Old City Hall

Initially, the complex was supposed to be built in Mobile in 1854 as a central city market where vegetables, meat and fish would be sold. In February 1855, a decision was made, according to which the mayor’s office and some municipal ministries were located in the complex. The architect at the initial stage of construction was Thomas Simmons James , who came to Mobil from Virginia . On December 27, 1855, the current mayor’s office on Conti and Jackson Street burned down, as a result of which it was decided to allocate an additional 40,000 dollars for the construction of additional facilities for the city treasurer, the mayor and the city council. Payment receipts that have survived to the present day indicate that the construction was completed on April 20, 1857.

In 1910, the buildings were rebuilt according to a new project by architect William L. Denham . A new meeting room appeared, the front and back of the central section were connected, the staircase on the east wall of the lobby was redesigned.

In the 1930s, the complex was again redesigned by architect Frederick Clarke . Most of the work was aimed at arranging some previously empty spaces. On September 12, 1979, the complex was damaged as a result of Hurricane Frederick ( Eng. ). All employees and visitors managed to leave the building. Later the complex was restored again.

The complex is built in the style of and consists of four sections of rectangular shape, connected by three arcade aisles. The building was built of brick and faced with stucco with wooden trim and brackets ^[2] .

The two central sections together form a shape resembling the letter “U”, overlooking King Street and extending to Water Street. This central part is decorated with a central octagonal dome. The south wing is 9 meters (30 feet) by 84 meters (275 feet) and goes to Black Street. The first floor of the southern wing used to be in kiosks and shops, but at the moment this part is not occupied by anything. The north wing is 9 meters (30 feet) wide and much shorter than the south wing. The northern wall is adjacent to the center of the Gulf Coast study ^[3] .

The building is located on the National Register of Historic Places as a national historical monument, and is also part of East Historic District Church Street.

Since 1997, the reconstruction of the building began, in order to house the Historical Museum of Mobile. In 2000, the rear part of the building was completed to house permanent exhibits and staff office there. In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina, the museum was closed for six months for repair work.

The exhibits are located on two floors of the complex and tell the story of the Mobile device over the past 300 years. The museum has temporary exhibits that are constantly changing, and permanent exhibits. Exhibits on an ongoing basis: the exhibition "The old ways of new days", which tells the whole history of the city, from the colonization to the present; the exhibition "Walls and Halls", which presents furniture, antique silver, works of art and other artifacts ^[4] .

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  Detailed shot of the dome

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  Photo taken in 1906

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  Photo taken from the Heritage Documentation Program in 1934

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  One of a pair of antique sculpted lions at the entrance to the exhibits.

• Museum of mobile