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Donna On the Side Pt. 1 - Mobile Old and New - Mobile Challenge of Champions 2002Published by
Relaxing Before the Meet by Donna Dye This year the Meet of Champions has a tenth year anniversary to celebrate--ten years of providing competition at the high school level for athletes in the costal area. Through the years the meet and the competition has gotten bigger and better. This year the field is deep and talented. Meet Director, Steve Schoenewald, his partner Mike Cambre and all of the athletes put together an exciting 10 year celebration. Another anniversary celebration is going on, the Mobile Tricentennial. Mobile was founded in 1702 making this year the 300th anniversary year of the city. The city was named after the Mauvilla Indians who lived in the area. Because of location, its history is connected to international trade and defense. While not obvious if you're out at the Meet Hotel on I-65 and Airport road, Mobile is a city influenced by contributions from the Spanish, French, British, African and Creole cultures. A great deal of the old French and Spanish city was burned in fires, but rebuilt in the 1850's and 60's when the city flourished as an affluent cotton-shipping port. Downtown Mobile still displays some of the influence of its diverse background in the architecture with the French balconies and iron lace rails; the French Fort Condé which now houses the Mobile Visitor Welcome Center; and the Statue of Alonzo Alvarez de Pineda in the Spanish Plaza. Views In and Around the Spanish Plaza
Later as the area was influenced by more trade, other areas out further from downtown developed. There is Oakleigh Garden District, Old Dauphin Way, an area built by merchants to house themselves and their servants, and Spring Hill, an area developed as a summer retreat and used especially when the city was plagued by yellow fever. While Mobile was very important in the Civil War, little remains of that period. For more recent history, there is the USS Alabama Batleship Memorial Park.The main attraction is the USS Alabama and the submarine USS Drum. Both vesels were important in World War II sea battles. As for the influence of these cultures on food, you can find plenty of bar-b-que, seafood, red beans and rice and hush puppies. For getting around downtown, the Moda! bus is the best bet. Scenes from Downtown old and new!
While visiting downtown, we lunched at Drayton Place on Dauphin Street--a terrific restoration of the first floor Van Antwerp building pharmacy into a modern lovely restaurant with very good food. The whole building is slated for a renovation into luxury condomiums including a penthouse with terrific views of the city and harbor.
The 10 floor Van Antwerp Building was the oldest skyscraper of Alabama and the Southeast in the early 20th century. It was designed to provide a new home for the family operated Drug Store which had occupied this corner since 1884. It is now registered on the National Register of Historic Places. Now on to the Meet of Champions 2002!
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