View source for Mobile, Alabama

{{short description|City in Alabama, United States}}
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{{Use American English|date=September 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2018}}
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{{Infobox settlement
|name                     = Mobile, Alabama
|settlement_type          = [[City]]
|nicknames                 = "The Port City", "Azalea City", "The City of Six Flags"
|motto                    = 
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|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Alabama]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Alabama|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Mobile County, Alabama|Mobile]]
<!-- Government ----------->
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|government_type          = [[Mayor-council government|Mayor-Council]]
|leader_party             = [[Alabama Republican Party|R]]{{efn|City elections are Nonpartisan.}}
|leader_title             = [[List of mayors of Mobile, Alabama|Mayor]]
|leader_name              = [[Spiro Cheriogotis]]
|established_title        = Founded
|established_date         = 1702
|established_title1       = Incorporated (town)
|established_date1        = January 20, 1814<ref>{{cite web |title=Municipalities of Alabama Incorporation Dates |publisher=Alabama League of Municipalities |url=https://almonline.org/Assets/Files/AboutUs/Alabama_Municipalities_Incorporation_Dates.pdf |access-date=March 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326194228/https://almonline.org/Assets/Files/AboutUs/Alabama_Municipalities_Incorporation_Dates.pdf |archive-date=26 March 2024}}</ref><ref name="alabama-law-to-1823-town">{{cite book |section-url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_JvtKAAAAYAAJ/page/n811 |section=An Act to provide for Government of the Town of Mobile. —Passed January 20, 1814 |via=Internet Archive |title=A Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama: Containing The Statutes and Resolutions in Force at the end of the General Assembly in January 1823 |publisher=Ginn & Curtis |location=New-York |date=1828 |at=Title 62. ch. XII. pp. 780–781}}</ref>
|established_title2       = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated]] (city)
|established_date2        = December 17, 1819<ref name="alabama-law-to-1823-city">{{cite book |section-url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_JvtKAAAAYAAJ/page/n815 |section=An Act to incorporate the City of Mobile. —Passed December 17, 1819 |via=Internet Archive |title=A Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama: Containing The Statutes and Resolutions in Force at the end of the General Assembly in January 1823 |publisher=Ginn & Curtis |location=New-York |date=1828 |at=Title 62. ch. XVI. pp. 784–791}}</ref>
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<!-- Population ----------->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_est           = 183289
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|population_density_km2   = 507.4
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|population_rank          = US: [[List of United States cities by population|141st]]<br />AL: [[List of municipalities in Alabama|4th]]
|population_urban         = 321907 (US: [[List of United States urban areas|126th]])<ref name="urban area">{{cite web |url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/12/29/2022-28286/2020-census-qualifying-urban-areas-and-final-criteria-clarifications |title=2020 Census Qualifying Urban Areas and Final Criteria Clarifications |author=United States Census Bureau |website=Federal Register |date=December 29, 2022}}</ref>
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|population_blank1        = 665147 (US: [[Combined statistical area|79th]])<!-- in 2023 -->
|population_density_blank1_km2 = 66.63
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|population_demonym       = Mobilian
<!-- General information -->
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|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP Code]]s
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|area_code                = [[Area code 251|251]]
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|blank_info               = 01-50000
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|blank1_info              = 2404278<ref name=gnis>{{cite gnis2|2404278}}</ref>
|website                  = {{URL|https://www.cityofmobile.org/|cityofmobile.org}}
}}

'''Mobile''' ({{IPAc-en|m|oʊ|ˈ|b|iː|l}} {{Respell|moh|BEEL}}, {{IPA|fr|mɔbil|lang|fr-mobile.ogg}}) is a city and the [[county seat]] of [[Mobile County, Alabama]], United States. The population was 187,041 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]]<ref name="2020 Census (City)">{{cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Mobile_city,_Alabama?g=160XX00US0150000 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=March 17, 2024}}</ref> and estimated at 204,689 following an annexation in 2023, making it the [[List of municipalities in Alabama|second-most populous city]] in Alabama. The [[Mobile metropolitan area]], with an estimated 412,000 people, is the [[Alabama statistical areas|third-most populous metropolitan area]] in the state.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=310XX00US13820,26620,33660,33860&d=DEC%20Redistricting%20Data%20%28PL%2094-171%29&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P1 |title=P1. Race: Total Population |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |work=2020 Census |access-date=April 19, 2022}}</ref>

Alabama's only saltwater port, Mobile is located on the [[Mobile River]] at the head of [[Mobile Bay]] on the north-central [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf Coast]].<ref name="foundmob">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Mobile Alabama |encyclopedia=Britannica Online |url=https://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9372340 |access-date=October 19, 2007}}</ref> The [[Port of Mobile]] has always played a key role in the economic health of the city, beginning with the settlement as an important trading center between the [[French colonization of the Americas|French colonists]] and [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], and now to its current role as the 12th-largest port in the [[United States]].<ref name="mobilianpid">{{cite book |last=Drechsel |first=Emanuel |title=Mobilian Jargon: Linguistic and Sociohistorical Aspects of a Native American Pidgin |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=1997 |isbn=0-19-824033-3}}</ref><ref name="port">{{cite web |title=Waterborne Commerce Statistics: Calendar Year 2010 |work=United States Army Corps of Engineers |url=http://www.ndc.iwr.usace.army.mil/wcsc/pdf/wcusnatl10.pdf |access-date=November 23, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216081117/http://www.ndc.iwr.usace.army.mil/wcsc/pdf/wcusnatl10.pdf |archive-date=February 16, 2013}}</ref> During the [[American Civil War]], the city surrendered to Federal forces on April 12, 1865,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Bunn |first=Mike |title=Battle of Fort Blakeley |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Alabama]] |url=http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3718 |date=May 8, 2017 |access-date=July 23, 2019}}</ref> after [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] victories at two forts protecting the city.

Considered one of the [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf Coast]]'s cultural centers, Mobile has several art museums, a symphony orchestra, professional opera, professional ballet company, and a large concentration of historic architecture.<ref name="mma2">{{cite web |title=General Information |work=Mobile Museum of Art |url=http://www.mobilemuseumofart.com/home.html |access-date=October 23, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928225649/http://www.mobilemuseumofart.com/home.html |archive-date=September 28, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy}}</ref><ref name="srg">{{cite web |title=About Region |work=SeniorsResourceGuide.com |url=http://www.seniorsresourceguide.com/directories/Mobile/about_region.html |access-date=May 5, 2007 |archive-date=September 28, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928123533/http://www.seniorsresourceguide.com/directories/Mobile/about_region.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> Mobile is known for having [[Mardi Gras]], the oldest organized [[Carnival]] celebration in the United States. [[Alabama Creole people|Alabama's French Creole population]] celebrated this festival from the first decade of the 18th century. Beginning in 1830, Mobile was home to the first organized Carnival [[mystic society]] to celebrate with a parade in the United States.<ref name="MMtime">{{cite web |title=Mobile Mardi Gras Timeline |publisher=The Museum of Mobile |url=http://www.museumofmobile.com/html/mardi_gras_timeline.php |access-date=November 14, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205131150/http://www.museumofmobile.com/html/mardi_gras_timeline.php |archive-date=December 5, 2008}}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of Mobile, Alabama}}
{{ For timeline}}

===Etymology===
{{Further|Alabama Creole people}}
The city named after the Mobile tribe that the French colonists encountered living around [[Mobile Bay]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Thomason |first=Michael |title=Mobile: The New History of Alabama's First City |pages=17–20 |location=Tuscaloosa |publisher=University of Alabama Press |date=2001 |isbn=0-8173-1065-7}}</ref> Although it is debated by Alabama historians, they may have been descendants of the Native American tribe from the small fortress town, [[Mabila]], in central Alabama.<ref name="maubilianind">{{Cite magazine |magazine=The Old Mobile Project Newsletter |date=Fall 1998 |title=The Mobilian Indians |url=http://www.usouthal.edu/archaeology/pdf/issue-17.pdf |access-date=November 19, 2007 |publisher=University of South Alabama Center for Archaeological Studies |pages=1–4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071127083724/http://www.usouthal.edu/archaeology/pdf/issue-17.pdf |archive-date=27 November 2007}}</ref> The Mobile tribe became allies with the French colonists and suggested the location for the original town of Mobile and a river fort.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Turner-Neal |first1=Chris |title=Old Mobile |url=https://64parishes.org/old-mobile |website=64 Parishes |publisher=Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities |language=en |date=30 August 2022}}</ref> The tribe's language was the basis for [[Mobilian Jargon]], a Choctaw-derived ''lingua franca'' widely used to facilitate trade among the various Gulf Coast peoples.<ref name="Waselkov-2005"/> About seven years after the founding of the French Mobile settlement, the Mobile tribe, along with the Tohomé, gained permission from the colonists to settle near the fort.<ref>Thomason (2001), ''Mobile'', pp. 20 and 24</ref>

===Colonial===
[[File:Fort Condé 2.jpg|thumb|upright|A reconstructed bastion of the Fort Condé]]

In 1702, French colonists founded the [[Old Mobile Site]] south of existing Native American villages on the Mobile River. The ''Fort Louis de la Louisiane'' was built on a bluff that today is {{convert|27|mi|km}} upriver from the [[Mobile River]]'s mouth. The original town of Mobile was built on lower ground just downriver from the fort.<ref name="Waselkov-2005">{{cite book |last1=Waselkov |first1=Gregory |title=Old Mobile Archaeology |date=2005 |publisher=University of Alabama Books |location=Tuscaloosa |isbn=978-0-8173-8473-9 |pages=1–5, 37}}</ref> [[French Canadian]] brothers [[Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville]] and [[Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville]] founded the site to establish control over France's claims to ''La Louisiane''. From 1702 to 1711, it was the French colonial capital.<ref name="nhlapp">{{cite web |url=http://www.cr.nps.gov/nhl/DOE_dedesignations/oldmobil.pdf |title=National Historic Landmark Nomination&nbsp;– Old Mobile Site |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030824131750/http://www.cr.nps.gov/nhl/DOE_dedesignations/oldmobil.pdf |archive-date=24 August 2003 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Mobile's Roman Catholic parish was established on July 20, 1703, by [[Jean-Baptiste de la Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier]], [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec|Bishop of Quebec]], and was the first French Catholic parish established on the [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf Coast]].<ref name="oldmobile1">{{cite book |last=Higginbotham |first=Jay |title=Old Mobile: Fort Louis de la Louisiane, 1702–1711 |pages=106–107 |publisher=Museum of the City of Mobile |date=1977 |isbn=0-914334-03-4}}.</ref> In 1704, the ship [[French ship Pélican (1702)|''Pélican'']] delivered 23 Frenchwomen to the colony, but passengers had contracted [[yellow fever]] at a stop in [[Havana]]; though most recovered, many colonists and neighboring Native Americans contracted the disease and died. African [[slaves]] were transported to Mobile on a supply ship from the French colony of [[Saint-Domingue]] in the [[Caribbean]].<ref name="pelican">Thomason (2001), ''Mobile'', pp. 20–21.</ref>

Disease and flooding plagued French colonists at the Old Mobile Site.<ref name="Thomason-2001"/> The colony grew to 279 persons by 1708 but shrank to 178 persons two years later.<ref name="oldmobile1"/> Bienville ordered the settlement to relocate downriver and Mobile moved to its present location at the confluence of the [[Mobile River]] and [[Mobile Bay]] in 1711.<ref name="Thomason-2001">{{cite book |last=Thomason |first=Michael |title=Mobile: The New History of Alabama's First City |pages=17–27 |location=Tuscaloosa |publisher=University of Alabama Press |date=2001 |isbn=0-8173-1065-7}}</ref> According to anthropologist Greg Waselkov, French colonists burned the Old Mobile Site to the ground, likely to prevent their enemies from occupying it.<ref name="hoffman">{{cite news |first=Roy |last=Hoffman |title=Digging old Mobile |url=http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/specialreport/mobileregister/tri-02-24-7.html |work=Mobile Press-Register |date=2002-02-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020917220501/http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/specialreport/mobileregister/tri-02-24-7.html |archive-date=17 September 2002}}</ref> An earth-and-palisade Fort Louis was constructed at the new site.<ref name="MoMfort">{{Cite web |url=http://www.museumofmobile.com/html/other_museums.php |title=History Museum of Mobile |website=Museumofmobile.com |access-date=March 4, 2022}}</ref> The capital of [[Louisiana (New France)|La Louisiane]] was moved in 1720 to [[Biloxi, Mississippi|Biloxi]],<ref name="MoMfort"/> and Mobile became a regional military and trading center. In 1723 the construction of a new brick fort with a stone foundation began<ref name="MoMfort"/> and it was renamed Fort Condé in honor of [[Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon]].<ref name="conde1">{{cite web |title=Historic Fort Conde |work=Museum of Mobile |url=http://www.museumofmobile.com/html/other_museums.php |access-date=October 18, 2007}}</ref>

In 1763, Britain defeated France in the [[Seven Years' War]]. The [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]] ceded French territories east of the Mississippi River to Britain, including Mobile. The city became part of the expanded British [[West Florida]] colony.<ref name="setmob1">{{cite web |title=Early European Conquests and the Settlement of Mobile |work=Alabama Department of Archives and History |url=http://www.alabamamoments.state.al.us/sec02qs.html |access-date=October 20, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716172205/http://www.alabamamoments.state.al.us/sec02qs.html |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> The British changed the name of Fort Condé to [[Fort Charlotte, Mobile|Fort Charlotte]], after [[Queen Charlotte]].<ref name="setmob2">{{cite web |title=Mobile: Alabama's Tricentennial City |work=Alabama Department of Archives and History |url=http://www.archives.state.al.us/mobile/mobile3.html |access-date=October 20, 2007 |archive-date=August 10, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810204644/http://archives.state.al.us/mobile/mobile3.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The British promised religious tolerance to the French colonists, and 112 French colonists remained in Mobile.<ref name="britmob1">Thomason (2001), ''Mobile'', pp. 44–45</ref> The first permanent Jewish settlers came to Mobile in 1763 as a result of the new British rule and religious tolerance; Jews were not allowed to officially reside in colonial French Louisiana due to the [[Code Noir]]. Most colonial-era Jews in Mobile were merchants and traders from Sephardic Jewish communities in [[Savannah, Georgia]] and [[Charleston, South Carolina]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Zietz |first=Robert |date=1994 |title=The Gates of Heaven: Congregation Sha'arai Shomayim, the first 150 years, Mobile, Alabama, 1844–1994 |location=Mobile, Alabama |publisher=Congregation Sha'arai Shomayim |pages=7–39}}</ref> By 1766, the town's population was estimated to be 860 people, although the borders were smaller than during the French colonial period.<ref name="britmob1"/> During the [[American Revolutionary War]], West Florida and Mobile became a refuge for [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|loyalists]] fleeing the other colonies.<ref name="storymobile1">{{cite book |last=Delaney |first=Caldwell |title=The Story of Mobile |page=45 |location=Mobile, Alabama |publisher=Gill Press |orig-date=1953 |date=1981 |isbn=0-940882-14-0}}</ref>

While the British were fighting rebellious colonists along the Atlantic coast, the [[Spain in the American Revolutionary War|Spanish entered the war]] in 1779.<ref name="barrancas"/> The Spanish wished to eliminate any British threat to their Louisiana colony west of the Mississippi River, which they had received from France in the 1763 Treaty of Paris.<ref name="storymobile1"/> [[Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez|Bernardo de Galvez]], the Spanish Governor of Louisiana,<ref name="barrancas">{{cite book |title=The Fort Barrancas Story |author=David P. Ogden |date=January 2005 |publisher=Eastern National Parks |isbn=978-1-888213-15-7 |page=2}}</ref> captured Mobile during the [[Battle of Fort Charlotte]] in 1780. Their actions were condoned by the revolting American colonies, partially evidenced by the presence of Oliver Pollack, representative of the American Continental Congress. Due to strong trade ties, many residents of Mobile and [[West Florida]] remained loyal to the [[British Crown]].<ref name="storymobile1"/><ref name="barrancas"/> The Spanish renamed the fort as Fortaleza Carlota, and held Mobile as a part of Spanish [[West Florida]] until 1813, when it was seized by United States General [[James Wilkinson]] during the [[War of 1812]].<ref name="wilkinson">{{cite web |title=James Wilkinson |work=War of 1812 |url=http://www.galafilm.com/1812/e/people/wilkinson.html |access-date=October 20, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103184211/http://www.galafilm.com/1812/e/people/wilkinson.html |archive-date=November 3, 2007 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

===19th century===
[[File:Southern Hotel Water Street.jpg|thumb|A [[Historic American Buildings Survey|HABS]] photo of the Southern Hotel on Water Street in 1934. It was completed in 1837 and demolished soon after this photograph was taken.]]
When Mobile was included in the [[Mississippi Territory]] in 1813, the population had dwindled to roughly 300 people. The territory was split in 1817, and the eastern half, including the Mobile Bay area, became the [[Alabama Territory]] for two years before being admitted to the union as the state of Alabama. Mobile's population had increased to 809 by that time.<ref name="antebellum1">{{cite book |last=Thomason |first=Michael |title=Mobile: the new history of Alabama's first city |page=65 |location=Tuscaloosa |publisher=University of Alabama Press |year=2001 |isbn=0-8173-1065-7}}</ref> Mobile was well situated for trade, as its location tied it to a river system that served as the principal navigational access for most of Alabama and a large part of Mississippi. River transportation was aided by the introduction of [[steamboat]]s in the early decades of the 19th century.<ref>
{{cite book |title=The Transportation Revolution, 1815–1860 |last=Taylor |first=George Rogers |year=1969 |publisher=Rinehart |isbn=978-0873321013}}</ref> By 1822, the city's population had risen to 2,800.<ref name="antebellum1"/>

[[File:Convent Visitation 01.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|[[Convent and Academy of the Visitation]], completed in 1855]]

The [[Industrial Revolution]] in Great Britain created shortages of cotton, increasing prices on world markets.<ref>{{cite book |title=Empire of Cotton: A Global History |last=Beckert |first=Sven |year=2014 |publisher=Vintage Books Division Penguin Random House |location=US |isbn=978-0-375-71396-5}}</ref>  Much land well suited to growing cotton lies in the vicinity of the [[Mobile River]], and its main tributaries the [[Tombigbee River|Tombigbee]] and [[Alabama River]]s. A [[plantation economy]] using slave labor developed in the region and Mobile's population quickly grew.<ref name="antebellum1"/> From the 1830s onward, Mobile expanded into a city of commerce focused on the cotton and slave trades. Slaves were transported by ship in the [[coastwise slave trade]] from the Upper South. Many businesses in the city were related to the slave trade, and the city's booming businesses attracted merchants from the North; by 1850 10% of its population was from [[New York City]], which was deeply involved in the cotton industry.<ref>[http://mshistorynow.mdah.state.ms.us/articles/161/cotton-in-a-global-economy-mississippi-1800-1860 Eugene R. Dattel, "Cotton in a Global Economy: Mississippi (1800–1860)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190615105736/http://mshistorynow.mdah.state.ms.us/articles/161/cotton-in-a-global-economy-mississippi-1800-1860 |date=June 15, 2019}}, October 2006, Mississippi History Now, online publication of the Mississippi Historical Society</ref>

Mobile was the slave-trading center of the state until the 1850s, when it was surpassed by [[Montgomery, Alabama|Montgomery]].<ref name="antebellum3">{{cite book |last=Thomason |first=Michael |title=Mobile: The New History of Alabama's first city |pages=79–80 |location=Tuscaloosa, Alabama |publisher=University of Alabama Press |year=2001 |isbn=0-8173-1065-7}}</ref> The prosperity stimulated a building boom that was underway by the mid-1830s. This was cut short in part by the [[Panic of 1837]] and [[yellow fever]] epidemics.<ref name="antebellum2">{{cite book |last=Thomason |first=Michael |title=Mobile: the new history of Alabama's first city |pages=69–71 |location=Tuscaloosa, Alabama |publisher=University of Alabama Press |year=2001 |isbn=0-8173-1065-7}}</ref> The waterfront was developed with wharves, terminal facilities, and fireproof brick warehouses. The exports of cotton grew in proportion to the amounts being produced in the [[Black Belt (region of Alabama)|Black Belt]]; by 1840 Mobile was second only to [[New Orleans]] in cotton exports in the nation.<ref name="antebellum1"/> Mobile slaveholders owned relatively few slaves compared to planters in the upland [[Plantations in the American South|plantation]] areas, but many households had domestic slaves, and many other slaves worked on the waterfront and on riverboats. The last slaves to enter the United States from the African trade were brought to Mobile on the slave ship [[Clotilda (slave ship)|''Clotilda'']], including [[Cudjoe Lewis]], who was the last survivor of the slave trade.<ref name="Hurston-1927">{{cite journal |last1=Hurston |first1=Zora Neal |title=Cudjo's Own Story of the Last African Slaver |journal=The Journal of Negro History |date=October 1927 |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=648–663 |doi=10.2307/2714041 |jstor=2714041 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2714041}}</ref>

[[File:Steamer loading cotton in Mobile.jpg|thumb|[[Steamboat]]s bound for inland Alabama and Mississippi being loaded at Mobile's dockyards]]

By 1860 Mobile's population within the city limits had reached 29,258 people; it was the 27th-largest city in the United States and 4th-largest in what would soon be the [[Confederate States of America]].<ref name="1860cen">{{cite web |title=Population of the 100 Largest Urban Places: 1860 |work=United States Bureau of the Census |url=https://www.census.gov/population/documentation/twps0027/tab09.txt |access-date=November 2, 2007 |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20011126145022/http://www.census.gov/population/documentation/twps0027/tab09.txt |archive-date=November 26, 2001 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The free population in the whole of Mobile County, including the city, consisted of 29,754 citizens, of which 1,195 were [[Person of color|free people of color]].<ref name="pop1860">{{cite web |title=Census Data for the Year 1860 |work=Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research |url=http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-local/censusbin/census/cen.pl?year=860 |access-date=November 13, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070506121628/http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-local/censusbin/census/cen.pl?year=860 |archive-date=May 6, 2007}}</ref> Additionally, 1,785 slave owners in the county held 11,376 people in bondage, about one-quarter of the total county population of 41,130 people.<ref name="pop1860"/>

During the [[American Civil War]], Mobile was a Confederate city. The ''[[H. L. Hunley (submarine)|H. L. Hunley]]'', the first [[submarine]] to sink an enemy ship, was built in Mobile.<ref name="Hunley">{{cite web |title=H. L. Hunley |work=Naval Historical Center |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/org12-3.htm |access-date=October 20, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014220553/http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/org12-3.htm |archive-date=October 14, 2007}}</ref> One of the most famous [[naval engagement]]s of the [[American Civil War|war]] was the [[Battle of Mobile Bay]], resulting in the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] taking control of [[Mobile Bay]] on August 5, 1864.<ref name="newhist1">{{citation |last=Thomason |first=Michael |title='Mobile: the new history of Alabama's first city |page=113 |location=Tuscaloosa |publisher=University of Alabama Press |date=2001 |isbn=0-8173-1065-7}}</ref> On April 12, 1865, three days after [[Robert E. Lee]]'s surrender at [[Battle of Appomattox Courthouse|Appomattox Courthouse]], the city surrendered to the [[Union army]] to avoid destruction after Union victories at nearby [[Battle of Spanish Fort|Spanish Fort]] and [[Battle of Fort Blakeley|Fort Blakeley]].<ref name="newhist1"/>

[[File:Mobile Cotton Exchange.jpg|thumb|[[Mobile Cotton Exchange]] and Chamber of Commerce building, completed in 1886]]
On May 25, 1865, the city suffered great loss when some three hundred people died as a result of an [[Mobile magazine explosion|explosion]] at a [[Federal government of the United States|federal]] [[ammunition depot]] on Beauregard Street. The explosion left a {{convert|30|ft|m|0|adj=on}} deep hole at the depot's location, and sank ships docked on the Mobile River; the resulting fires destroyed the northern portion of the city.<ref>{{cite book |last=Delaney |first=Caldwell |title=The Story of Mobile |pages=144–146 |location=Mobile, Alabama |publisher=Gill Press |orig-date=1953 |date=1981 |isbn=0-940882-14-0}}</ref>

Federal [[Reconstruction era of the United States|Reconstruction]] in Mobile began after the Civil War and effectively ended in 1874 when the local [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] gained control of the city government.<ref name="reconstruction1">{{cite book |last=Thomason |first=Michael |title=Mobile: the new history of Alabama's first city |page=153 |location=Tuscaloosa |publisher=University of Alabama Press |date=2001 |isbn=0-8173-1065-7}}</ref> The last quarter of the 19th century was a time of economic depression and municipal insolvency for Mobile. One example can be provided by the value of Mobile's exports during this period of depression. The value of exports leaving the city fell from $9 million in 1878 to $3&nbsp;million in 1882.<ref name="exports1878">{{cite book |last=Thomason |first=Michael |title=Mobile: the new history of Alabama's first city |page=145 |location=Tuscaloosa |publisher=University of Alabama Press |date=2001 |isbn=0-8173-1065-7}}</ref>

===20th century before WWII===
[[File:Van Antwerp Building 1907.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|The [[Van Antwerp Building]], completed in 1907]]
The turn of the 20th century brought the [[Progressive Era]] to Mobile. The economic structure developed with new industries, generating new jobs and attracting a significant increase in population.<ref name="progress1">{{cite book |last=Thomason |first=Michael |title=Mobile: The New History of Alabama's First City |pages=154–169 |location=Tuscaloosa |publisher=University of Alabama Press |date=2001 |isbn=0-8173-1065-7}}</ref> The population increased from around 40,000 in 1900 to 60,000 by 1920.<ref name="progress1"/> During this time the city received $3 million in federal grants for harbor improvements to deepen the shipping channels.<ref name="progress1"/> During and after World War I, manufacturing became increasingly vital to Mobile's economic health, with shipbuilding and steel production being two of the most important industries.<ref name="progress1"/>

During this time, social justice and race relations in Mobile worsened.<ref name="progress1"/> The state passed a new constitution in 1901 that [[Disfranchisement after Reconstruction era|disenfranchised most blacks and many poor whites]]; and the white Democratic-dominated legislature passed other discriminatory legislation. In 1902, the city government passed Mobile's first [[racial segregation]] ordinance, segregating the city streetcars. It legislated what had been informal practice, enforced by convention.<ref name="progress1"/> Mobile's African-American population responded to this with a two-month boycott, but the law was not repealed.<ref name="progress1"/> After this, Mobile's ''de facto'' segregation was increasingly replaced with legislated segregation as whites imposed [[Jim Crow laws]] to maintain [[white supremacy|supremacy]].<ref name="progress1"/>

In 1911 the city adopted a commission form of government, which had three members elected by [[at-large]] voting. Considered to be progressive, as it would reduce the power of ward bosses, this change resulted in the elite white majority strengthening its power, as only the majority could gain election of at-large candidates. In addition, poor whites and blacks had already been disenfranchised. Mobile was one of the last cities to retain this form of government, which prevented smaller groups from electing candidates of their choice. But Alabama's white yeomanry had historically favored [[single-member districts]] in order to elect candidates of their choice.<ref name="vra">[http://www.protectcivilrights.org/pdf/voting/AlabamaVRA.pdf James Blacksher, Edward Still, Nick Quinton, Cullen Brown, and Royal Dumas, "Voting Rights in Alabama 1982–2006"], July 2006, RenewtheVRA.org, accessed March 12, 2015</ref>

[[File:Alabama - Mobile Bay through Mobile - NARA - 23934849 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Warehouse district at the port, 1932]]
The [[red imported fire ant]] was first introduced into the United States via the Port of Mobile. Sometime in the late 1930s they came ashore off cargo ships arriving from South America. The ants were carried in the soil used as ballast on those ships.<ref>{{cite web |title=Red Imported Fire Ants |url=https://ph.health.mil/topics/entomology/what/Pages/RIF.aspx |website=Defense Centers for Public Health |publisher=Defense Health Agency |access-date=6 July 2025 |date=September 26, 2024}}</ref><!-- Dead url and dead archive-url: <ref name="FireAnts">{{cite web |url=http://chppm-www.apgea.army.mil/documents/FACT/RedImportedFireAntsJusttheFacts-Sep2007.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=September 10, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617063432/http://chppm-www.apgea.army.mil/documents/FACT/RedImportedFireAntsJusttheFacts-Sep2007.pdf |archive-date=June 17, 2011 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>--> They have spread throughout the South and Southwest.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of the Red Imported Fire Ant |url=https://fireant.tamu.edu/learn/history-of-the-red-imported-fire-ant/ |website=Texas Imported Fire Ant Research and Management Project |publisher=Texas A&M |access-date=22 May 2025}}</ref>

[[File:Type T2-SE-A1 tanker Hat Creek underway at sea on 16 August 1943.jpg|thumb|The [[SS Hat Creek|SS ''Hat Creek'']], a [[T2 tanker]] completed by Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company in 1943. The company built 102 of these oil tankers during WWII.]]
During [[World War II]], the defense buildup in Mobile shipyards resulted in a considerable increase in the city's white middle-class and working-class population, largely due to the massive influx of workers coming to work in the shipyards and at [[Brookley Air Force Base|Brookley Army Air Field]].<ref name="thomason2">{{cite book |last=Thomason |first=Michael |title=Mobile: The New History of Alabama's First City |pages=213–217 |location=Tuscaloosa |publisher=University of Alabama Press |date=2001 |isbn=0-8173-1065-7}}</ref> Between 1940 and 1943, more than 89,000 people moved into Mobile to work for war effort industries.<ref name="thomason2"/>

[[File:Liberty ship at sea.jpg|thumb|A [[Liberty ship]] of the type built at [[Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company]] during World War II. Twenty were completed in Mobile.]]

Mobile was one of eighteen United States cities producing [[Liberty ships]]. Its [[Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company]] (ADDSCO) supported the war effort by producing ships faster than the [[Axis powers of World War II|Axis powers]] could sink them. ADDSCO also churned out a copious number of [[T2 tanker]]s for the War Department.<ref name="thomason2"/> [[Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation]], a subsidiary of [[Waterman Steamship Corporation]], focused on building [[Cargo ship|freighters]], {{sclass|Fletcher|destroyer}}s, and [[Minesweeper (ship)|minesweepers]].<ref name="thomason2"/> The rapid increase of population in the city produced crowded conditions, increasing social tensions in the competition for housing and good jobs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Four Towns: Mobile |url=https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-war/mobile |access-date=2024-12-20 |website=The War {{!}} Ken Burns {{!}} PBS |language=en}}</ref>

In May 1943, a [[race riot]] broke out between whites and blacks. ADDSCO management had long maintained segregated conditions at the shipyards, although the Roosevelt administration had ordered defense contractors to integrate facilities. That year ADDSCO promoted 12 blacks to positions as welders, previously reserved for whites; and whites objected to the change by rioting on May 24. The mayor appealed to the governor to call in the [[National Guard (United States)|National Guard]] to restore order, but it was weeks before officials allowed African Americans to return to work.<ref name="addsco">[http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1475 Scotty E. Kirkland, "Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company (ADDSCO)"]. ''Encyclopedia of Alabama'' online, 2008, update August 10, 2015</ref>

===Post-WWII===

In the late 1940s, the transition to the postwar economy was hard for the city, as thousands of jobs were lost at the shipyards with the decline in the defense industry. Eventually the city's social structure began to become more liberal. Replacing shipbuilding as a primary economic force, the paper and chemical industries began to expand. No longer needed for defense, most of the old military bases were converted to civilian uses. Following the war, in which many African Americans had served, veterans and their supporters stepped up activism to gain enforcement of their constitutional rights and social justice, especially in the [[Jim Crow]] South. During the 1950s the City of Mobile integrated its police force and [[Spring Hill College]] accepted students of all races. Unlike in the rest of the state, by the early 1960s the city buses and lunch counters voluntarily desegregated.<ref name="thomason2"/>

The Alabama legislature passed the Cater Act in 1949, allowing cities and counties to set up industrial development boards (IDB) to issue municipal bonds as incentives to attract new industry into their local areas. The city of Mobile did not establish a Cater Act board until 1962. [[George E. McNally]], Mobile's first Republican mayor since Reconstruction, was the driving force behind the founding of the IDB. The Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, believing its members were better qualified to attract new businesses and industry to the area, considered the new IDB as a serious rival. After several years of political squabbling, the Chamber of Commerce emerged victorious. While McNally's IDB prompted the Chamber of Commerce to become more proactive in attracting new industry, the chamber effectively shut Mobile city government out of economic development decisions.<ref>Bill Patterson, "The Founding of the Industrial Development Board of the City of Mobile: The Port City's Reluctant Use of Subsidies", ''Gulf South Historical Review'' 2000 15(2): 21–40,</ref>

In 1963, three African-American students brought a case against the Mobile County School Board for being denied admission to [[Murphy High School, Alabama|Murphy High School]].<ref name="murphy1">Thomason (2001), ''Mobile'', pp. 260–261</ref> This was nearly a decade after the United States Supreme Court had ruled in ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'' (1954) that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. The federal district court ordered that the three students be admitted to Murphy for the 1964 school year, leading to the desegregation of Mobile County's school system.<ref name="murphy1"/>

The [[civil rights movement]] gained congressional passage of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], which increased the percentage of black residents able to vote,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Levins |first1=Angela |title=Voting Rights Act turns 50: What did it change? |url=https://www.al.com/news/2015/08/voting_rights_act_turns_50_w.html |work=AL.com |date=6 August 2015 |language=en}}</ref> ended multiple forms of segregation, and allowed the NAACP to return to Mobile.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kirkland |first1=Scott E. |title=Toward Equal Justice: A Legacy of Resistance, Sacrifice, and Service |url=https://www.mobilemuseumofart.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/mobile_timeline_final.pdf |website=Mobile Museum of Art |access-date=24 May 2025 |date=2021}}</ref> However, the city's commission form of government with [[at-large]] voting resulted in all positions being elected by the white majority, as African Americans could not command a majority for their candidates in the informally segregated city.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bolden v. Mobile |url=https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/embolden-v-mobile-em/ |website=Encyclopedia of Alabama}}</ref> Many forms of [[De facto#Segregation|de facto segregation]] persisted for decades.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Zickgraf |first1=Ryan |title=Segregation Is Still Alive in Mardi Gras's Birthplace |url=https://jacobin.com/2022/02/segregated-mardi-grass-carnival-parade-mobile-alabama |work=Jacobin |date=28 February 2022}}</ref>

[[File:Downtown Mobile 2008 03.JPG|thumb|Downtown in 2008, as seen from Cooper Riverside Park. Buildings include (L to R): The Renaissance Mobile Riverview Plaza Hotel, [[RSA–BankTrust Building]], Arthur C. Outlaw Convention Center, and the [[RSA Battle House Tower]].]]
In 1969, the Department of Defense closed [[Brookley Air Force Base]], dealing a blow to Mobile's economy. It affected about 10% of workers in the city.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley |url=https://www.mobileairportauthority.com/aeroplex/history/ |website=Mobile Port Authority |access-date=22 May 2025}}</ref> In total, 16,000 people lost their jobs.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mitchell |first1=Garry |title=Mobile's Economy Thrives; Port City Also Seeks Aircraft, Steel Mill Deals |url=https://www.tuscaloosanews.com/story/news/2007/02/12/mobiles-economy-thrives-port-city-also-seeks-aircraft-steel-mill-deals/27700597007/ |website=The Tuscaloosa News |agency=The Associated Press |date=11 February 2007}}</ref>

Mobile's city commission form of government was challenged and finally overturned in 1982 in ''[[City of Mobile v. Bolden]]'', which was remanded by the [[United States Supreme Court]] to the district court. Finding that the city had adopted a commission form of government in 1911 and [[at-large]] positions with discriminatory intent, the court proposed that the three members of the city commission should be elected from [[single-member districts]], likely ending their division of executive functions among them. Mobile's state legislative delegation in 1985 finally enacted a [[mayor-council]] form of government, with seven members elected from [[single-member districts]]. This was approved by voters.<ref name="vra"/> As white conservatives increasingly entered the Republican Party in the late 20th century, African-American residents of the city have elected members of the Democratic Party as their candidates of choice. Since the change to single-member districts, more women and African Americans were elected to the council than under the at-large system.<ref name="vra"/>

Beginning in the late 1980s, newly elected mayor [[Mike Dow]] and the city council began an effort termed the "String of Pearls Initiative" to make Mobile into a competitive city.<ref name="progress2">{{cite web |title=Mobile Wins Title of All American City |work=City of Mobile |url=http://www.cityofmobile.org/mapsnfacts/all_america.php |access-date=November 15, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017135508/http://cityofmobile.org/mapsnfacts/all_america.php |archive-date=October 17, 2007 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> The city initiated construction of numerous new facilities and projects, and the restoration of hundreds of historic downtown buildings and homes.<ref name="progress2"/> City and county leaders also made efforts to attract new business ventures to the area.<ref name="progress3">{{cite web |title=2005 State of the City |work=City of Mobile |url=http://www.cityofmobile.org/news.php?view=full&news=679 |access-date=November 15, 2007}}</ref>

==Geography==
Mobile is located in the southwestern region of the U.S. state of Alabama.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=April 23, 2011 |date=February 12, 2011 |title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref>

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|180.07|sqmi}}, with {{convert|139.48|sqmi}} of it being land, and {{convert|40.59|sqmi|1}}, or 22.5% of the total, being covered by water.<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2023"/> The elevation in Mobile ranges from {{convert|10|ft|0}} on Water Street in downtown<ref name=gnis/> to {{convert|211|ft|0}} at the Mobile Regional Airport.<ref name="elevationcham">{{cite web |title=Welcome to Mobile |work=Mobile Chamber of Commerce |url=http://www.mobilechamber.com/meet_neig.pdf |access-date=November 30, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201063553/http://www.mobilechamber.com/meet_neig.pdf |archive-date=December 1, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

===Neighborhoods===
[[File:Ashland Place Mobile AL 05.JPG|thumb|A Tudor Revival-style house in [[Ashland Place Historic District (Mobile, Alabama)|Ashland Place]]]]
Mobile has a number of notable historic neighborhoods. These include [[Ashland Place Historic District (Mobile, Alabama)|Ashland Place]], [[Campground Historic District|Campground]], [[Church Street East Historic District|Church Street East]], [[De Tonti Square Historic District|De Tonti Square]], [[Leinkauf Historic District|Leinkauf]], [[Lower Dauphin Street Historic District|Lower Dauphin Street]], [[Midtown Historic District (Mobile, Alabama)|Midtown]], [[Oakleigh Garden Historic District|Oakleigh Garden]], [[Old Dauphin Way Historic District|Old Dauphin Way]], [[Spring Hill (Mobile, Alabama)|Spring Hill]], and [[Toulminville]].<ref>{{NRISref|version=2010a|dateform=mdy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite GNIS|155253|Spring Hill}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=19th Century Spring Hill Neighborhood Thematic Resource |work=National Register Information System |publisher=National Park System |url={{NRHP url |id=64000005}} |access-date=July 13, 2012}}</ref>

===Climate===
[[File:KatrinaMobileCourthouseSteps.jpg|thumb|Flooding at the federal courthouse on Saint Joseph Street, three blocks from the waterfront, during [[Hurricane Katrina]] in 2005]]

Mobile's geographical location on the [[Gulf of Mexico]] provides a mild [[humid subtropical climate|subtropical climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''Cfa''), with hot, humid summers and mild, rainy winters. The record low temperature was {{Convert|-1|F|C}}, which was set on February 13, 1899.<ref name="Feb Averages">{{cite web |url=http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/vacationplanner/wxclimatology/daily/36603 |title=February Daily Averages for Mobile, AL (36603) |publisher=NOAA |access-date=February 21, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113232346/http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/vacationplanner/wxclimatology/daily/36603 |archive-date=November 13, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> The record high temperature is {{convert|106|F|C}}, which was set on 26 August 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=US Department of Commerce |first=NOAA |title=Climate |url=https://www.weather.gov/wrh/climate?wfo=mob |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=www.weather.gov |language=EN-US}}</ref>

A 2007 study determined that Mobile is the wettest city in the contiguous 48 states, with {{convert|66.3|in|sigfig=3}} of average annual rainfall over a 30-year period.<ref name="weatherbill">Thompsen, Andrea (May 22, 2007) "[http://www.livescience.com/environment/070518_rainy_cities.html Study Reveals Top 10 Wettest United States Cities.]"</ref> Mobile averages 120 days per year with at least {{convert|0.01|in|1}} of rain. Precipitation is heavy year-round. On average, July and August are the wettest months, with frequent and often-heavy shower and thunderstorm activity. October is slightly drier than other months. [[Snow]] is rare in Mobile. From 1996 to 2017, the city did not see snowfall.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Weather Forecast Office |title=December 1996 Snow Storm |url=https://www.weather.gov/mob/1996_Snow |website=Weather.gov |publisher=US Department of Commerce. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date=16 July 2025 |language=EN-US |date=May 2017}}</ref>
The most recent snowfall event occurred [[January 20–22, 2025 Gulf Coast blizzard|January 21, 2025]], which produced record-breaking accumulations of up to 8.5 inches within the city and near-blizzard conditions.<ref>{{cite web |last1=US Department of Commerce |first1=NOAA |title=Historic January 21, 2025 Snowstorm |url=https://www.weather.gov/mob/2025_January_Snow |website=www.weather.gov |access-date=24 January 2025 |language=EN-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=herzmann |first1=daryl |title=KMOB Winter Storm Warning #1 |url=https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/event/2025-O-NEW-KMOB-WS-W-0001/radar/USCOMP-N0Q-202501211200/tab/info/update/202501211917 |website=Iowa Environmental Mesonet |access-date=24 January 2025 |language=en}}</ref> The snowfall event previous to this one was on December 8, 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KMOB/2017/12/8/DailyHistory.html |title=Weather History for Mobile, AL – Weather Underground |website=Wunderground.com |access-date=April 15, 2018}}</ref>

Mobile has been affected by major tropical storms and hurricanes.<ref name="srg" /> The city suffered a major natural disaster on the night of September 12, 1979, when [[Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale|Category-3]] [[Hurricane Frederic]] passed over the heart of the city. The storm caused tremendous damage to Mobile and the surrounding area.<ref name="hurricane1">{{cite web |title=Hurricane Frederic newspaper headlines courtesy of Hurricane City |work=Hurricane City |url=http://www.hurricanecity.com/Images/2-frederic.jpg |access-date=November 20, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025170631/http://www.hurricanecity.com/Images/2-frederic.jpg |archive-date=October 25, 2007}}</ref> Mobile had moderate damage from [[Hurricane Opal]] on October 4, 1995, and [[Hurricane Ivan]] on September 16, 2004.<ref name="HurIvan">{{cite web |title=Powerful Hurricane Ivan Roars Through Caribbean and United States Gulf Coast |work=Hurricane News |url=http://www.hurricaneville.com/ivan.html |access-date=January 28, 2010 |archive-date=February 23, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090223044733/http://www.hurricaneville.com/ivan.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Mobile suffered millions of dollars in damage from [[Hurricane Katrina]] on August 29, 2005, which damaged many Gulf Coast cities. A storm surge of {{convert|11.45|ft|2}}, topped by higher waves, damaged eastern sections of the city with extensive flooding in downtown, the [[Battleship Parkway]], and the elevated [[Jubilee Parkway]].<ref name="HurKat">{{cite web |title=Extremely Powerful Hurricane Katrina leaves a Historic Mark on the Gulf Coast |work=National Weather Service Forecast Office Mobile/Pensacola |url=http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mob/0805Katrina |access-date=May 9, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070625184658/http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mob/0805Katrina |archive-date=June 25, 2007}}</ref>

In 2020, on the 16th anniversary of Ivan, [[Hurricane Sally]] became the first Hurricane since Ivan to directly hit Alabama. Although a [[Saffir–Simpson scale|Category-2]], Sally moved slowly through Alabama causing significant damage in its path. While the area was still recovering from Sally, a month later [[Hurricane Zeta]] struck the area as a [[Saffir–Simpson scale|Category-3]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morgan |first=Leigh |date=2020-11-30 |title=Hurricane season 2020: Finally, it's over |url=https://www.al.com/news/2020/11/hurricane-season-2020-finally-its-over.html |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=al |language=en}}</ref>

{{Weather box
|location = Mobile, Alabama ([[Mobile Regional Airport]], 1991–2020 normals,{{efn|Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the expected highest and lowest temperature readings at any point during the year or given month) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.}} extremes 1872–present)
|single line = Y
|Jan record high F = 84
|Feb record high F = 85
|Mar record high F = 91
|Apr record high F = 94
|May record high F = 100
|Jun record high F = 103
|Jul record high F = 104
|Aug record high F = 105
|Sep record high F = 103
|Oct record high F = 98
|Nov record high F = 88
|Dec record high F = 85
|year record high F = 105
|Jan avg record high F = 75.7
|Feb avg record high F = 77.6
|Mar avg record high F = 83.0
|Apr avg record high F = 86.3
|May avg record high F = 92.2
|Jun avg record high F = 95.4
|Jul avg record high F = 96.7
|Aug avg record high F = 96.2
|Sep avg record high F = 93.8
|Oct avg record high F = 89.1
|Nov avg record high F = 82.0
|Dec avg record high F = 77.6
|year avg record high F = 97.8
|Jan high F = 61.5
|Feb high F = 65.6
|Mar high F = 71.8
|Apr high F = 77.8
|May high F = 84.9
|Jun high F = 89.4
|Jul high F = 90.9
|Aug high F = 90.8
|Sep high F = 87.5
|Oct high F = 79.7
|Nov high F = 70.2
|Dec high F = 63.5
|year high F = 77.8
|Jan mean F = 51.1
|Feb mean F = 55.0
|Mar mean F = 60.9
|Apr mean F = 66.9
|May mean F = 74.4
|Jun mean F = 80.1
|Jul mean F = 82.0
|Aug mean F = 81.9
|Sep mean F = 78.1
|Oct mean F = 69.0
|Nov mean F = 58.9
|Dec mean F = 53.3
|year mean F = 67.6
|Jan low F = 40.7
|Feb low F = 44.4
|Mar low F = 50.0
|Apr low F = 56.0
|May low F = 63.8
|Jun low F = 70.8
|Jul low F = 73.1
|Aug low F = 72.9
|Sep low F = 68.8
|Oct low F = 58.2
|Nov low F = 47.7
|Dec low F = 43.0
|year low F = 57.4
|Jan avg record low F = 22.7
|Feb avg record low F = 26.9
|Mar avg record low F = 31.9
|Apr avg record low F = 40.0
|May avg record low F = 50.0
|Jun avg record low F = 63.2
|Jul avg record low F = 68.6
|Aug avg record low F = 67.3
|Sep avg record low F = 56.8
|Oct avg record low F = 40.5
|Nov avg record low F = 30.8
|Dec avg record low F = 27.3
|year avg record low F = 21.0
|Jan record low F = 3
|Feb record low F = −1
|Mar record low F = 21
|Apr record low F = 32
|May record low F = 43
|Jun record low F = 49
|Jul record low F = 62
|Aug record low F = 57
|Sep record low F = 42
|Oct record low F = 30
|Nov record low F = 22
|Dec record low F = 8
|year record low F = -1
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 5.66
|Feb precipitation inch = 4.47
|Mar precipitation inch = 5.44
|Apr precipitation inch = 5.71
|May precipitation inch = 5.39
|Jun precipitation inch = 6.55
|Jul precipitation inch = 7.69
|Aug precipitation inch = 6.87
|Sep precipitation inch = 5.30
|Oct precipitation inch = 3.95
|Nov precipitation inch = 4.60
|Dec precipitation inch = 5.45
|year precipitation inch = 67.08
|Jan snow inch = 0.0
|Feb snow inch = 0.0
|Mar snow inch = 0.1
|Apr snow inch = 0.0
|May snow inch = 0.0
|Jun snow inch = 0.0
|Jul snow inch = 0.0
|Aug snow inch = 0.0
|Sep snow inch = 0.0
|Oct snow inch = 0.0
|Nov snow inch = 0.0
|Dec snow inch = 0.1
|year snow inch = 0.2
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 9.9
|Feb precipitation days = 9.2
|Mar precipitation days = 8.7
|Apr precipitation days = 7.6
|May precipitation days = 8.0
|Jun precipitation days = 12.4
|Jul precipitation days = 14.9
|Aug precipitation days = 13.2
|Sep precipitation days = 9.2
|Oct precipitation days = 6.9
|Nov precipitation days = 7.7
|Dec precipitation days = 9.4
|year precipitation days = 117.1
|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan snow days = 0.1
|Feb snow days = 0.0
|Mar snow days = 0.1
|Apr snow days = 0.0
|May snow days = 0.0
|Jun snow days = 0.0
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 0.0
|Nov snow days = 0.0
|Dec snow days = 0.1
|year snow days = 0.3
|Jan humidity = 74
|Feb humidity = 72
|Mar humidity = 72
|Apr humidity = 71
|May humidity = 74
|Jun humidity = 76
|Jul humidity = 78
|Aug humidity = 78
|Sep humidity = 77
|Oct humidity = 73
|Nov humidity = 75
|Dec humidity = 75
|year humidity = 75
|Jan sun = 158
|Feb sun = 155
|Mar sun = 211
|Apr sun = 255
|May sun = 300
|Jun sun = 287
|Jul sun = 246
|Aug sun = 254
|Sep sun = 233
|Oct sun = 254
|Nov sun = 193
|Dec sun = 145
|year sun=2691
|source 1 = [[NOAA]] (humidity 1981–2010)<ref name= NOAA>{{cite web |url=https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=mob |title=NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date=June 9, 2021 |archive-date=April 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428171514/https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=mob |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="NCDC txt KMOB">{{cite web |url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USW00013894&format=pdf |title=Station: Mobile, AL |work=U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991–2020) |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date=June 9, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618182752/https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/lcd/annual/2018/01201813MOB.pdf |archive-date=June 18, 2021 |url=https://www1.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/lcd/annual/2018/01201813MOB.pdf |title=Local Climatological Data Annual Summary with Comparative Data for Mobile, Alabama (KMOB) |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date=June 18, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/CCD-2018.pdf |title=Comparative Climatic Data For the United States Through 2018 |publisher=NOAA |access-date=July 28, 2020 |archive-date=September 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919104105/https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/CCD-2018.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|source 2 = [[Danish Meteorological Institute]] (sun, 1931–1960)<ref name=DMI>{{cite web |last1=Cappelen |first1=John |last2=Jensen |first2=Jens |url=http://www.dmi.dk/dmi/tr01-17.pdf |work=Climate Data for Selected Stations (1931–1960) |title=USA – Mobile, Alabama |publisher=Danish Meteorological Institute |language=da |page=316 |access-date=February 23, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116071752/http://www.dmi.dk/dmi/tr01-17.pdf |archive-date=January 16, 2013}}</ref>
|date = February 2013}}
{{Weather box
|location = Mobile, Alabama ([[Mobile Downtown Airport]]), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1948–present
|single line = Y
|collapsed = Y
|Jan record high F = 81
|Feb record high F = 86
|Mar record high F = 87
|Apr record high F = 90
|May record high F = 99
|Jun record high F = 102
|Jul record high F = 102
|Aug record high F = 102
|Sep record high F = 101
|Oct record high F = 98
|Nov record high F = 89
|Dec record high F = 82
|year record high F = 102

|Jan avg record high F = 74.5
|Feb avg record high F = 76.8
|Mar avg record high F = 81.5
|Apr avg record high F = 85.1
|May avg record high F = 92.2
|Jun avg record high F = 95.2
|Jul avg record high F = 96.7
|Aug avg record high F = 96.2
|Sep avg record high F = 94.2
|Oct avg record high F = 89.1
|Nov avg record high F = 82.4
|Dec avg record high F = 76.7
|year avg record high F = 97.8

|Jan high F = 62.1
|Feb high F = 65.8
|Mar high F = 71.8
|Apr high F = 77.9
|May high F = 85.0
|Jun high F = 90.0
|Jul high F = 91.7
|Aug high F = 91.9
|Sep high F = 88.8
|Oct high F = 81.3
|Nov high F = 71.6
|Dec high F = 64.3
|year high F = 78.5
|Jan mean F = 52.3
|Feb mean F = 55.9
|Mar mean F = 61.8
|Apr mean F = 68.3
|May mean F = 75.7
|Jun mean F = 81.5
|Jul mean F = 83.5
|Aug mean F = 83.6
|Sep mean F = 80.3
|Oct mean F = 71.1
|Nov mean F = 60.8
|Dec mean F = 54.6
|year mean F = 69.1
|Jan low F = 42.5
|Feb low F = 46.1
|Mar low F = 51.8
|Apr low F = 58.6
|May low F = 66.3
|Jun low F = 73.1
|Jul low F = 75.3
|Aug low F = 75.3
|Sep low F = 71.8
|Oct low F = 61.0
|Nov low F = 49.9
|Dec low F = 44.9
|year low F = 59.7

|Jan avg record low F = 24.0
|Feb avg record low F = 29.5
|Mar avg record low F = 34.1
|Apr avg record low F = 42.5
|May avg record low F = 51.7
|Jun avg record low F = 65.6
|Jul avg record low F = 69.9
|Aug avg record low F = 68.5
|Sep avg record low F = 59.1
|Oct avg record low F = 43.3
|Nov avg record low F = 32.7
|Dec avg record low F = 28.6
|year avg record low F = 22.9

|Jan record low F = 8
|Feb record low F = 13
|Mar record low F = 23
|Apr record low F = 36
|May record low F = 43
|Jun record low F = 55
|Jul record low F = 63
|Aug record low F = 60
|Sep record low F = 48
|Oct record low F = 34
|Nov record low F = 24
|Dec record low F = 12
|year record low F = 8
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 5.19
|Feb precipitation inch = 3.77
|Mar precipitation inch = 5.11
|Apr precipitation inch = 4.86
|May precipitation inch = 4.42
|Jun precipitation inch = 5.78
|Jul precipitation inch = 6.57
|Aug precipitation inch = 7.14
|Sep precipitation inch = 4.47
|Oct precipitation inch = 3.80
|Nov precipitation inch = 4.13
|Dec precipitation inch = 5.28
|year precipitation inch = 60.52
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 11.3
|Feb precipitation days = 11.5
|Mar precipitation days = 11.4
|Apr precipitation days = 9.1
|May precipitation days = 8.5
|Jun precipitation days = 12.7
|Jul precipitation days = 14.4
|Aug precipitation days = 14.0
|Sep precipitation days = 8.9
|Oct precipitation days = 9.2
|Nov precipitation days = 10.4
|Dec precipitation days = 12.0
|year precipitation days = 133.4
|source 1 = [[NOAA]]<ref name=NOAA/><ref>{{Cite web |title=[Summary of Monthly Normals 1991-2020 for Station: MOBILE DWTN AP, AL US USW00013838] |url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USW00013838&format=pdf |access-date=August 30, 2025 |website=U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991–2020) |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration}}</ref>
}}

====Christmas Day tornado====
[[File:House on Springhill Avenue Mobile 12-29-2012.jpg|thumb|A house on Springhill Avenue destroyed in the Christmas Day 2012 tornado]]
{{See also|Late December 2012 North American storm complex}}

In December 2012, the city suffered two major tornadoes. One touched down on December 20, and the other five days later.<ref name="presstornado"/> On December 20, an EF1 tornado touched down near [[Davidson High School (Mobile, Alabama)|Davidson High School]] and took a path ending in Prichard.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mob/?n=20121220_tornado_pns |title=NWS Damage Survey Results for 20 December 2012 Tornado Across The Mobile Metropolitan Area |work=National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office-Mobile/Pensacola |publisher=National Weather Service |access-date=December 26, 2012}}</ref> On December 25, 2012, at 4:54 pm, a large [[wedge tornado]] touched down.<ref name="presstornado">{{cite web |url=https://www.al.com/live/2012/12/mobilians_assess_damage_move_t.html |title=Mobilians assess damage, move to action in wake of EF-2 tornado |date=December 26, 2012 |author=Michael Dumas |work=AL.com |access-date=December 5, 2021}}</ref> It rapidly intensified as it moved north-northeast at speeds of up to {{convert|50|mph|0|abbr=on}}, causing damage or destruction to at least 100 structures in [[Midtown Historic District (Mobile, Alabama)|Midtown]]. The heaviest damage to houses was along Carlen Street, Rickarby Place, Dauphin Street, [[Old Shell Road]], Margaret Street, Silverwood Street, and Springhill Avenue.<ref name="presstornado"/> The second tornado was classified as an [[Enhanced Fujita scale|EF2]] tornado by the [[National Weather Service]] on December 26.<ref name="presstornado"/> As a result of the significant damage from the tornado, [[Murphy High School (Alabama)|Murphy High School]] students were transferred to nearby [[Mobile County Public School System#Middle|Clark-Shaw Magnet School]] to finish out the school year as repairs were being made to Murphy High. This increased the student body at the Clark-Shaw campus from 700 students to almost 3,000 students.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Philips |first1=Rena |title=Crews prepping Clark-Shaw for Murphy students dislocated by tornado |url=https://www.al.com/live/2013/01/crews_getting_clark-shaw_ready.html |access-date=30 July 2025 |agency=AL.com |date=January 2, 2013}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{Historical populations
|type= USA
|1785| 746
|1788| 1468
|1820| 1500
|1830| 3194
|1840| 12672
|1850| 20515
|1860| 29258
|1870| 32034
|1880| 29132
|1890| 31076
|1900| 38469
|1910| 51521
|1920| 60777
|1930| 68202
|1940| 78720
|1950| 129009
|1960| 202779
|1970| 190026
|1980| 200452
|1990| 196278
|2000| 198915
|2010| 195111
|2020| 187041
|2022 (est.)|183289
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1850a-02.pdf |title=Census |publisher=United States Census |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100808210104/http://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1850a-02.pdf |archive-date=August 8, 2010}} page 36</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/twps0027.html |title=Population of the 100 largest cities and other urban places in the United States: 1790 to 1990 |author=Campbell Gibson |publisher=United States Bureau of the Census}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html |title=Census of Population and Housing |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref><br />2020 Census<ref name="2020 Census (City)"/><br />2022 Estimate<ref name="USCensusEst2022">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html |date=March 14, 2024 |title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020–2022 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=March 17, 2024}}</ref>
}}

As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], there were 187,041 people, 77,772 households, and 45,953 families residing in the city.<ref>{{Cite web |title=US Census Bureau, Table P16: Household Type |url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=Mobile%20city,%20Alabama%20p16&y=2020 |access-date=March 17, 2024 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref> The [[population density]] was {{convert|1341.0|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mobile City, Alabama |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/mobilecityalabama/PST045224 |website=US Census Bureau Quick Facts |access-date=8 June 2025}}</ref> There were 89,215 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 40.12% White, 51.06% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 1.80% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, and 3.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.23% of the population.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mobile city, Alabama |url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Mobile_city,_Alabama?g=160XX00US0150000 |website=Census Bureau Profile Results |publisher=US Census Bureau}}</ref> After annexing areas west of the city in July 2023, Mobile's population increased to 204,689 residents, making it the [[List of municipalities in Alabama|second-most populous city]] in Alabama with only [[Huntsville, Alabama|Huntsville]] having a larger population.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Sharp |first=John |date=July 19, 2023 |title=Mobile Now Second Largest City in Alabama after Annexation Vote |url=https://www.al.com/news/2023/07/mobile-now-second-largest-city-in-alabama-after-annexation-vote.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719015507/https://www.al.com/news/2023/07/mobile-now-second-largest-city-in-alabama-after-annexation-vote.html |archive-date=July 19, 2023 |access-date=July 19, 2023 |work=AL.com}}</ref> The annexation shifted racial demographics; Mobile became a [[majority-minority]] city with Black or African American residents remaining the largest racial group.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zickgraf |first=Ryan |date=28 July 2023 |title=Mobile, Alabama, Just Diluted the Black Vote Through Annexation |url=https://jacobin.com/2023/07/mobile-alabama-white-black-voter-gap-racism-republican-party-annexation |work=Jacobin}}</ref>

[[File:Race and ethnicity 2010- Mobile (5560434648).png|thumb|center|A racial distribution map of Mobile, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people: <span style="color:#ff0000">'''White'''</span>, <span style="color:#0000ff">'''Black'''</span>, <span style="color:#00ff80">'''Asian'''</span>, <span style="color:#ff8000">'''Hispanic'''</span> or '''Other''' (yellow).]]

According to [[American Values Atlas]] data published in 2014, the majority of the population were Christians, with 36% identifying as white evangelical Protestant, 18% identifying as black Protestant, 13% as [[mainline Protestant]], and 7% as Catholic. 14% of the population identified as unaffiliated with any religion.<ref>{{Cite news |last=McPhail |first=Carol |date=13 October 2014 |title=In Alabama, the religiously 'unaffiliated' now surpasses this major religious group |url=https://www.al.com/living/2014/10/the_religiously_unaffiliated_a.html |work=AL.com |language=en}}</ref> According to the 2024 [[American Community Survey]] estimates, 19.7% of the population was under 18. The median age was 38.6. The average family size was 3.13 people. The [[Median income|median household income]] in Mobile was $50,156, while the median income for a family was $73,717. 15.2% of the population were living below the poverty line.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Mobile_city,_Alabama?g=160XX00US0150000 |title=Mobile City, Alabama Censue Profile |access-date=8 June 2025}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+'''Mobile city, Alabama – Racial and ethnic composition'''<br /><small>{{nobold|''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.''}}</small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(''NH = Non-Hispanic'')</small>
!Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>{{Cite web |title=P004 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Birmingham city, Alabama |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALSF12000.P004?q=p004&g=160XX00US0150000 |website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
!Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>{{Cite web |title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Mobile city, Alabama |url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US0150000&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2 |website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
!{{partial|Pop 2020}}<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{Cite web |title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Mobile city, Alabama |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=160XX00US0150000&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2 |website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
!% 2000
!% 2010
!% {{partial|2020}}
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] alone (NH)
|98,965
|85,613
|style='background: #ffffe6; |75,043
|49.75%
|43.88%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |40.12%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] alone (NH)
|91,660
|98,202
|style='background: #ffffe6; |95,505
|46.08%
|50.33%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |51.06%
|-
|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] alone (NH)
|463
|572
|style='background: #ffffe6; |513
|0.23%
|0.29%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.27%
|-
|[[Asian Americans|Asian]] alone (NH)
|3,011
|3,409
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,369
|1.51%
|1.75%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.80%
|-
|[[Native Hawaiian]] or [[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]] alone (NH)
|41
|57
|style='background: #ffffe6; |106
|0.02%
|0.03%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.06%
|-
|[[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|Other race]] alone (NH)
|193
|219
|style='background: #ffffe6; |622
|0.10%
|0.11%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.33%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed race or Multiracial]] (NH)
|1,754
|2,439
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,849
|0.88%
|1.25%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.13%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (any race)
|2,828
|4,600
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6,034
|1.42%
|2.36%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.23%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''198,915'''
|'''195,111'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''187,041'''
|'''100.00%'''
|'''100.00%'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''100.00%'''
|}<!-- This chart seems to contradict the cited chart below? If any of this is correct, why not cite it in the chart below?

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="font-size: 90%;"
|-
! Historic Racial composition !! 2010 !! 1990 !! 1970 !! 1940
|-
| [[White American|White]] || 45.0% || 59.6% || 64.3% ||  63.0%
|-
| —Non-Hispanic || 43.9% ||  58.9% || 63.5%<ref name="fifteen">From 15% sample</ref> || n/a
|-
| [[African American|Black or African American]] || 50.6% || 38.9% || 35.4% || 36.9%
|-
| [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (of any race) || 2.4% || 1.0% || 0.9%<ref name="fifteen"/> || n/a
|-
| [[Asian American|Asian]] || 1.8% || 1.0% || 0.1% || –
|}
-->

==Economy==
[[File:Mobile River at Chickasaw Creek.jpg|thumb|Port of Mobile at Chickasaw Creek]]

Aerospace, steel, ship building, retail, services, construction, medicine, and manufacturing are Mobile's major industries. After several decades of economic decline, Mobile's economy began to rebound in the late 1980s. Between 1993 and 2003 roughly 13,983 new jobs were created as 87 new companies were founded and 399 existing companies were expanded.<ref name="MobEconomy">{{cite web |title=Mobile: Economy |work=City-Data.com |url=http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-South/Mobile-Economy.html |access-date=December 28, 2007}}</ref>

Defunct companies that had been founded or based in Mobile included [[Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company]], [[Delchamps]], and [[Gayfers]].<ref name=bizjournal>{{cite news |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2010/05/17/daily13.html |newspaper=Jacksonville Business Journal |title=BAE to buy Atlantic Marine for $352M |first=Mark |last=Szakonyi |date=May 18, 2010 |access-date=July 2, 2012}}</ref><ref name="delchamps">{{cite web |url=http://www.archives.state.al.us/famous/academy/a_delcha.html |title=Alfred Frederick Delchamps |work=Alabama Department of Archives and History |publisher=State of alabama |access-date=November 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023070721/http://www.archives.state.al.us/famous/academy/a_delcha.html |archive-date=October 23, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Flottes-Gayfers">{{cite web |url=http://www.flotte2.com/MobileEconomics#gayfers |access-date=November 26, 2007 |title=Flotte's Notes on Mobile, Alabama |publisher=Flotte's Outlines of History, Science, and Economics |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080105065410/http://www.flotte2.com/MobileEconomics |archive-date=January 5, 2008 |df=mdy}}</ref> Current companies that were formerly based in the city include [[Checkers (fast food)|Checkers]], [[Konica Minolta|Minolta-QMS]], [[Morrison Management Specialists|Morrison's]], and the [[Waterman Steamship Corporation]].<ref name="checkers">{{cite web |url=http://checkerscompany.com/our_story |title=History: Our Story |work=Checkers |publisher=Checker's Drive-In Restaurants |access-date=November 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628161104/http://checkerscompany.com/our_story |archive-date=June 28, 2014 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/28/business/company-news-morrison-restaurants-plans-three-way-split.html |title=Company News; Morrison Restaurants Plans Three-Way Split |date=September 28, 1995 |newspaper=New York Times |access-date=March 8, 2012}}</ref> In addition to those discussed below, AlwaysHD, [[Foosackly's]], [[Integrity Media]], and [[Volkert, Inc.]] are headquartered in Mobile.<ref name="alwayshd">{{cite web |url=http://www.alwayshd.com/about.php |title=About AlwaysHD |work=AlwaysHD |access-date=November 23, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111042228/http://www.alwayshd.com/about.php |archive-date=January 11, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="foosack">{{cite news |first=Tiffany |last=Craig |title=A Finger For Boeing |url=http://www.wkrg.com/mobilesmakeover/article/a_finger_for_boeing/15153/ |work=WKRG News 5 |publisher=Media General Communications Holdings, LLC |date=June 23, 2008 |access-date=October 20, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905083827/http://www.wkrg.com/mobilesmakeover/article/a_finger_for_boeing/15153/ |archive-date=September 5, 2008 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20130103034601/http://www.hmmagazine.com/2011/06/david-c-cook-acquires-integrity-music/ "David C. Cook Acquires Integrity Music"], ''The Hard Music Magazine Magazine'', June 2011.</ref><ref name="volkerthistory">{{cite web |url=http://www.volkert.com/history.htm |title=Path to Success (History) |work=Volkert, Inc. |publisher=Volkert |access-date=October 31, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618002609/http://www.volkert.com/history.htm |archive-date=June 18, 2013}}</ref>

===Major industry===
[[File:Port of Mobile Cranes.jpg|thumb|Cranes at the Port of Mobile container terminal]]

====Port of Mobile and shipyards====
In 2005, Mobile's [[Port of Mobile|Alabama State Docks]] completed the largest expansion in its history, increasing its container processing and storage facility, and its container storage at the docks by over 1,000% at a cost of over $300 million.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alabama Senate Approves Port Funding – Alabama State Port Authority Poised To Let New Container Terminal Contracts |work=Alabama State Port Authority |date=May 17, 2005 |url=http://www.asdd.com/Asd/news47.htm |access-date=May 5, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927005038/http://www.asdd.com/Asd/news47.htm |archive-date=September 27, 2007}}</ref> Despite the expansion and addition of two massive new cranes, the port went from 9th largest to the 12th largest by tonnage in the nation from 2008 to 2010.<ref name="port"/><ref name="ports2">{{cite web |title=Waterborne Commerce Statistics: Calendar Year 2008 |work=United States Army Corps of Engineers |url=http://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/ndc/wcsc/pdf/wcusnatl08.pdf |access-date=March 8, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100807030743/http://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/ndc/wcsc/pdf/wcusnatl08.pdf |archive-date=August 7, 2010}}</ref>

[[File:US Navy 110908-O-ZZ999-003 The Military Sealift Command joint high speed vessel USNS Spearhead (JHSV 1) prepares for its Sept. 17 christening cerem.jpg|thumb|The {{USNS|Spearhead|JHSV-1}}, another Austal USA-built ship, being prepared for its christening in the [[BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards]] floating drydock in September 2011. The ''Spearhead'' is the first ship of the [[Spearhead class Joint High Speed Vessel|''Spearhead'' class Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV)]].]]

Shipbuilding increased substantially in 1999 with the founding of [[Austal USA]],<ref name="colton1">{{cite web |title=Austal USA, Mobile AL Construction Record |work=The Colton Company |url=http://www.coltoncompany.com/shipbldg/ussbldrs/postwwii/shipyards/active/aluminum/austal.htm |access-date=November 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017213332/http://coltoncompany.com/shipbldg/ussbldrs/postwwii/shipyards/active/aluminum/austal.htm |archive-date=October 17, 2007}}</ref> expanding its production facility for United States defense and commercial aluminum shipbuilding on [[Blakeley Island (Alabama)|Blakeley Island]] in 2005.<ref name="austal">{{cite web |title=New Shipbuilding Facility |work=Austal USA |url=http://www.austal.com/index.cfm?objectid=B0B75979-65BF-EBC1-2349C7A56C359198 |access-date=October 19, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070830183927/http://www.austal.com/index.cfm?objectid=B0B75979-65BF-EBC1-2349C7A56C359198 |archive-date=August 30, 2007 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> [[Atlantic Marine]] operated a major shipyard at the former Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company site on [[Pinto Island]]. It was acquired by British defense conglomerate [[BAE Systems]] in May 2010 and renamed [[BAE Systems Southeast Shipyards]]. The company operates the site as a full-service shipyard, employing approximately 600 workers.<ref name=bizjournal/><ref name="us2010">{{cite news |title=BAE prepares to streamline US business |first=Carola |last=Hoyos |newspaper=The Financial Times |date=September 11, 2010 |location=London}}</ref><ref name=bae1>{{cite web |url=http://www.baesystems.com/product/BAES_021153/bae-systems-ship-repair |publisher=BAE Systems |title=BAE Systems Ship Repair |access-date=July 16, 2012}}</ref>

====Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley====
The [[Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley]] is an industrial complex and airport located {{convert|3|mi|km|0}} south of the central business district of the city. It is the largest industrial and transportation complex in the region with more than 70 companies, many of which are [[aerospace]], spread over {{convert|1650|acre|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name="overview">{{cite web |title=Overview |work=Brookley Aeroplex |url=http://www.brookleyaeroplex.com/aeroplex.php |access-date=June 30, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130102064612/http://www.brookleyaeroplex.com/aeroplex.php |archive-date=January 2, 2013 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Notable employers at Brookley include [[Airbus]] North America Engineering ([[EADS North America|Airbus Military North America]]'s facilities are at the Mobile Regional Airport), [[VT Mobile Aerospace Engineering]] (a division of [[ST Engineering]]), and [[Continental Motors, Inc.|Continental Motors]].<ref name="tenants">{{cite web |title=Tenants |work=Brookley Aeroplex |url=http://www.brookleyaeroplex.com/pdfs/tenants.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120904062251/http://www.brookleyaeroplex.com/pdfs/tenants.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 4, 2012 |access-date=June 30, 2012 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>[[File:Airbus Mobile Engineering Center.jpg|thumb|Airbus Mobile Engineering Center at the Brookley Aeroplex in Mobile]]

An [[Airbus A320 family]] aircraft assembly plant, their first in the United States, was opened in Mobile in 2015 for the assembly of the A319, A320 and A321 aircraft. In 2017 it produced up to 50 aircraft per year.<ref name="apconfirm">{{cite news |title=Airbus to Build 1st US Assembly Plant in Alabama |agency=Associated Press |author=Melissa Nelson-Gabriel |date=July 2, 2012 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/officials-ala-airbus-plant-employ-1000-16690789#.T_HRzJHhcqN |access-date=July 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120703090843/https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/officials-ala-airbus-plant-employ-1000-16690789#.T_HRzJHhcqN |archive-date=July 3, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="bbcconfirm">{{cite news |title=Airbus confirms its first US factory to build A320 jet |work=BBC News |date=July 2, 2012 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18675711 |access-date=July 2, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=EADS to Build United States Assembly Line for Airbus A320 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/03/business/global/eads-to-build-airbus-assembly-line-in-mobile-ala.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=July 2, 2012 |author=Nicola Clark |date=July 2, 2012}}</ref> In August 2019, the assembly plant began production on the Airbus A220 model.<ref>{{Cite press release |url=https://www.airbus.com/newsroom/press-releases/en/2018/07/airbus-introduces-the-a220-100-and-a220-300.html |title=Airbus introduces the A220-100 and A220-300 |date=July 10, 2018 |publisher=Airbus}}</ref><ref name=Airbus20190805>{{cite press release |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Airbus begins U.S. production of A220 aircraft |url=https://www.airbus.com/newsroom/press-releases/en/2019/08/airbus-begins-us-production-of-a220-aircraft.html |publisher=Airbus |date=August 5, 2019 |access-date=August 6, 2019}}</ref>

===Top employers===
[[File:Shelbyhallcomputing.JPG|thumb|Shelby Hall, College of Engineering and the School of Computer and Information Sciences, at the [[University of South Alabama]]]]
According to the City's 2024 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the largest employers in the city are:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cityofmobile.org/uploads/file_library/2024-final-acfr---stamped.pdf |title=City of Mobile 2024 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report |page=173 |date=July 30, 2025}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! #
! Employer
! # of Employees
! Percentage
|-
| 1
| [[University of South Alabama]]
| 11,500
| 6.02%
|-
| 2
| [[Mobile County Public School System]]
| 7,200
|  3.77%
|-
| 3
| Infirmary Health Systems
| 4,700
| 2.46%
|-
| 4
| [[Austal USA]]
|  3,000
| 1.57%
|-
| 5
| [[Airbus Mobile|Airbus U.S. Manufacturing]]
| 2,000
| 1.05%
|-
| 6
| City of Mobile
| 2,000
| 1.05%
|-
| 7
| AltaPointe
| 1,700
| 0.89%
|-
| 8
| [[ArcelorMittal|AM/NS Calvert]]
| 1,600
| 0.84%
|-
| 9
| Springhill Medical Center
| 1,600
| 0.84%
|-
| 10
| County of Mobile
| 1,600
| 0.84%
|-
| —
| '''Total'''
| 36,900
| 19.33%
|}

===Unemployment rate===
The [[United States Department of Labor]]'s [[Bureau of Labor Statistics]] unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted).<ref name="labor1">{{cite web |title=Local Area Unemployment Statistics – Alabama |publisher=Bureau of Labor Statistics |url=https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.al_mobile_msa.htm |access-date=July 30, 2025}}</ref><ref name="labor2">{{cite web |title=Local Area Unemployment Statistics |publisher=Alabama Department of Labor |url=https://www2.labor.alabama.gov/LAUS/default.aspx |access-date=August 21, 2025}}</ref>

{| class=wikitable
|+ Unemployment rate
!
! Mobile !! Mobile<br />County !! Mobile<br />Metropolitan<br />Statistical Area !! Alabama !! United<br />States
|-
! Jan. 2025
| 4.2 || 4.2 || 4.2 || 3.3 || 4.0
|-
! Feb. 2025
| 4.2 || 4.2 || 4.2 || 3.3 || 4.1
|-
! March 2025
| 4.1 || 4.1 || 4.2 || 3.3 || 4.2
|-
! April 2025
| 3.4 || 3.4 || 3.4 || 3.3 || 4.2
|-
! May 2025
| 3.7 || 3.3 || 3.3 || 3.3 || 4.2
|-
! June 2025
| 4.0 || 3.7 || 3.7 || 3.2 || 4.1
|-
! July 2025
| 3.7 || 3.4 || 3.4 || 3.0 || 4.2
|}

==Arts and culture==
[[File:Azalea Trail Maids.jpg|thumb|The [[Azalea Trail Maids]] on the campus of [[Spring Hill College]]]]

Unlike other Alabama cities, Mobile's French and Spanish colonial history has given it a culture distinguished by French, Spanish, [[Alabama Creole people|Creole]], African, and Catholic heritage, in addition to later British and American influences. The annual [[Carnival]] celebration, [[Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama|Mardi Gras]], is an example of its differences. Mobile has the longest history of celebrating [[Mardi Gras]] in the United States, dating to the early 18th century during the French colonial period.<ref name=LOCgras>"Mardi Gras in Mobile" (history), Jeff Sessions, Senator, Library of Congress, 2006, webpage: [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cocoon/legacies/AL/200002665.html LibCongress-2665]</ref> Carnival in Mobile evolved over 300 years from a sedate French Catholic tradition to a mainstream multi-week celebration.<ref name="carnival4">{{cite web |title=History of Mardi Gras |work=Mobile Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau |url=http://www.mobile.org/vis_mardigras_history.php |access-date=November 29, 2007}}</ref> Mobile's official cultural ambassadors are the [[Azalea Trail Maids]], meant to embody the ideals of [[Southern hospitality]].<ref name="azaleatrail">{{cite news |last=Starling |first=Bill |title=Trail Maids are proud ambassadors for Mobile, state |newspaper=Mobile Press Register |pages=2C |date=January 16, 2009 |url=http://www.al.com/opinion/press-register/editorials.ssf?/base/opinion/1232117116172200.xml&coll=3 |access-date=March 20, 2010 |archive-date=February 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201000723/http://www.al.com/opinion/press-register/editorials.ssf?/base/opinion/1232117116172200.xml&coll=3 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Carnival and Mardi Gras===
{{See also|Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama|Mystic society}}
[[File:Mobile Order of Incas parade 03.jpg|thumb|upright|Order of Inca night parade in 2009]]

The Carnival season has expanded throughout the late fall and winter: [[Ball (dance)|balls]] in the city may be scheduled as early as November, with the [[parade]]s beginning after January 5 and the Twelfth Day of Christmas or Epiphany on January 6.<ref name="mgrasfaqs">{{cite web |title=Mardi Gras FAQS |work=Mobile Carnival Museum |url=http://www.mobilecarnivalmuseum.com/MardiGras.aspx |access-date=December 2, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070911025505/http://www.mobilecarnivalmuseum.com/MardiGras.aspx |archive-date=September 11, 2007}}</ref><ref name="carnivalterminology">{{cite web |title=Mardi Gras Terminology |work=Mobile Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau |url=http://www.mobile.org/vis_mardigras_terms.php |access-date=November 18, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071209165238/http://www.mobile.org/vis_mardigras_terms.php |archive-date=December 9, 2007}}</ref> Carnival celebrations end at midnight on [[Mardi Gras]], which falls on the Tuesday before [[Ash Wednesday]].<ref name="slacabamorinico">{{cite web |title=Mardi Gras – Mobile's Paradoxical Party |work=The Wisdom of Chief Slacabamorinico |url=http://jacksonsnyder.com/arc/slac/MardiGras/paradox.htm |access-date=November 18, 2007 |archive-date=December 9, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071209063304/http://jacksonsnyder.com/arc/slac/MardiGras/paradox.htm |url-status=dead}}</ref> During the Carnival season, [[Mystic society|mystic societies]] build floats, parade through downtown, and toss small gifts to spectators.<ref>{{cite news |first=Susan |last=Houston |title=Mobile; It Has History |work=The News & Observer |date=February 4, 2007}}</ref> They also hold formal [[masquerade ball]]s, usually by invitation only.<ref name="carnivalterminology"/>

[[File:Mobile Mardi Gras 2010 48.jpg|thumb|Knights of Revelry parade on Royal Street in 2010]]

Carnival was first celebrated in Mobile in 1703 when colonial French Catholic settlers carried out their traditional celebration at the [[Old Mobile Site]].<ref name="MMtime"/> Mobile's first Carnival society was established in 1711 with the ''Boeuf Gras Society'' (Fatted Ox Society).<ref name="CarnHist1">{{cite web |title=History |work=Mobile Carnival Museum |url=http://www.mobilecarnivalmuseum.com/History.aspx |access-date=November 17, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010041322/http://www.mobilecarnivalmuseum.com/History.aspx |archive-date=October 10, 2007}}</ref> In 1830 Mobile's Cowbellion de Rakin Society was the first formally organized and masked mystic society in the United States to celebrate with a parade.<ref name="MMtime"/><ref name="slacabamorinico"/> The Cowbellions began their parade with rakes, hoes, and cowbells.<ref name="slacabamorinico"/> They introduced horse-drawn floats in 1840. The [[Striker's Independent Society]], formed in 1843, is the oldest surviving mystic society in the United States.<ref name="CarnHist1"/> Carnival celebrations were canceled during the [[American Civil War]].<ref name="JChist">{{Cite news |url=http://cainsmerrywidows.org/articles.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929135247/http://cainsmerrywidows.org/articles.html |url-status=dead |first1=Joe |last1=Danborn |first2=Cammie |last2=East |title=Joe Cain: Mobile's King for a Day |work=Mobile Register |pages=1B, 5B |date=25 February 2001 |archive-date=September 29, 2007 |access-date=March 4, 2022}}</ref>

Mardi Gras parades were revived by [[Joe Cain]] in the 1860s. He paraded as a fictional "undefeated Chickasaw chief" supported by a band of "[[Lost Cause of the Confederacy|Lost Cause]] Minstrels" in defiance of [[Reconstruction era|Union-led Reconstruction]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Machado |first=Isabel |title=Carninval in Alabama: Marked Bodies and Invented Traditions in Mobile |location=Jackson |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |date=2023 |isbn=9781496842626 |pages=10, 25}}</ref> Founded in 2004, the Conde Explorers in 2005 were the first integrated Mardi Gras society to parade in downtown Mobile. The Explorers were featured in the documentary, ''The Order of Myths'' (2008), by [[Margaret Brown (film director)|Margaret Brown]] about Mobile's Mardi Gras.<ref name="PBS">{{cite web |title=Independent Lens: The Order of Myths |url=https://itvs.org/films/order-of-myths/ |date=January 26, 2009 |work=Independent Television Service (ITVS) |access-date=July 29, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://condeexplorers.org/ |title=Conde Explorers |website=Condeexplorers.org |access-date=April 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204232700/http://condeexplorers.org/ |archive-date=February 4, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Archives and libraries===
[[File:Mobile Public Library 2008.jpg|thumb|The Ben May Main Library on Government Street]]
The [[National African American Archives and Museum]] features the history of African-American participation in Mardi Gras, slavery-era artifacts, and portraits and biographies of famous African Americans.<ref name="naaam">{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/folklife/civilrights/survey/view_repository.php?rep_id=1936 |title=National African-American Archives and Museum |work=The Civil Rights History Project: Survey of Collections and Repositories |publisher=Library of Congress}}</ref> The Doy Leale McCall Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of South Alabama are open to the public and house primary sources relating to the history of the university, Mobile, and southern Alabama.<ref name="usa1">{{cite web |title=USA Archives |work=University of South Alabama |url=http://www.usouthal.edu/archives/ |access-date=October 24, 2007 |archive-date=September 11, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070911025000/http://www.usouthal.edu/archives/ |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=McCall Archives {{!}} University of South Alabama Libraries |url=https://www.southalabama.edu/libraries/mccallarchives/ |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=www.southalabama.edu}}</ref> The Mobile Municipal Archives contains the extant city records, dating from the Mississippi Territory period.<ref name="cmma1">{{cite web |title=Mobile Municipal Archives |work=City of Mobile |url=http://www.cityofmobile.org/archives/ |access-date=October 24, 2007}}</ref> The Mobile Genealogical Society Library and Media Center features handwritten manuscripts and published materials that are available for use in genealogical research.<ref name="MGS library">{{cite web |title=MGS library |work=The Mobile Genealogical Society |url=http://www.siteone.com/clubs/mgs/promo.htm |access-date=October 20, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807072712/http://www.siteone.com/clubs/mgs/promo.htm |archive-date=August 7, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The [[Mobile Public Library]] system serves Mobile and consists of eight branches across Mobile County. Its local history and genealogy division is located near the [[Ben E. May|Ben May]] Main Library on Government Street.<ref name="mpl1">{{cite web |title=Local History and Genealogy |work=Mobile Public Library |url=http://www.mplonline.org/lhg.htm |access-date=October 20, 2007 |archive-date=October 14, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014082237/http://mplonline.org/lhg.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Saint Ignatius Archives, Museum and Theological Research Library contains primary sources, artifacts, documents, photographs and publications that pertain to the history of Saint Ignatius Church and School, the Catholic history of the city, and the history of the Roman Catholic Church.<ref name="siamt1">{{cite web |title=St. Ignatius Archives and Museum |work=PastPerfect Museum Software Newsletter January 2004 |url=http://www.museumsoftware.com/newsletter01_04.htm |access-date=October 19, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080411171531/http://www.museumsoftware.com/newsletter01_04.htm |archive-date=April 11, 2008}}</ref>

===Arts and entertainment===
[[File:Mobile Museum of Art by Highsmith.jpg|thumb|The Mobile Museum of Art in 2010]]
The [[Mobile Museum of Art]] features permanent exhibits that span several centuries of art and culture. The museum was expanded in 2002 to approximately {{convert|95000|sqft|m2|0}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mobilemuseumofart.com/ |title=Welcome to the Mobile Museum of Art |work=Mobile Museum of Art |access-date=November 26, 2012}}</ref> The Centre for the Living Arts is an organization that operates the historic [[Saenger Theatre (Mobile, Alabama)|Saenger Theatre]] and Space 301, a contemporary art gallery. The Saenger Theatre opened in 1927 as a [[movie palace]]. Today it is a performing arts center, a small concert venue, and home to the [[Mobile Symphony Orchestra]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mobilesaenger.com/history.php |title=Mobile Saenger Theater History |access-date=May 5, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070504203303/http://www.mobilesaenger.com/history.php |archive-date=May 4, 2007}}</ref> The [[Crescent Theater]] in downtown Mobile has shown [[arthouse film]]s since 2008.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/04/crescent_theater_downtown_mobi.html |first=Michelle |last=Matthews |title=Crescent Theater in downtown Mobile set to close |date=April 6, 2017 |access-date=July 27, 2017 |work=Press-Register}}</ref>

The [[Mobile Civic Center]] contains three facilities under one roof. The {{convert|400000|sqft|m2|0|abbr=on}} building has an arena, a theater, and an exposition hall. It is the primary concert venue for the city and home to the [[Mobile Opera]] and Mobile Ballet.<ref name="srg"/> A variety of events are held at the Arthur C. Outlaw Convention Center.<ref name="acocc1">{{cite web |title=Arthur C. Outlaw Convention Center |website=Mobile.org |url=http://www.mobile.org/pdf/meet_convctr.pdf |access-date=October 20, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025170635/http://www.mobile.org/pdf/meet_convctr.pdf |archive-date=October 25, 2007 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The city has hosted the [[Greater Gulf State Fair]], each October since 1955.<ref name="al">{{cite news |url=http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/10/60th_greater_gulf_state_fair_i.html |title=60th Greater Gulf State Fair in Mobile focuses on the family |date=October 29, 2014 |work=[[Press-Register]] |first=Angela |last=Lewis |access-date=July 14, 2017}}</ref> The city hosted [[Bayfest (Mobile)|BayFest]], an annual three-day music festival, from 1995–2015.<ref name="bayfest1">{{cite web |title=About BayFest |work=Bayfest, Inc. |url=http://www.bayfest.com/about.php |access-date=January 12, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224020712/http://www.bayfest.com/about.php |archive-date=December 24, 2007}}</ref> Mobile also holds the Ten Sixty Five free music festival.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Specker |first1=Lawrence |title=Ten Sixty Five: Mobile got much more than a party |url=https://www.al.com/entertainment/2015/10/ten_sixty_five_mobile_got_much.html |website=AL.com |language=en |date=9 October 2015}}</ref>

The Mobile Chamber Music hosts various chamber musicians at the Laidlaw Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of South Alabama and the Central Presbyterian Church.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Concert Hall |url=https://www.mobilechambermusic.org/cncrt_halls.php |access-date=16 August 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://mobilearts.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024-Arts-Guide-Digital-Ready-with-links_compressed.pdf |title=Mobile Arts Council Fall 2024 through Summer 2025 |pages=13 |access-date=16 August 2025}}</ref>

The Mobile Theatre Guild is a nonprofit [[community theatre]] that has served the city since 1947. It is a member of the [[Mobile Arts Council]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mobiletheatreguild.org/about.html |title=Mobile Theatre Guild |access-date=March 28, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316193344/http://mobiletheatreguild.org/about.html |archive-date=March 16, 2012 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> an umbrella organization for the arts in Mobile.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Matthews |first1=Michelle |title=Mobile Arts Council Announces Recipients of Greater Mobile Arts Awards |url=https://www.al.com/news/mobile/2014/06/mobile_arts_council_announces.html |work=AL.com |date=25 June 2014 |language=en}}</ref> Mobile is also host to the Joe Jefferson Players, Alabama's oldest continually running community theatre. The group debuted on December 17, 1947, and was named in honor of comedic actor [[Joseph Jefferson|Joe Jefferson]], who spent part of his teenage years in Mobile.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.joejeffersonplayers.com/id3.html |title=History |work=Joe Jefferson Players |access-date=March 28, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111202222039/http://www.joejeffersonplayers.com/id3.html |archive-date=December 2, 2011 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

===Museums===
[[File:USS Alabama Mobile, Alabama 002.JPG|thumb|right|The {{USS|Alabama|BB-60|6}} at [[Battleship Memorial Park]]]]
[[File:Vincent-Doan House.jpg|thumb|The Vincent-Doan House, home to the Mobile Medical Museum, is one of the oldest extant houses in the city.]]

[[Battleship Memorial Park]] is a military park on the shore of Mobile Bay. It features the World War II era [[battleship]] {{USS|Alabama|BB-60|6}}, the World War II era [[submarine]] {{USS|Drum|SS-228|6}}, [[Korean War]] and [[Vietnam War]] Memorials, and historical military equipment.<ref name="battleship">{{cite web |title=See Courage Up Close |work=USS Alabama Battleship Commission |url=http://www.ussalabama.com/ |access-date=November 18, 2007}}</ref> The Fort of Colonial Mobile is a reconstruction of the city's original Fort Condé, built on the original fort's footprint. It serves as the official welcome center and a colonial-era living history museum.<ref name="MoMfort" />

The [[Old City Hall (Mobile, Alabama)|History Museum of Mobile]] showcases centuries of local history in the [[Old City Hall (Mobile, Alabama)|Old City Hall]].<ref name="southernmarket">{{cite web |title=About Us |work=Museum of Mobile |url=http://www.museumofmobile.com/html/about.php |access-date=November 18, 2007}}</ref> The Phoenix Fire Museum in the restored Phoenix Volunteer Fire Company Number 6 building covers fire companies dating to 1838.<ref name="pfm1">{{cite web |title=Phoenix Fire Museum |url=http://www.museumofmobile.com/html/other_museums.php |access-date=October 19, 2007 |work=Museum of Mobile}}</ref> The Mobile Police Department Museum chronicles the history of the city's law enforcement.<ref name="mpdm1">{{cite web |title=Mobile Police Department Museum |url=http://www.cityofmobile.org/mobilepd/html/divisions/museum.html |access-date=October 19, 2007 |work=Mobile Police Department}}</ref> The Mobile Medical Museum in the French colonial-style Vincent-Doan House chronicles the history of medicine in the city.<ref name="mmm1">{{cite web |title=Welcome to the Mobile Medical Museum |url=http://www.mobilemedicalmuseum.com/ |access-date=October 19, 2007 |work=Mobile Medical Museum}}</ref> The [[Mobile Carnival Museum]] houses the city's [[Mardi Gras in Mobile|Mardi Gras]] history and memorabilia.<ref>Andrews, Casandra, ''Master of make-Believe'', Press Register, Mobile, Alabama: January 28, 2007.</ref>

The [[Bragg-Mitchell Mansion]] (1855), [[Richards DAR House]] (1860), and the [[Conde-Charlotte House|Condé-Charlotte House]] (1822) are [[antebellum architecture|antebellum]] house museums.<ref name="bmm1">{{cite web |title=Tour |work=Bragg Mitchell Mansion |url=http://www.braggmitchellmansion.com/tour.htm |access-date=October 19, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071216232525/http://www.braggmitchellmansion.com/tour.htm |archive-date=December 16, 2007}}</ref><ref name="rdarhm1">{{cite web |title=Welcome |work=Richards DAR House Museum |url=http://www.richardsdarhouse.com/index.html |access-date=October 19, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070829044823/http://www.richardsdarhouse.com/index.html |archive-date=August 29, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="ccmh1">{{cite web |title=Condé |work=Condé-Charlotte Museum House |url=http://www.angelfire.com/al2/condecharlotte/ |access-date=October 19, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014204814/http://www.angelfire.com/al2/condecharlotte/ |archive-date=October 14, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy}}</ref> The [[Oakleigh Historic Complex (Mobile, Alabama)|Oakleigh Historic Complex]] are three house museums that portray the daily lives of enslaved, working class, and upper class people during the 19th century.<ref name="Oakleigh">{{cite web |title=OakleighMuseum |url=http://www.historicmobile.org/oakleigh.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807121029/http://www.historicmobile.org/oakleigh.htm |archive-date=August 7, 2007 |access-date=September 26, 2007 |work=Historic Mobile Preservation Society}}</ref>

The [[Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center]] is a non-profit science center located in downtown.<ref name="exploreum">{{cite web |title=About Us |work=Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center |url=http://www.exploreum.net/ |access-date=October 16, 2007 |archive-date=August 6, 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030806094443/http://www.exploreum.net/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Dauphin Island Sea Lab]] is located south of the city, on Dauphin Island near the mouth of [[Mobile Bay]].<ref name="nytimes">{{cite news |title=You Can Call It the Little Easy |last=Motyka |first=John |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/03/23/travel/escapes/23American.html?ex=1175313600&en=f9db7486620e5d10&ei=5070&emc=eta1 |access-date=May 8, 2007 |date=March 23, 2007}}</ref> On the University of South Alabama campus is the USA Archaeology Museum hosting artifacts from throughout the Gulf Coast region.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Archaeology Museum {{!}} Center for Archaeological Studies {{!}} Archaeology Museum |url=https://www.southalabama.edu/org/archaeology/museum/ |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=www.southalabama.edu}}</ref> Airbus has an aerospace museum named Flightworks.<ref>{{Cite web |title=USA to Collaborate on Flight Works Alabama |url=https://www.southalabama.edu/departments/publicrelations/pressreleases/092018flightworks.html |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=www.southalabama.edu |language=en}}</ref> In the old ''[[Press-Register]]'' building, there is the Alabama Contemporary Art Center, which contains artworks by living artists.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alabama Contemporary Art Center {{!}} Downtown Mobile Alliance |url=https://www.downtownmobile.org/alabama-contemporary-art-center/ |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=www.downtownmobile.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Who We Are – Alabama Contemporary Art Center |url=https://www.alabamacontemporary.org/about/whoweare/ |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=www.alabamacontemporary.org}}</ref>

===Historic architecture===
{{see also|National Register of Historic Places listings in Mobile, Alabama}}
[[File:Carlen House.JPG|thumb|alt=|The Carlen House is an example of the Creole cottage style found along the Gulf Coast]]

Mobile has surviving antebellum architectural examples of the [[Creole cottage]], [[Greek Revival architecture|Greek Revival]], [[Gothic Revival]], and [[Italianate architecture|Italianate]]  styles.<ref name=nris2 /> The earliest homes and fortifications were simple wooden structures, elevated on [[piling]]s driven into the frequently soaked soil. Early cottages, similar to those in other French settlements, were built as rows of two or three separate rooms each with a front and rear door that often opened onto an external porch running the length of the home. Kitchens were separate buildings. Some of these wooden structures rotted away in the 1700s.<ref name="Gould-1988-7-9-47-117"/> Fires in 1827 and 1839 destroyed the city's remaining wooden colonial architecture.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thomason |first=Michael |title=Mobile: The New History of Alabama's First City |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b0gTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA4 |year=2001 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |isbn=978-0-8173-1065-3 |pages=66–75}}</ref>

[[File:Mobile City Hospital.JPG|thumb|alt=|Mobile City Hospital was built in the Greek Revival style.]]

Wood continued to be used for nearly all homes in the 1800s, and the colonial cottages evolved into what became known as the [[Creole cottage]] in the 1840s. Creole cottages, such as the [[Carlen House]], have front and rear porches covered by the roof. They run parallel to the street, often with a chimney at either end.<ref name="Gould-1988-7-9-47-117">{{cite book |last=Gould |first=Elizabeth Barrett |title=From Fort to Port: An Architectural History of Mobile, Alabama, 1711–1918 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa |date=1988 |isbn=0-8173-0256-5 |pages=7–9, 47, 117–118}}</ref> The 1827 fire and an economic boom in the 1830s allowed much of the city to be rebuilt, often in the optimistic and then-popular [[Greek Revival architecture in North America|Greek Revival]] style. Structures like the [[Mobile City Hospital]] were built on an imposing scale with round [[doric columns]] in their facades.<ref name="Gould-1988-p57-60">{{cite book |last=Gould |first=Elizabeth Barrett |title=From Fort to Port: An Architectural History of Mobile, Alabama, 1711–1918 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa |date=1988 |pages=57–60}}</ref> A simplified Gothic Revival style gained popularity in the 1850s, with [[Cresting (architecture)|cresting]] along some rooflines and simple [[tracery]] framing the windows.<ref name="Gould-1988-p140-143">{{cite book |last=Gould |first=Elizabeth Barrett |title=From Fort to Port: An Architectural History of Mobile, Alabama, 1711–1918 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa |date=1988 |pages=140–143}}</ref> The [[Italianate]] style emerged before the Civil War and thrived after it. Italianate detailing can be seen in surviving examples such as the [[Martin Horst House]], with its [[cast iron]] rails, elaborate exterior molding, bracketed [[eaves]], and [[parapet]] around the [[hipped roof]].<ref name="Gould-1988-169-170">{{cite book |last=Gould |first=Elizabeth Barrett |title=From Fort to Port: An Architectural History of Mobile, Alabama, 1711–1918 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa |date=1988 |pages=169–170}}</ref> Italianate storefronts became common in downtown Mobile until they were surpassed by the Victorian style in the late 1800s.<ref name="Gould-1988-210-221">{{cite book |last=Gould |first=Elizabeth Barrett |title=From Fort to Port: An Architectural History of Mobile, Alabama, 1711–1918 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa |date=1988 |pages=210–221}}</ref> Victorian cottages with board-and-[[batten]] siding also became popular in the late 1800s, but few survive.<ref name="Gould-1988-p173">{{cite book |last=Gould |first=Elizabeth Barrett |title=From Fort to Port: An Architectural History of Mobile, Alabama, 1711–1918 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa |date=1988 |page=173}}</ref> The city's lone example of the [[Egyptian Revival]] style is the [[Scottish Rite Temple (Mobile, Alabama)|Scottish Rite Temple]], with Egyptian motifs, including obelisks and sphinxes.<ref name="Gould-1988-235-236">{{cite book |last=Gould |first=Elizabeth Barrett |title=From Fort to Port: An Architectural History of Mobile, Alabama, 1711–1918 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa |date=1988 |pages=235–236}}</ref> Other architectural styles in the city include [[shotgun house]]s, [[Colonial Revival architecture|Colonial Revival]], [[Tudor Revival architecture|Tudor Revival]], [[Spanish Colonial Revival architecture|Spanish Colonial Revival]], and [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]].<ref name=nris2 />

[[File:1 South Royal Street Pincus Building Mobile AL 02.JPG|thumb|The [[Pincus Building]] in the Lower Dauphin Street Historic District]]

The city's [[Historic districts in the United States|historic districts]] include: [[Old Dauphin Way Historic District|Old Dauphin Way]], [[Oakleigh Garden Historic District|Oakleigh Garden]], [[Lower Dauphin Street Historic District|Lower Dauphin Street]], [[Leinkauf Historic District|Leinkauf]], [[De Tonti Square Historic District|De Tonti Square]], [[Church Street East Historic District|Church Street East]], [[Ashland Place Historic District (Mobile, Alabama)|Ashland Place]], [[Campground Historic District|Campground]], and [[Midtown Historic District (Mobile, Alabama)|Midtown]].<ref name=nris2>{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref> Many storefronts from the 1800s still stand along Lower Dauphin Street. Renovations to the ground floors of some buildings often leave the upper floors untouched.<ref name="Gould-1988-p212">{{cite book |last=Gould |first=Elizabeth Barrett |title=From Fort to Port: An Architectural History of Mobile, Alabama, 1711–1918 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa |date=1988 |page=212}}</ref> The Oakleigh Garden District is centered around the most photographed house in Mobile, [[Oakleigh Historic Complex (Mobile, Alabama)|Oakleigh]]. Many bracketed Italianate residences were later built around it.<ref name="Gould-1988-pp99-100-191">{{cite book |last=Gould |first=Elizabeth Barrett |title=From Fort to Port: An Architectural History of Mobile, Alabama, 1711–1918 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |location=Tuscaloosa |date=1988 |pages=99–100, 191}}</ref>

The [[Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Mobile, Alabama)|Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception]] was built on the colonial-era Campo Santo cemetery, of which no trace remains.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sledge |first1=John S. |title=Church Street Graveyard |url=https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/church-street-graveyard/ |website=Encyclopedia of Alabama |date=6 December 2023 |orig-date=23 February 2007}}</ref> Several historic cemeteries were established shortly after the colonial era. The [[Church Street Graveyard]] contains above-ground tombs and monuments spread over {{convert|4|acre|0|abbr=on}} and was founded in 1819.<ref name="Sledge">{{Cite journal |last=Sledge |first=John |title=Church Street Graveyard |journal=The Alabama Review |volume=55 |pages=96–105 |date=April 2002}}</ref> The nearby {{convert|120|acre|0|adj=on|abbr=on}} [[Magnolia Cemetery (Mobile, Alabama)|Magnolia Cemetery]] was established in 1836 and served as Mobile's primary burial site during the 19th and early 20th centuries.<ref name="magnoliacem">{{cite web |title=Welcome to the Magnolia Cemetery Website |work=Magnolia Cemetery website |url=http://www.magnoliacemetery.com/ |access-date=November 18, 2007}}</ref> Mobile's [[Congregation Sha'arai Shomayim (Mobile, Alabama)|Jewish]] community dates back to the 1820s, and the city has two historic [[Jewish cemetery|Jewish cemeteries]], [[Sha'arai Shomayim Cemetery]] and [[Ahavas Chesed Cemetery]]. Sha'arai Shomayim is the older of the two.<ref name="Sledge4">{{cite book |last=Sledge |first=John Sturdivant |title=Cities of Silence: A Guide to Mobile's Historic Cemeteries |pages=80–89 |location=Tuscaloosa, Alabama |publisher=University of Alabama Press |year=2002}}</ref>

==Sports==
[[File:USAJaguarsFootball.jpg|thumb|The first [[South Alabama Jaguars]] football game at [[Ladd–Peebles Stadium]]]]
{{See also|History of sports in Mobile, Alabama}}

===Football===
Football is the most popular spectator sport in the state.<ref>{{cite web |title=College Football in Alabama |url=https://encyclopediaofalabama.org/collection/college-football-in-alabama/ |website=Encyclopedia of Alabama}}</ref> Alabama has never had a top-level professional football team in the [[NFL]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Horn |first1=Bryant |title=8 Former Alabama Pro Sports Teams You Probably Forgot About |url=https://tide1009.com/8-former-alabama-pro-sports-teams-you-probably-forgot-about/ |website=Tide 100.9 |language=en |date=21 December 2020}}</ref> but Mobile is one of several Alabama cities with a college football tradition.<ref>{{cite web |title=What if the NFL expanded to 100 teams? Barnwell picks ideal locations for 68 new franchises |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/40415014/what-nfl-expanded-100-teams-united-states-barnwell-picks-ideal-cities-redrawn-football-map |website=ESPN.com |access-date=8 June 2025 |language=en |date=24 June 2024}}</ref> Mobile has been home to the [[Senior Bowl]] since 1951, featuring the best college seniors in [[College football|NCAA football]].<ref name="srbowl">{{cite web |title=The Senior Bowl |work=Seniorbowl.com |url=http://www.seniorbowl.com/2007/gamerecaps1950s.htm |access-date=April 23, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912014456/http://www.seniorbowl.com/2007/gamerecaps1950s.htm |archive-date=September 12, 2007}}</ref>

Mobile is the home of two [[American football|football]] stadiums.  The [[Ladd-Peebles Stadium]] opened in 1948 and has a current capacity of 40,646, making it the [[List of American football stadiums by capacity|fourth-largest stadium in the state]].<ref name="ladd">{{cite web |title=''Ladd–Peebles Stadium'' |work=LaddPeeblesStadium.com |url=http://www.laddpeeblesstadium.com/default.asp |access-date=April 23, 2007 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070314214436/http://www.laddpeeblesstadium.com/default.asp |archive-date=March 14, 2007}}</ref>  [[Hancock Whitney Stadium]] opened in 2020 on the campus of [[University of South Alabama]] and has a current capacity of 25,450.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Librenjak |first1=Lisa |title=No changes to USA Hancock Whitney Stadium capacity of 25,450, 1st home game next Saturday |url=https://mynbc15.com/news/coronavirus/usa-jaguars-anticipate-full-capacity-of-25450-at-next-fridays-home-game-against-usm |work=WPMI |date=23 August 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

The [[68 Ventures Bowl]], originally known as the Mobile Alabama Bowl and later the GMAC Bowl, GoDaddy.com Bowl, Dollar General Bowl, and LendingTree Bowl, has been played at Hancock Whitney Stadium since 2021. The game was originally played at Ladd–Peebles Stadium from 1999 to 2020. It features opponents from the [[Sun Belt Conference|Sun Belt]] and [[Mid-American Conference|Mid-American]] conferences.<ref>{{cite web |title=Date set for 15th annual Godaddy Bowl |work=Godaddybowl.com |url=http://godaddybowl.com/date-set-15th-annual-godaddy-bowl/ |access-date=November 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203031933/http://godaddybowl.com/date-set-15th-annual-godaddy-bowl/ |archive-date=December 3, 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Since 1988, Ladd–Peebles Stadium has hosted the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic. The top graduating high school seniors from their respective states compete each June.<ref name="AMall-star">{{cite web |title=''History of the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic'' |work=ahsaasports.com |url=http://www.ahsaasports.com/football/alms-allstar/history.asp |access-date=April 23, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928104708/http://www.ahsaasports.com/football/alms-allstar/history.asp |archive-date=September 28, 2007}}</ref>

The University of South Alabama in Mobile established a football team in 2007, which went undefeated in its 2009 inaugural season. Their program moved to Division I/FBS in 2013 as a member of the [[Sun Belt Conference]]. The team currently plays at Hancock Whitney Stadium, after playing at Ladd-Peebles Stadium prior to the start of the 2020 Season.<ref name="football">{{cite web |title=Proposal for NCAA-Football at USA |work=University of South Alabama |url=http://www.southalabama.edu/footballproposal/ |access-date=April 3, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207144041/http://www.southalabama.edu/footballproposal/ |archive-date=February 7, 2012 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

===Other sports and facilities===
[[File:Hank Aaron Stadium.jpg|thumb|The [[Hank Aaron Stadium]]]]
Mobile has been home to [[Minor League Baseball]] teams from the late nineteenth century to 2019. Three [[Southern League (1885–1899)|Southern League]] teams operated out of Mobile intermittently in the nineteenth century: the Swamp Angels, Blackbirds, and Bluebirds. In the twentieth century, several teams, each called the Bears, operated at different times.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cuhaj |first1=Joe |last2=Carraway-Hinckle |first2=Tamra |title=Baseball in Mobile |date=2004 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-1582-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sotCek0MKdAC |language=en}}</ref> Mobile's [[Hank Aaron Stadium]] was the home of the Minor League [[Mobile BayBears]] from 1997 to 2019.<ref name="baybears1">{{cite web |title=Hank Aaron Stadium |work=Mobile Bay Bears |url=http://www.mobilebaybears.com/hank.asp |access-date=October 18, 2007}}</ref>

[[File:Mitchell center north entrance.jpg|thumb|Entrance to the Mitchell Center at the University of South Alabama]]
South Alabama basketball is a mid-major team in the Sun Belt Conference. They play their home games at the [[Mitchell Center]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hooper |first1=John |title=Sun Belt Men's Tournament Preview |url=https://www.midmajormadness.com/2025/3/3/24376654/sun-belt-men-tournament-preview |website=Mid-Major Madness |language=en |date=3 March 2025}}</ref> The Archbishop Lipscomb Athletic Complex is home of [[AFC Mobile]], which is a [[National Premier Soccer League]] team.<ref>{{cite news |title=AFC Mobile to play 2017 home games at Lipscomb Athletic Complex |newspaper=[[The Birmingham News]] |url=https://www.al.com/press-releases/2017/03/afc_mobile_to_play_2017_home_g.html |date=March 28, 2017}}</ref> The public Mobile Tennis Center includes over 50 courts, all lighted and hard-court.<ref name="Tennis">{{cite web |title=Mobile Tennis Center |work=Tennis in Mobile |url=http://www.mobiletenniscenter.net/ |access-date=October 15, 2007}}</ref>

For golfers, Magnolia Grove, part of the [[Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail]], has 36 holes. The Falls course was recently named the best par 3 course in America.<ref name="rtj">{{cite web |title=Magnolia Grove |work=RTJgolf.com |url=http://www.rtjgolf.com/courses/magnolia_grove/ |access-date=May 5, 2007}}</ref> [[The Mitchell Company Tournament of Champions]] was played annually at Magnolia Grove from 1999 through 2007. The [[Mobile Bay LPGA Classic]] took its place in 2008, also held at Mobile's Magnolia Grove.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lpga.com/golf/tournaments/lpga/mobile-bay-lpga-classic.aspx |title=Mobile Bay LPGA Classic\ |work=LPGA |publisher=LPGA Foundation |access-date=November 23, 2012}}</ref>

Mobile is home to the [[Azalea Trail Run]], which races through historic midtown and downtown Mobile. This 10k run has been an annual event since 1978.<ref name="com">{{cite web |title=''Event Calendar'' |work=CityOfMObile.org |url=http://www.cityofmobile.org/calendar_events.php?category=&day=&month=01&year=2007 |access-date=April 30, 2007}}</ref> The Azalea Trail Run is one of the premier 10k road races in the United States, attracting runners from all over the world.<ref name="vulcan">{{cite web |title=''Azalea Trail Run'' |work=VulcanTri.com |url=http://www.vulcantri.com/index.php?option=com_events&task=view_detail&agid=448&year=2006&month=03&day=25&Itemid=46 |access-date=May 5, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927062439/http://www.vulcantri.com/index.php?option=com_events&task=view_detail&agid=448&year=2006&month=03&day=25&Itemid=46 |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

==Parks and recreation==
[[File:Ketchum Fountain in Bienville Square.jpg|thumb|upright|Ketchum Fountain in the center of [[Bienville Square]]]]
The [[Mobile Botanical Gardens]] feature a variety of flora spread over {{convert|100|acre|0}}. It contains the Millie McConnell [[Rhododendron]] Garden with 1,000 evergreen and native azaleas and the {{convert|30|acre|0|adj=on|abbr=on}} [[Longleaf Pine]] Habitat.<ref name="botanicalgard">{{cite web |title=Explore the Gardens |work=Mobile Botanical Gardens |url=http://www.mobilebotanicalgardens.org/explore.htm |access-date=November 18, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071121212417/http://www.mobilebotanicalgardens.org/explore.htm |archive-date=November 21, 2007}}</ref> [[Bellingrath Gardens and Home]], located on [[Fowl River]], is a {{convert|65|acre|0|adj=on}} [[botanical garden]] and historic {{convert|10500|sqft|m2|0|adj=on}} mansion that dates to the 1930s.<ref name="bellingrathgard">{{cite web |title=About Us |work=Bellingrath Gardens and Home Website |url=http://www.bellingrath.org/about-us.html |access-date=November 18, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091129034202/http://www.bellingrath.org/about-us.html |archive-date=November 29, 2009}}</ref> The 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center is a facility that allows visitors to learn about and access the [[Mobile River|Mobile]], [[Tensaw River|Tensaw]], [[Apalachee River (Alabama)|Apalachee]], [[Middle River (Alabama)|Middle]], [[Blakeley River|Blakeley]], and [[Spanish River (Alabama)|Spanish]] rivers.<ref name="5 Rivers">{{cite web |title=5 Rivers Delta Resource Center |work=Mobile Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau |url=http://www.mobile.org/pdf/5riversbrochure.pdf |access-date=October 16, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025170631/http://www.mobile.org/pdf/5riversbrochure.pdf |archive-date=October 25, 2007 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> It was established to serve as an easily accessible gateway to the [[Mobile-Tensaw River Delta]].<ref name="5 Rivers Facilities">{{cite web |title=5 Rivers |work=5 Rivers Delta Resource Center |url=http://www.outdooralabama.com/outdoor-adventures/5rivers/ |access-date=August 6, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091223093652/http://www.outdooralabama.com/outdoor-adventures/5rivers/ |archive-date=December 23, 2009 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> It offers boat and adventure tours, a small theater, an exhibit hall, meeting facilities, walking trails, and a canoe and kayak landing.<ref name="5RDS">{{cite web |title=5RDS |work=5 Rivers Delta Resource Center Website |url=http://www.outdooralabama.com/outdoor-adventures/5rivers/safaris/ |access-date=August 6, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100103173903/http://outdooralabama.com/outdoor-adventures/5rivers/safaris/ |archive-date=January 3, 2010 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Mobile has more than 45 public parks within its limits, with some that are of special note.<ref name="parksmob">{{cite web |title=Parks and Recreation |work=City of Mobile |url=http://www.cityofmobile.org/parks/parklist.php |access-date=November 18, 2007}}</ref> [[Bienville Square]] is a historic park in the Lower Dauphin Street Historic District. It assumed its current form in 1850 and is named for Mobile's founder, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville.<ref>Delaney, Caldwell. ''The Story of Mobile'', page 79. Mobile, Alabama: Gill Press, 1953.</ref> It was once the principal gathering place for residents, when the city was smaller, and remains popular today. [[Cathedral Square (Mobile, Alabama)|Cathedral Square]] is a one-block performing arts park, also in the Lower Dauphin Street Historic District, which is overlooked by the [[Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Mobile|Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception]].<ref name="mainstreet">{{cite web |title=Main Street Mobile |work=Dauphin Street Virtual Walking Tour |url=http://www.mainstreetmobile.org/html/guide/walking.html |access-date=September 26, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070430072858/http://www.mainstreetmobile.org/html/guide/walking.html |archive-date=April 30, 2007}}</ref>

Spanish Plaza is a downtown park that honors the Spanish phase of the city between 1780 and 1813. It features the ''Arches of Friendship'', a fountain presented to Mobile by the city of [[Málaga]], Spain.<ref name="spanplaza">{{cite web |title=Mobile Attractions |website=AL.com |url=http://www.al.com/mobile/index.ssf?cityguide/attractions.html |access-date=November 17, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213035111/http://www.al.com/mobile/index.ssf?cityguide%2Fattractions.html |archive-date=December 13, 2007 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> [[Langan (Municipal) Park|Langan Park]], the largest of the parks at {{convert|720|acre|0}}, features lakes, natural spaces, and contains the [[Mobile Museum of Art]], Azalea City Golf Course, [[Mobile Botanical Gardens]] and Playhouse in the Park.<ref name="parksmob"/>

==Government==
{{See also|List of mayors of Mobile, Alabama|2025 Mobile City Council election}}
[[File:Government Plaza Mobile.JPG|thumb|[[Mobile Government Plaza|Government Plaza]] in Mobile, seat of government for the city and the county]]

Since 1985 the government of Mobile has consisted of a mayor and a seven-member [[city council]].<ref name="Cityofficials1">{{cite web |title=City Officials |work=City of Mobile |url=http://www.cityofmobile.org/cityofficials/ |access-date=November 23, 2012}}</ref> The council members are elected from each of the seven city council [[single-member districts]] (SMDs). A [[supermajority]] of five votes is required to conduct most council business.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sharp |first1=John |title='History was made': Mobile adopts map that, for first time ever, includes majority Black council representation |url=https://www.al.com/news/2022/08/history-was-made-mobile-adopts-map-that-for-first-time-ever-includes-majority-black-council-districts.html |work=AL.com |date=9 August 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

This form of city government was chosen by the voters after the previous form of government, which had three city commissioners, each elected at-large, was ruled in 1975 to substantially dilute the minority vote and violate the [[Voting Rights Act]] in ''[[Mobile v. Bolden|Bolden v. City of Mobile]]''. The three at-large commissioners each required a majority vote to win. Due to appeals, the case took time to reach settlement and establishment of a new electoral system.<ref name="gov1">{{cite book |last=Thomason |first=Michael |title=Mobile: The New History of Alabama's First City |pages=272–273 |location=Tuscaloosa |publisher=University of Alabama Press |date=2001 |isbn=0-8173-1065-7}}</ref> Municipal elections are held every four years and are nonpartisan.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sharp |first1=John |title=Mayor, council races on ballot today in Mobile |url=https://www.al.com/news/mobile/2021/08/mayor-council-races-on-ballot-today-in-mobile.html |website=AL.com |date=August 24, 2021 |publisher=Alabama Media Group |access-date=16 January 2022}}</ref>{{Maplink|frame=yes|text=Mobile City Council districts<br/>{{color box|000000}} District 1<br/>{{color box|ff0000}} District 2<br/>{{color box|aa00aa}} District 3<br/>{{color box|00aaaa}} District 4<br/>{{color box|00ff00}} District 5<br/>{{color box|0000ff}} District 6<br/>{{color box|aaaa00}} District 7
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}}[[Sam Jones (mayor)|Sam Jones]] was elected in 2005 as the first African-American mayor of Mobile. He was re-elected for a second term in 2009 without opposition.<ref name="sammayor">{{cite news |title=Reinventing Our Community: Mobile's first black mayor points to city's progress on race |author=Charles J. Dean |url=https://www.al.com/birmingham-news-stories/2011/07/reinventing_our_community_mobi.html |newspaper=The Birmingham News |date=July 24, 2011 |access-date=December 4, 2021}}</ref> His administration continued the focus on downtown redevelopment and bringing industries to the city.  He ran for a third term in 2013 but was defeated by [[Sandy Stimpson]]. Stimpson remained mayor until November 2, 2025.<ref>{{cite web |last=Specker |first=Lawrence |title=Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson wins another term |url=https://www.al.com/news/mobile/2017/08/mobile_voters_go_to_polls_tues.html |website=AL.com |access-date=December 4, 2021 |date=August 21, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharp |first=John |date=2021-08-25 |title=Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson rolls to a third term in office |url=https://www.al.com/news/2021/08/mobile-mayor-sandy-stimpson-rolls-to-a-third-term-in-office.html |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=al |language=en}}</ref> In 2025, [[Spiro Cheriogotis]] became the current mayor.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Poole |first1=Summer |title=Spiro Cheriogotis elected mayor of Mobile |url=https://www.wkrg.com/mobile-county/spiro-cheriogotis-elected-mayor-of-mobile/ |access-date=25 September 2025 |work=WKRG 5 |date=23 September 2025}}</ref>

Mobile city has 2,167 employees. Of the property tax paid in the city, 11% goes to the city, 32% goes to the county, 10% goes to the state, and 47% goes to the school districts. The city has a 5% sales tax. For 2024, the city received $281.7 million in sales tax, $34.5 million in property tax, and $90.1 million dollars for services such as business licenses. The total revenue for the city was $514.3 million, and the total expenditures was $455.3 million for 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 September 2025 |title=THE CITY OF MOBILE, ALABAMA POPULAR ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT For the Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2024 |url=https://www.cityofmobile.org/uploads/file_library/city-of-mobile-popular-annual-financial-report-fy2024---final.pdf |access-date=19 September 2025}}</ref>

==Education==
[[File:Murphy High School.jpg|thumb|[[Murphy High School (Alabama)|Murphy High School]] in Midtown, originally Mobile High School.  It is one of the seventeen high schools run by the [[Mobile County Public School System]].]]
[[File:Spring Hill College Quad 01.JPG|thumb|Administration building at [[Spring Hill College]]]]
[[File:Bishop State clock tower May 2012 cropped.jpg|thumb|upright|The Business Technology Center and clock tower at [[Bishop State Community College]]]]

===Public schools===
Public schools in Mobile are operated by the [[Mobile County Public School System]] (MCPSS). MCPSS has an enrollment of approximately 52,000 students at 92 schools, employs approximately 7,200 public school employees,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Client Challenge |url=https://www.mcpss.com/o/mcps/page/human-resources |access-date=2025-08-21 |website=www.mcpss.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Mobile County Public Schools |url=https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/alabama/districts/mobile-county-107265 |access-date=21 August 2025}}</ref> and had a budget in 2024–2025 of $843 million.<ref>{{cite web |title=FY 2025 Amended Budget |url=https://files-backend.assets.thrillshare.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/5395/Mcps/267293db-9a29-4836-b0c1-9574df9d5c91/FY_2025_AMENDED_BUDGET.pdf?disposition=inline |access-date=16 January 2022 |website=Mobile County Public School System}}</ref> The State of Alabama operates the [[Alabama School of Mathematics and Science]] on Dauphin Street in Mobile, which boards advanced Alabama high school students. It was founded in 1989 to identify, challenge, and educate future leaders.<ref name="asms">{{cite web |title=About ASMS |work=Alabama School of Math and Science |url=http://www.asms.net/about.htm |access-date=October 19, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011053512/http://www.asms.net/about.htm |archive-date=October 11, 2007}}</ref>

===Private schools===
[[UMS-Wright Preparatory School]] is an independent co-educational [[university-preparatory school|preparatory school]].<ref name="mpsr1"/> It assumed its current configuration in 1988, when the University Military School (founded 1893) and the Julius T. Wright School for Girls (1923) merged to form UMS-Wright.<ref>{{cite web |title=The UMS-Wright Tradition |url=http://ums-wright.org/page.aspx?pid=408 |work=UMS-Wright Preparatory School |access-date=May 26, 2013 |archive-date=May 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529134033/http://www.ums-wright.org/page.aspx?pid=408 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Many [[parochial school]]s belong to the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile]], including [[McGill-Toolen Catholic High School]].<ref name="mpsr1">{{cite web |title=Mobile's Private Schools |work=Private Schools Report |url=http://alabama.privateschoolsreport.com/schools/AL/Mobile.html |access-date=October 25, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071102104523/http://alabama.privateschoolsreport.com/schools/AL/Mobile.html |archive-date=November 2, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Protestant schools include [[St. Paul's Episcopal School]] and [[Faith Academy (Mobile, Alabama)|Faith Academy]].<ref name="mpsr1"/>

===Universities and colleges===
The [[University of South Alabama]] is a public, [[Doctorate|doctoral]]-level university established in 1963.<ref name="usa2">{{cite web |title=Schools, Colleges, Departments |work=University of South Alabama |url=http://www.southalabama.edu/departms.html |access-date=October 25, 2007 |archive-date=October 26, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026042349/http://www.southalabama.edu/departms.html |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Faulkner University]] is a four-year private [[Churches of Christ|Church of Christ]]-affiliated university based in [[Montgomery, Alabama]]. Faulkner founded the Mobile campus in 1975 and offers bachelor's degrees<ref name="faulkner1">{{cite web |title=Bachelor Degrees Mobile Campus |work=Faulkner University |url=http://www.faulkner.edu/admissions/mobile/bs.asp |access-date=October 25, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114095932/http://www.faulkner.edu/admissions/mobile/bs.asp |archive-date=November 14, 2007}}</ref> and associate degrees.<ref name="faulkner2">{{cite web |title=Associate Degrees Mobile Campus |work=Faulkner University |url=http://www.faulkner.edu/admissions/mobile/as.asp |access-date=October 25, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071007113401/http://www.faulkner.edu/admissions/mobile/as.asp |archive-date=October 7, 2007}}</ref> [[Spring Hill College]], chartered in 1830, was the first Catholic college in the southeastern United States and is the third oldest [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] college in the country.<ref name="springhill1">{{cite web |title=History of the College |work=Spring Hill College |url=http://www.shc.edu/about-shc/history-of-the-college |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912211058/http://www.shc.edu/about-shc/history-of-the-college |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 12, 2007 |access-date=October 20, 2007}}</ref> Spring Hill College is a four-year private college with graduate programs<ref name="springhill2">{{cite web |title=Graduate Studies |work=Spring Hill College |url=http://www.shc.edu/graduate-and-adult-programs/graduate |access-date=October 20, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070502113817/http://www.shc.edu/graduate-and-adult-programs/graduate |archive-date=May 2, 2007 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> and undergraduate divisions.<ref name="springhill3">{{cite web |title=Undergraduate Studies |work=Spring Hill College |url=http://www.shc.edu/academics/undergrad-programs/ |access-date=October 20, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011103538/http://shc.edu/academics/undergrad-programs/ |archive-date=October 11, 2007}}</ref>

Founded in 1927, [[Bishop State Community College]] is a public, [[Historically black colleges and universities|historically African American]], [[Community colleges in the United States|community college]] with four campuses in Mobile.<ref name="bishop1">{{cite web |title=Academic Programs |work=Bishop State Community College |url=http://www.bscc.cc.al.us/academic.htm |access-date=October 20, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710112422/http://www.bscc.cc.al.us/academic.htm |archive-date=July 10, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Several post-secondary [[Vocational education|vocational]] institutions have a campus in Mobile including [[Fortis College]], [[Virginia College]], [[ITT Technical Institute]] and [[Remington College]].<ref name="college1">{{cite web |title=Mobile Alabama Colleges and Universities |work=United States College Search |url=http://www.uscollegesearch.org/mobile-alabama-colleges.html |access-date=October 20, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016233007/http://www.uscollegesearch.org/mobile-alabama-colleges.html |archive-date=October 16, 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Media==
{{See also|Media in Mobile, Alabama}}

Mobile's ''[[Press-Register]]'' is Alabama's oldest active newspaper, first published in 1813.<ref name="NHreg">"Newhouse News Service – The Press-Register" (description), Newhouse News Service, 2007, webpage:[http://www.newhouse.com/the-press-register.html NH-Register] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517135219/http://www.newhouse.com/the-press-register.html |date=May 17, 2008}}.
</ref> The paper focuses on [[Mobile County, Alabama|Mobile]] and [[Baldwin County, Alabama|Baldwin]] counties and the city of Mobile, but also serves southwestern Alabama and southeastern Mississippi.<ref name="NHreg"/> Mobile's alternative newspaper is the ''[[Lagniappe (newspaper)|Lagniappe]] which was founded on the 24th of July 2002''.<ref name="lagniappe1">{{cite web |title=About us |work=Lagniappe Mobile |url=http://www.lagniappemobile.com/about |access-date=December 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018023858/http://www.lagniappemobile.com/about |archive-date=October 18, 2007}}</ref> [[Visit Mobile]] is a marketing agency website that is focused on tourism in Mobile.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Visit Mobile {{!}} Contact Info, History & Welcome Center |url=https://www.mobile.org/about/ |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=www.mobile.org}}</ref>

Mobile is served locally by several over-the-air television stations including [[WKRG|WKRG 5]] ([[CBS]]), [[WALA|WALA 10]] ([[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]]), [[WPMI-TV|WPMI 15]] ([[Roar (TV network)|Roar]]), [[WMPV-TV|WMPV 21]] ([[religious broadcasting|religious]]), [[WDPM-DT|WDPM 23]] (religious), [[Alabama Public Television|WEIQ 42]] ([[PBS]]), and [[WFNA (TV)|WFNA 55]] ([[The CW]]).<ref name="tv1">{{cite web |title=5 Full-power television stations in the Mobile – Pensacola market |work=Station Index |url=http://www.stationindex.com/tv/markets/Mobile-Pensacola |access-date=November 23, 2012}}</ref> The region is also served by [[WEAR-TV|WEAR 3]] ([[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], with [[NBC]] on DT2), [[WSRE|WSRE 31]] (PBS), [[WHBR (TV)|WHBR 34]] (religious), [[WFGX|WFGX 35]] ([[MyNetworkTV]]), [[WJTC|WJTC 44]] (independent), [[WFBD|WFBD 48]] ([[America One]]), [[WPAN|WPAN 53]] ([[Jewelry Television]]), and [[WAWD|WAWD 58]] (independent), all out of the [[Pensacola, Florida]] area.<ref name="tv1"/> Mobile is part of the Mobile–Pensacola–[[Fort Walton Beach, Florida|Fort Walton Beach]] [[designated market area]], as defined by [[Nielsen Media Research]]. The Mobile-Pensacola-Fort Walton Beach market is ranked 57th in the nation for the 2024–25 television season.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mobile, AL-Pensacola (Ft. Walton Beach), FL Media Market |url=https://ustvdb.com/markets/mobile-pensacola-fort-walton-beach/ |access-date=2025-08-16 |website=ustvdb.com}}</ref>

A total of 43 FM radio stations and 12 AM radio stations are located around the Mobile area and provide signals sufficiently strong to serve Mobile.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/locate?select=city&city=mobile&state=al |title=Radio Stations in Mobile, Alabama}}</ref>
Fourteen [[FM broadcasting|FM]] radio stations transmit from Mobile: [[WAVH]], [[WBHY-FM|WBHY]], [[WBLX-FM|WBLX]], [[WDLT-FM|WDLT]], [[WHIL (FM)|WHIL]], [[WKSJ-FM|WKSJ]], WKSJ-HD2, [[WLVM]], [[WMXC]], [[WMXC]]-HD2, [[WQUA]], [[WRKH]], [[WRKH]]-HD2, and [[WZEW]]. Nine [[AM broadcasting|AM]] radio stations transmit from Mobile: [[WBHY (AM)|WBHY]], [[WABF (AM)|WABF]], [[WGOK]], [[WIJD]], [[WLPR-AM|WLPR]], [[WMOB]], [[WNGL]], [[WNTM]], and [[WXQW]]. The content ranges from Christian Contemporary to [[Hip hop]] to [[Top 40]].<ref name="radio1">{{cite web |title=Radio in Mobile |work=TheCityOfMobile.com |url=http://www.thecityofmobile.com/radio/index.html |access-date=October 20, 2007}}</ref> In fall 2025, [[Nielsen Holdings|Nielsen]] ranked Mobile's radio market as the 101st in the US.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Radio Industry News, Radio Show Prep, Radio Promotions, Radio Station Data, Podcast News |url=https://www.radio-online.com/ |access-date=2025-09-19 |website=RADIO ONLINE |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Infrastructure==
===Transportation===

[[File:Gulf Mobile & Ohio Railroad station.jpg|thumb|The old [[Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Passenger Terminal]] houses the Mobile Area Transportation Authority.]]

====Air====

Local airline passengers are served by the [[Mobile Regional Airport]], with direct connections to four major hub airports.<ref name="maa1">{{cite web |title=MAA Properties Overview |work=Mobile Airport Authority |url=http://www.mobileairportauthority.com/properties.php |archive-url=https://archive.today/20071009040842/http://www.mobileairportauthority.com/properties.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 9, 2007 |access-date=October 18, 2007}}</ref> It is served by [[American Eagle (airline brand)|American Eagle]], with service to [[Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport]] and [[Charlotte/Douglas International Airport]]; [[United Express]], with service to [[George Bush Intercontinental Airport]] and [[Delta Connection]], with service to [[Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport]].<ref name="maa1"/> The [[Mobile Downtown Airport]] at the [[Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley|Brookley Aeroplex]] serves corporate, cargo, and private aircraft.<ref name="maa1"/>

====Rail====
Mobile is served by four [[Class I railroad]]s, including the [[Canadian National Railway]] (CNR), [[CSX Transportation]] (CSX), the [[Kansas City Southern Railway]] (KCS), and the [[Norfolk Southern Railway]] (NS).<ref name="mobilechamber">{{cite web |title=Infrastructure: Rail Overview |work=Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce |url=http://www.mobilechamber.com/infrastructure.asp |access-date=November 17, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070717185947/http://www.mobilechamber.com/infrastructure.asp |archive-date=July 17, 2007 |df=mdy}}</ref> The [[Alabama and Gulf Coast Railway]] (AGR), a [[Class III railroad]], links Mobile to the [[BNSF Railway|Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway]] (BNSF) at [[Amory, Mississippi]]. These converge at the Port of Mobile, which provides [[intermodal freight transport]] service to companies engaged in importing and exporting. Other railroads include the [[CG Railway]] (CGR), a rail ship service to [[Coatzacoalcos]], [[Veracruz]], and the [[Terminal Railway Alabama State Docks]] (TASD), a [[Switching and terminal railroad|switching railroad]].<ref name="mobilechamber"/>

The city was served by [[Amtrak]]'s ''[[Sunset Limited]]'' passenger train service until 2005, when the service was suspended due to the effects of [[Hurricane Katrina]].<ref name="Amtrak1">{{cite web |author=Amtrak |url=http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/News_Release_Page&c=am2Copy&cid=1093554015790&ssid=170 |date=September 2, 2005 |title=Modified Amtrak Service to and from the Gulf Coast to be in Effect Until Further Notice |access-date=December 6, 2007}}</ref><ref name="Amtrak2">{{cite web |author=Amtrak |url=http://www.amtrak.com/timetable/apr07/P01.pdf |date=April 2, 2007 |title=Sunset Limited timetable |access-date=June 19, 2007}}</ref> However, efforts to restart passenger rail service between Mobile and [[New Orleans]] were revived in 2019 by the 21-member Southern Rail Commission after receiving a $33 million Federal Railroad Administration grant in June of that year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rail Advocates Contend New Gulf Coast Amtrak Service isn't the Sunset Limited |url=https://www.al.com/news/2019/06/rail-advocates-contend-new-gulf-coast-amtrak-service-isnt-the-sunset-limited.html |access-date=May 6, 2020 |work=AL.com |date=June 11, 2019}}</ref> Louisiana quickly dedicated its $10 million toward the project, and Mississippi initially balked before committing its $15 million sum but Governor [[Kay Ivey]] resisted committing the estimated $2.7 million state allocation from Alabama because of concerns regarding long-term financial commitments and potential competition with freight traffic from the [[Port of Mobile]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Ivey Says Questions Remain before Alabama can Commit to Amtrak's Mobile Return |url=https://www.al.com/news/2019/06/ivey-says-questions-remain-before-alabama-can-commit-to-amtraks-mobile-return.html |date=June 8, 2019 |access-date=May 6, 2020 |work=AL.com}}</ref>

The Winter of 2019 was marked by repeated postponement of votes by the Mobile City Council as it requested more information on how rail traffic from the port would be impacted and where the Amtrak station would be built as community support for the project became more vocal, especially among [[millennials]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.al.com/news/mobile/2020/01/amtrak-proposal-has-good-vibe-potential-and-millennials-want-a-yes.html |title=Amtrak Proposal has Good 'Vibe Potential' and Millennials want a yes |date=Jan 30, 2020 |access-date=May 6, 2020 |work=AL.com}}</ref> A day before a deadline in the federal grant matching program being used to fund the project, the city council committed about $3 million in a 6–1 vote.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.al.com/news/mobile/2020/02/mobile-hops-aboard-amtrak-support-by-endorsing-gulf-coast-rail-commitment.html |title=Mobile Hops Aboard Amtrak Support by Endorsing Gulf Coast Rail Commitment |date=February 4, 2020 |newspaper=[[The Birmingham News]]}}</ref>

About $2.2 million was still needed for infrastructure improvements and the train station must still be built before service begins. Potential locations for the station include at the foot of [[Government Street (Mobile, Alabama)|Government Street]] in downtown and in the [[Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley]], which was favored by the [[Port of Mobile]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.al.com/news/mobile/2019/10/planes-trains-and-mobile-why-brookley-might-be-the-better-alternative-for-an-amtrak-station.html |title=Planes, trains and Mobile: Why Brookley might be the 'better alternative' for an Amtrak station |date=October 17, 2019 |access-date=May 6, 2020 |work=AL.com}}</ref> Eventually, it was determined that a pocket track and a platform would be constructed for service to resume.<ref>{{cite web |title=Start of Amtrak's Mardi Gras Service sees further delay |url=https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/start-of-amtraks-mardi-gras-service-sees-further-delay/ |website=Trains.com |publisher=Firecrown Media |access-date=1 July 2025 |date=29 May 2025}}</ref> On July 1, 2025, Amtrak announced that the new train, dubbed the ''[[Mardi Gras Service]]'', would begin on August 18, 2025, with two daily return trips.<ref name="service_debut_announcement">{{Cite web |last=Magliari |first=Marc |date=2025-06-30 |title=Book Now for Amtrak Mardi Gras Service starting August 18 |url=https://media.amtrak.com/2025/06/book-now-for-amtrak-mardi-gras-service-starting-august-18/ |access-date=2025-07-01 |website=Amtrak Media |language=en-US}}</ref>

====Roadways, bus and cycling====
[[File:George Wallace Tunnel 02.jpg|thumb|Interior of the eastbound [[George Wallace Tunnel]] under the Mobile River]]
[[File:Cochran Bridge Mobile Alabama.jpg|thumb|The [[Cochrane–Africatown USA Bridge]] spanning the [[Mobile River]]]]

Two major [[interstate highways]] and a spur converge in Mobile. [[Interstate 10]] runs northeast to southwest across the city, while [[Interstate 65]] starts in Mobile at Interstate 10 and runs north. [[Interstate 165 (Alabama)|Interstate 165]] connects to Interstate 65 north of the city in [[Prichard, Alabama|Prichard]] and joins Interstate 10 in downtown Mobile.<ref name="roads1">{{cite web |title=Alabama Roads |work=Milebymile.com |url=http://www.mil-ebymile.com/maps/Alabama_road_map.pdf |access-date=October 18, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025170631/http://www.milebymile.com/maps/Alabama_road_map.pdf |archive-date=October 25, 2007 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Mobile is well served by many major highway systems. US Highways [[U.S. Route 31 in Alabama|US 31]], [[US 43 (AL)|US 43]], [[US 45 (AL)|US 45]], [[US 90 (AL)|US 90]], and [[US 98 (AL)|US 98]] radiate from Mobile traveling east, west, and north. Mobile has three routes east across the Mobile River and Mobile Bay into neighboring [[Baldwin County, Alabama|Baldwin County]]. Interstate 10 leaves downtown through the [[George Wallace Tunnel]] under the river and then over the bay across the [[Jubilee Parkway]] to [[Spanish Fort, Alabama|Spanish Fort]] and [[Daphne, Alabama|Daphne]]. US 98 leaves downtown through the [[Bankhead Tunnel]] under the river, onto [[Blakeley Island (Alabama)|Blakeley Island]], and then over the bay across the [[Battleship Parkway]] into Spanish Fort. US 90 travels over the [[Cochrane–Africatown USA Bridge]] to the north of downtown onto Blakeley Island, where it becomes co-routed with US 98.<ref name="roads1"/>

Mobile's public transportation is the [[The Wave Transit System|Wave Transit System]] which features buses with 18 fixed routes and neighborhood service.<ref name="buses">{{cite web |title=Wave Transit moda! |work=Wave Transit System |url=http://www.thewavetransit.com/ |access-date=January 28, 2010}}</ref> Baylinc is a public transportation bus service provided by the Baldwin Rural Transit System in cooperation with the Wave Transit System that provides service between eastern [[Baldwin County, Alabama|Baldwin County]] and downtown Mobile. Baylinc operates Monday through Friday.<ref name="baylinc">{{cite web |title=Baylinc Facts |work=The Wave Transit System |url=http://www.thewavetransit.com/files/BratSchedule.pdf |access-date=November 6, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071127083724/http://www.thewavetransit.com/files/BratSchedule.pdf |archive-date=November 27, 2007 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref> [[Greyhound Lines]] provides intercity bus service between Mobile and many locations throughout the United States. Mobile is served by several taxi and limousine services.<ref name="guide1">{{cite web |title=Mobile City Guide |work=AL.com |url=http://www.al.com/mobile/cityguide/?transportation.html |access-date=October 18, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071110222417/http://www.al.com/mobile/cityguide/?transportation.html |archive-date=November 10, 2007 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

To leverage Mobile's waterways for recreational use, The Three Mile Creek Greenway Trail is being designed and implemented under the instruction of the City Council. The linear park will ultimately span seven miles, from [[Langan (Municipal) Park]] to Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Avenue, and include trailheads, sidewalks, and bike lanes. The existing greenway is centered at Tricentennial Park.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mapformobile.org/threemilecreek/ |title=Three Mile Creek Greenway Trail |access-date=May 7, 2020 |archive-date=August 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804014632/https://mapformobile.org/threemilecreek/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[The Wave Transit System]] provides fixed-route bus and [[demand-responsive transit|demand-response]] service in Mobile.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thewavetransit.com/35/About-Us |title=About Us |access-date=July 20, 2023}}</ref>

====Water====
The [[Port of Mobile]] has public deepwater terminals with direct access to {{convert|1500|mi|km}} of inland and intracoastal waterways serving the [[Great Lakes]], the [[Ohio River|Ohio]] and [[Tennessee River|Tennessee river]] valleys (via the [[Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway]]), and the [[Gulf of Mexico]].<ref name="mobilechamber"/> The Alabama State Port Authority owns and operates the public terminals at the Port of Mobile.<ref name="mobilechamber"/> The public terminals handle [[Containerization|containerized]], bulk, breakbulk, [[roll-on/roll-off]], and heavy-lift cargoes.<ref name="mobilechamber"/> The port is also home to private bulk terminal operators, as well as a number of highly specialized shipbuilding and repair companies with two of the largest floating dry docks on the Gulf Coast.<ref name="mobilechamber"/>

The city was a home port for [[cruise ship]]s from [[Carnival Cruise Lines]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.carnival.com/cms/fun/ships/carnival_elation/default.aspx?shipCode=EL |title=Carnival Elation Cruises {{pipe}} Elation Cruise Ship {{pipe}} Carnival Cruise Line |publisher=Carnival.com |date=January 6, 2012 |access-date=March 26, 2013}}</ref> The first cruise ship to call the port home was the ''[[Holiday (ship)|Holiday]]'', which left the city in November 2009 so that a larger and newer ship could take its place. The ''[[Carnival Fantasy]]'' operated from Mobile from then on until the ''[[Carnival Elation]]'' arrived in May 2010.<ref>{{cite news |title=Carnival Cruise Lines to deploy ''Elation'' to Mobile; could carry 170,000 passengers a year |first=Brian |last=Lyman |newspaper=Press Register |date=September 17, 2009 |url=https://www.al.com/live/2009/09/carnival_cruise_lines_to_deplo.html |access-date=December 4, 2021}}</ref> In early 2011, Carnival announced that despite fully booked cruises, the company would cease operations from Mobile in October 2011. This cessation of cruise service left the city with an annual [[interest|debt service]] of around two million dollars related to the terminal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.wkrg.com/news/2012/jan/19/rent-alabama-cruise-terminal-ar-3077353/ |title=For Rent: The Alabama Cruise Terminal |author=Chad Petri |date=January 19, 2012 |work=WKRG News 5 |publisher=Media General Communications Holdings |access-date=November 23, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304175429/http://www2.wkrg.com/news/2012/jan/19/rent-alabama-cruise-terminal-ar-3077353/ |archive-date=March 4, 2012 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> In September 2015, Carnival announced that the ''[[Carnival Fantasy]]'' was relocating from Miami, Florida, to Mobile and would offer four- and five-night cruises to Mexico that started in November 2016 through November 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=Carnival, City Of Mobile Announce Year-Long Season Of Cruises From Port Of Mobile Aboard Carnival Fantasy Beginning In 2016 |url=http://carnival-news.com/2015/09/23/carnival-city-of-mobile-announce-year-long-season-of-cruises-from-port-of-mobile-aboard-carnival-fantasy-beginning-in-2016/ |website=Carnival News |access-date=November 2, 2016 |date=September 23, 2015}}</ref> Her first departure from Mobile left on November 9, 2016, on a five-night cruise to Cozumel and Progreso. ''[[Carnival Fascination]]'' will be replacing ''Carnival Fantasy'' in 2022.<ref>{{cite web |title=Carnival Fantasy May be Gone for Good |url=https://mynbc15.com/news/local/carnival-fantasy-may-be-gone-for-good |website=mynbc15.com |access-date=March 6, 2020}}</ref><

=== Utilities ===
[[File:Big Creek Lake.jpg|thumb|alt=Large L-shaped lake miles West of Mobile as seen from space|Big Creek Lake (left) and Mobile Bay (right) from space]]
Natural gas has been used in Mobile since 1836 when natural gas was used for lighting. Between 1933 and 2016 natural gas was provided by [[Mobile Gas]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=About Mobile Gas - Mobile Gas |url=https://www.mobile-gas.com/about/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822233459/https://www.mobile-gas.com/about/ |archive-date=2017-08-22 |access-date=2025-08-13 |work=Mobile Gas |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2016, [[Spire Inc.]] bought EnergySouth, Inc, the parent company of Mobile Gas and has been provide the service to the surrounding community since then.<ref name="city utilities">{{cite web |title=Utilities : City of Mobile |url=https://www.cityofmobile.org/residents/utilities/ |website=www.cityofmobile.org |access-date=11 August 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Spire Acquires Mobile Gas and Willmut Gas |url=https://investors.spireenergy.com/news/news-details/2016/Spire-Acquires-Mobile-Gas-and-Willmut-Gas/default.aspx |access-date=2025-08-13 |website=investors.spireenergy.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

The water for Mobile is provided by Mobile Area Water and Sewer System (MAWSS). When MAWSS was founded in 1814, it used Three-Mile Creek to provide water to the city.<ref>{{cite web |title=MAWSS Announces Permanent Closure Of Big Creek Lake To All Recreational Boating And Fishing |url=https://www.mawss.com/news/mawss-announces-permanent-closure-of-big-creek-lake-to-all-recreational-boating-and-fishing/ |access-date=11 August 2025 |website=Mobile Area Water and Sewer System |language=en}}</ref> In 1952, MAWSS constructed a dam at Tanner Williams road to block Big Creek stream creating [[Big Creek Lake]], a water reservoir for the city and the surrounding area.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 2008 |title=Big Creek Lake Watershed Management Plan |url=https://www.mobilebaynep.com/assets/pdf/Big_Creek_Lake_Watershed_Management_Plan.pdf |access-date=13 August 2025 |website=www.mobilebaynep.com}}</ref>

In 1884 with the demonstration of an incandescent lightbulb, Mobile Electric Company began providing electricity to the city as an alternative lighting method. In 1925, [[Alabama Power]] bought the Mobile Electric Company.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McGehee |first=Tom |date=2021-07-08 |title=Ask McGehee: Was Mobile's electric plant once destroyed by an explosion? |url=https://mobilebaymag.com/ask-mcgehee-was-mobiles-electric-plant-once-destroyed-by-an-explosion/ |access-date=2025-08-13 |website=Mobile Bay Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> Electricity is still available from Alabama Power to this day.<ref name="city utilities" /> Alabama Power owns and operates [[James M. Barry Electric Generating Plant]], fueled by coal and natural gas, and Theodore Cogen Facility, fueled by natural gas. These two power plants generate a total capacity of 3,519,870&nbsp;kW for the surrounding communities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Generating Plants |url=https://www.alabamapower.com/company/about-us/generating-plants.html |access-date=2025-08-13 |website=www.alabamapower.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Healthcare===
[[File:Mobile Infirmary front facade.jpg|thumb|Mobile Infirmary Medical Center]]

Mobile serves the central Gulf Coast as a regional center for medicine.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pruitt |first1=Lori Chandler |title=Spotlight on Mobile County: Health Care |url=https://businessalabama.com/spotlight-on-mobile-county-health-care/ |website=Business Alabama Magazine |date=14 June 2021}}</ref> The 200-year-old Mobile County Health Department (MCHD) provides education and preventive health services to Mobile and surrounding areas.<ref name="MCHD">{{cite web |title=Mobile County Health Department; Family Health - Downtown Health Center |url=https://www.mobilepubliclibrary.org/community-resources/mobile-county-health-department-family-health-downtown-health-center |website=Mobile Public Libraries |access-date=16 August 2025 |language=en}}</ref> Infirmary Health is Alabama's largest nonprofit, non-governmental health care system. It includes their flagship hospital Mobile Infirmary, two emergency centers and three outpatient surgery centers. Mobile Infirmary is the largest nonprofit hospital in the state.<ref name="Burnett-2023">{{cite web |last1=Burnett |first1=Emmett |title=Spotlight on Mobile County: Health Care |url=https://businessalabama.com/spotlight-on-mobile-county-health-care-2/ |website=Business Alabama Magazine |date=27 June 2023}}</ref><ref name="trauma" />

[[File:Providence Hospital Mobile 01.jpg|thumb|USA Health Providence Hospital]]

University of South Alabama Health (USA Health) operates 30 locations in the Mobile area, including three hospitals: [[USA Health Providence Hospital]], the Children's & Women's Hospital, and University Hospital.<ref name="Burnett-2023"/> Providence Hospital was founded in 1854 by the [[Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul|Daughters of Charity]].<ref name="trauma"/> In 2023, USA Health acquired Providence Hospital from its private Catholic ownership.<ref name="Short-2025">{{cite news |last1=Short |first1=Gail Allyn |title=Three Alabama health care systems see changes in hospital ownership |url=https://businessalabama.com/three-alabama-health-care-systems-see-changes-in-hospital-ownership/ |work=Business Alabama Magazine |date=17 July 2025}}</ref> The University of South Alabama Medical Center was founded in 1830 as the old city-owned [[Mobile City Hospital]] and associated medical school. A teaching hospital, it is designated as Mobile's only [[level I trauma center]] by the [[Alabama Department of Public Health]]<ref name="trauma">{{Cite web |last=Sharp |first=Jon |date=December 4, 2018 |title=USA trauma center gets state boost as governor eyes rural health problem |url=https://www.al.com/news/mobile/2018/12/usa-trauma-center-gets-state-boost-as-governor-eyes-rural-health-problem.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212222423/https://www.al.com/news/mobile/2018/12/usa-trauma-center-gets-state-boost-as-governor-eyes-rural-health-problem.html |archive-date=December 12, 2020 |access-date=December 30, 2020 |publisher=AL.com}}</ref><ref name="usatrauma">{{Cite web |title=Our Facilities: USA Family Medicine |url=http://fammed.usouthal.edu/residencyprogram/facilities.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407171959/http://fammed.usouthal.edu/residencyprogram/facilities.html |archive-date=April 7, 2019 |access-date=December 30, 2020 |website=University of South Alabama College of Medicine}}</ref><ref name="Alabama Trauma Centers">{{cite web |url=https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/aths/trauma-center-levels.html |title=Trauma Centers |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=December 15, 2020 |website=Alabama Public Health |publisher=Alabama Department of Public Health |access-date=December 31, 2020 |quote=}}</ref> and is also a regional burn center.<ref name="mobchamber3"/> Children's & Women's Hospital is dedicated exclusively to the care of women and minors.<ref name="mobchamber3"/> In 2008, the University of South Alabama opened the Mitchell Cancer Center Institute, which includes the first academic cancer research center in the central Gulf Coast region.<ref>{{cite news |first=Casandra |last=Andrews |title=USA Mitchell Cancer Institute opens in Mobile |url=https://www.al.com/live/2008/09/usa_mitchell_cancer_institute.html |work=Press Register |date=September 18, 2008 |access-date=March 23, 2009}}</ref>

BayPointe Hospital and Children's Residential Services is the city's only psychiatric hospital. It houses a residential unit for children, an acute unit for children and adolescents, and an age-segregated involuntary hospital unit for adults undergoing evaluation ordered by the Mobile Probate Court.<ref name="baypointe">{{cite web |title=Children's Hospital and Residential Services |work=AltaPointe Health Systems |url=http://www.altapointe.org/baypoint.htm |access-date=February 2, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080614020724/http://www.altapointe.org/baypoint.htm |archive-date=June 14, 2008}}</ref> Springhill Medical Center was founded in 1975 and is Mobile's only for-profit facility.<ref name="mobchamber3">{{cite web |title=Healthcare |work=Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce |url=http://www.mobilechamber.com/healthcare.asp |access-date=January 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509124546/http://www.mobilechamber.com/healthcare.asp |archive-date=May 9, 2008 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

==Notable people==
{{Main|List of people from Mobile, Alabama}}

==Sister cities==
<!-- DO NOT ADD FLAG ICONS TO THIS SECTION, SEE RfC ON TALK PAGE. FLAG ADDITIONS WILL BE REVERTED UNLESS TALK PAGE DISCUSSION DECIDES CONSENSUS HAS CHANGED. -->
Mobile has nine [[Sister city|sister cities]]:<ref name="sistercity">{{cite web |title=Sister Cities |work=City of Mobile |url=https://www.cityofmobile.org/sister-cities/ |access-date=4 June 2025}}</ref>
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
*[[Ariel (city)|Ariel]], [[West Bank]]<ref name="sistercity"/>
*[[City of Cockburn|Cockburn]], Australia (2005)<ref name="sistercity"/>
*[[Constanța]], Romania<ref name="sistercity"/>
*[[Havana]], Cuba<ref name="sistercity"/>
*[[Ichihara, Chiba|Ichihara]], Japan (1993)<ref name="sistercity"/>
*[[Katowice]], Poland<ref name="sistercity"/>
*[[Malaga, Spain]]<ref name="sistercity"/>
*[[Pyeongtaek]], South Korea<ref name="sistercity"/>
*[[Worms, Germany|Worms]], Germany<ref name="sistercity"/>}}<!-- DO NOT ADD FLAG ICONS TO THIS SECTION, SEE RfC ON TALK PAGE. FLAG ADDITIONS WILL BE REVERTED UNLESS TALK PAGE DISCUSSION DECIDES CONSENSUS HAS CHANGED. -->

==See also==
{{Portal|Alabama|United States|American Civil War|France|North America|History}}
* [[List of tallest buildings in Mobile, Alabama]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Mobile, Alabama]]
* [[USS Mobile|USS ''Mobile'']], 6 ships

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* Cox, Isaac Joslin. ''The West Florida controversy, 1798–1813: a study in American diplomacy'' (The Johns Hopkins Press, 1918) [https://archive.org/details/westfloridacont01coxgoog online]
* Kinser, Samuel, and Norman Magden. ''Carnival, American Style: Mardi Gras at New Orleans and Mobile'' (University of Chicago Press, 1990.)
*Kirkland, Scotty E. "Pink Sheets and Black Ballots: Politics and Civil Rights in Mobile, Alabama, 1945–1985." MA Thesis University of South Alabama
* Pride, Richard Alan. ''The Political Use of Racial Narratives: School Desegregation in Mobile, Alabama, 1954–97'' (University of Illinois Press, 2002)
* Thomason, Michael, ed. ''Mobile: the new history of Alabama's first city'' (University of Alabama Press, 2001)
{{Div col end}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|wikt=no|v=no|n=no|q=no|s=no|b=no|voy=Mobile}}
* [https://www.cityofmobile.org/ City of Mobile website]
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Mobile |short=x}}

{{Mobile, Alabama|state=uncollapse}}
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