 Mobile
Saint Matthew's Catholic Church
Church building in Mobile, Alabama. Saint Matthew's Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic church building in Mobile, Alabama. It was built in the Mediterranean Revival style in 1913, shortly after its parish was founded. The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 3, 1991, as a part of the Historic Roman Catholic Properties in Mobile Multiple Property Submission.[34]
Address: 906 Garrity St, 36605-4699 Mobile
Oakleigh Historic Complex
Museum in Mobile, Alabama. Oakleigh is a c. 1833 historic house museum in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It is the centerpiece of the Oakleigh Historic Complex, a grouping of buildings that contain a working-class raised cottage, Union Barracks, and a modern archives building. The name for the estate comes from a combination of the word oak and the Anglo-Saxon word lea, which means meadow. The complex is within the Oakleigh Garden Historic District, the surrounding district and neighborhood being named after the estate.[35]
Address: 350 Oakleigh Pl, 36604-2910 Mobile