Mobile: Colorful Roots

To walk the grid-lined streets of Mobile’s historic midtown is to walk the lined pages of an old journal; the ink is dried, the pages worn and stained, but yet the preservation of the words and the structure of the sentences still lead you through the story of a time that has passed, passed and yet still celebrated whole-heartedly.

There are three canopied streets that splinter out of downtown’s historic trunk –Springhill Avenue, Dauphin Street, and Government Street. Between these streets, and the very large antiquated homes that line them, is Midtown. Nestled amongst the live oaks of Midtown are narrow grid-lined streets, the asphalt fractured by strong hidden roots that push the rock to the surface. And that is just like Mobile – a city full of secrets. Concealed between the more popular areas of Gulf Shores and it’s sister-city New Orleans, Mobile often goes unnoticed. Travelers often pass through the underwater tunnels and continue their paths along I-10. Why stop in Mobile? There can’t be much to do there.

 But a walk down the streets of Midtown will reveal that certainly there is something to do. When in the winter months the northern states are sleepy with cold, vibrant colors paint Mobile into a festive canvas. To look closer is to watch the unveiling of secrets a quiet town holds, secrets found in the roots and pushed so arduously they, for a few weeks of the year, burst into a city-wide celebration of merriment and tradition.

The Mardi Gras shop downtown has opened its doors to (big) business

Purple. Gold. Green. These colors hang most prominently around the homes and shops in Midtown.

Typical Midtown house, festively dressed



Stringy garland, big puffy garland, shiny garland, you name it, meets you at the doors of many houses.

Jester hats and faces of Drama and Comedy rest on wreaths or windows, while more garland is wrapped into pretty arrangments on gas lanterns.

Midtown owns up to the culture that it was founded on, even as most houses are inhabited by new residents from other states.  In my next blog, I'll go deeper into the Mystic Societies that the residents represent.

Updates from Mobile, Alabama

Hello again! It has been quite a while since I last wrote. I am thoroughly ashamed that I haven’t posted in such a long time, and don’t really have a great excuse besides the fact that by the time I get off work my brain is usually quite tired.

The last time I wrote I had fallen into the proverbial pit of despair. I was working at the restaurant and trying to be humble about my modest position. I had come to know a few girls pretty well, even made friends with two of them. But it still didn’t feel right – I was not happy.

Since then, things have changed so dramatically and so quickly I feel as though I jumped into someone else’s life altogether.

That is, I have never been so happy.

Mobile has proved to be a generous blessing. I now work at Red Square Agency, a highly-accredited Advertising agency, in a downtown office that boasts two balconies overlooking both the main street and the bay.  When the Carnival Elation docks at the port downtown, I am still shocked to see a huge ship amongst the skyscrapers on my short walk from the coffee shop to work.   

I think I will be making my next few posts – complete with pictures – about the reasons why I have become so completely happy here. Some of the causes are obvious – my wonderful boyfriend who puts my happiness before his own; my new friends who have made Mobile feel like a home; Midtown, with it’s artsy culture and friendly environment, and the atmosphere of this beautiful bayside city in general.

Few people know that Mobile, AL was the first city in the US to celebrate Mardi Gras.  Yes, even before New Orleans! Because Mobile is so concerned with preservation and Mobilians don’t want to market their city like New Orleans does (though it would help with the teeny tiny occupancy rate of the semi-deserted downtown), tourists flock to Bourbon Street instead of Dauphin Street. I think the people of Mobile probably prefer it that way. Sure, they think, come and visit, spend your money, and please clean up after yourselves before you quietly exit our magnificent town.

What I love about Mobile is what every one loves about New Orleans – the city has an identity; one that they take pride in and own up to. Mardi Gras has a lot to do with this, and since Carnival season is among us, I will be blogging about all the happenings to come. The homes of midtown have proudly displayed their green, purple and gold flags, as well as beads, masks and other decorations. The Mardi Gras-only shops have opened their doors (even on the weekends, oh my!), and the formal stores and consignments shops have been reeling in the money by selling off or renting their gowns and tails.

Mardi Gras is in session, y’all.  You’ll be hearing all about it.