The nearby city of Mobile is one of the most historic places in the nation. The site of the present city was originally explored by the Spanish as early as the beginning of the 16th century, shortly after Christopher Columbus established the first European colony in the “New World.” Yet, the first permanent European settlers arrived nearly two centuries later, when Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville led a group of French colonists several miles up the Mobile River in 1702. Here, he established “Fort Louis de la Louisiane” on behalf of the Colonial Governor of French Louisiana—who happened to also be his brother—Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville. As disease began ravaging the population, Bienville instructed the colonists to relocate downstream to the river’s confluence with Mobile Bay. They erected a new fort in 1711 and small community quickly emerged over the next several decades. The small village soon became known as “Mobile,” named for the “Maubilla” Indians that once lived nearby. Even though the colonial outpost struggled to grow in size, its functioned as the capital of Colonial Louisiana during the first years of its existence. But when war erupted between France and Spain in 1719, Bienville decided to relocate the colony’s administrative offices further west to the emerging settlement of Biloxi. Meanwhile, Mobile effectively served as a military outpost between the two warring kingdoms, with the local colonial populations fighting against each other. Mobile eventually found its footing within the French Empire, acting as a major commercial trading center with the local Native Americans. The British eventually seized the entirety of Mobile Bay, though, after the Seven Years’ War, when France ceded it to Great Britain. The area subsequently joined the British colony of “West Florida,” until it was given to the Spanish following the American Revolution.

Mobile and the rest of the modern Alabama coastline continued to be a part of Spanish-controlled Florida until the War of 1812. An American army stationed in New Orleans invaded the region under the pretense that its merchants were selling arms to native tribes allied with the British. But the United States had long disagreed over the exact location of Spanish Florida’s western border, which further incentivized the Americans to seize the region. Spain ultimately relented, signing the territory over to the United States. Mobile and the land surrounding Mobile Bay joined the Mississippi Territory, although that union proved to short-lived. The territory subsequently split in two, with the western half becoming the state of Mississippi in 1817. The eastern portion bordering Georgia joined the nation as “Alabama” two years later. While the state capital was founded in Montgomery to the north, Mobile emerged as Alabama’s most prosperous city. It rapidly became one of the busiest port cities in the South, second only to New Orleans in its affluence. In fact, by the 1850s, Mobile was one of the top five seaports in the whole nation. Its commercial importance eventually played a major role during the American Civil War of the mid-19th century, when the newly formed Confederacy relied upon its maritime commerce to supply its nascent war effort. The Union eventually attempted to blockade the city, but ships known as blockade runners occasionally managed to evade capture. Mobile’s significance to the rebel war effort became all the more vital when New Orleans was occupied by northern soldiers in early 1862. Eventually, the Lincoln administration sought fit to seize Mobile itself, instructing Admiral David Farragut to attack the city. While the city itself never fell to the North, its surrounding harbor was effectively captured by Farragut’s command following the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864.

After the war, Mobile struggled to reassert itself as one of America’s preeminent ports, eventually going bankrupt in 1879. But its economy gradually improved, especially after local ship captains began importing tropical fruits alongside their normal exports of lumber and cotton. The maritime trade received a much needed boast, though, in 1914, when construction finally ended on the Panama Canal, allowing the city’s merchants to trade more easily with markets on the other side of the world. Later developments emerged, too, that helped the city’s naval commerce to return, including the creation of the Intracoastal Waterway, as well as the Alabama State Docks. Industrialization also took root in the city around the same time, giving rise to factories that contributed greatly to the development of a localized shipbuilding industry. Perhaps the most prominent shipbuilding company to appear in Mobile was the Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company, which constructed countless cargo vessels during World War II. Another prominent company was a subsidiary of the Gulf Shipbuilding Corporation called the Waterman Steamship Corporation. It subsequently built freighters, destroyers, and minesweepers in the war, too. Other major industries appeared by the middle of the century, including chemicals, textiles, and vehicle components. Paper products also became a central fixture in the city’s economy, with the Scott Paper Company and International Paper employing a large segment of its population. But the time period also saw the emergence of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, in which racial equality became a major aspect of the city’s political landscape. While Mobile had been more open to desegregation than most other southern cities, its education system remained separated on the basis of race well after the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled the practice unjust. In 1963, three African American students sued the Mobile County School Board in federal court, citing the majority decisions presented in Brown v. Board of Education The federal court ruled in their favor, forcing Murphy High School to completely desegregate by the next school year.

Today, Mobile is a vibrant, modern city filled with all sorts of outstanding cultural attractions to visit. Among the most popular destinations in the area are GulfQuest National Maritime Museum, Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center, and a colonial citadel named “Fort Conde.” Its shoreline is also home to Battleship Memorial Park, where the famed World War II-era battleship, the USS Alabama, acts as a museum. Modern Mobile is also home to one of the earliest authentic Mardi Gras festivals in the whole United States, rivaling New Orleans in its grandiose character. Its downtown still reflects much of its historic character, as evidenced by the Victorian-era mansions and cottages that line its historic Oakley Garden District. To the west, even more historic buildings reside within the fabulous Old Dauphin Way District. Few places are truly better in the Gulf Coast for a historically-inspired vacation than the brilliant city of Mobile.

The Grand Hotel Golf Resort and Spa possesses a unique architectural style that can best be described as “eclectic.” Dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, historians today consider “eclecticism” to be part of a much larger movement to fuse together a variety of historical designs. Earlier in the 1800s, architects—particularly those in Europe—decided to rely upon their own loose interpretations of historical architecture whenever they attempted to replicate it. Such a practice appeared within such styles as Gothic Revival, Italianate, and Second Empire architecture. But at the height of the Gilded Age, those architects decided to use historic architecture more literally when developing a building. A few architects went a step further by combining certain historical styles together to achieve something uniquely beautiful. And in some cases, those individuals felt inspired to add a new historical form onto a building that they were renovating—just like the Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa. Ultimately, the architects felt that joining such architectural forms together would give them a new avenue of expression that they otherwise did not have at the time. They also believed that they had stayed true to the earlier forms, so long as their designs perfectly replicated whatever it was they to mimicked.

In Europe, this approach first appeared as a rehash of Gothic Revival-style known as “Collegiate Gothic.” The European architects then used such a mentality to influence the unfolding philosophies of both the Beaux-Arts school of design, as well as the emerging Renaissance Revival-style. Many architects in America followed suit, the most notable of which being Richard Morris Hunt and Charles Follen McKim. The American architects who embraced “eclecticism” were at first interested in the country’s colonial architecture. Much of the desire to return to the time period was born from the revived interest in American culture brought on by the Centennial Exposition of 1876. Pride in preserving the nation’s heritage inspired the architects to perfect the design principles of their colonial forefathers in new and intriguing ways. This interest gradually splintered into other revival styles, though, like Spanish Colonial and Tudor Revival. Some Americans even infused the approach with the popular Beaux-Arts aesthetics of France, such as Hunt and McKim. Yet, the birth of Modernism in the 1920s and 1930s eventually ended the worldwide love affair with “eclecticism,” for architects throughout the West became more enchanted with the ideas of modernity, technology, and progress.

Battle of Mobile Bay (1864): In the latter-half of the American Civil War, the City of Mobile had become the most important port to the Southern Confederacy. Despite the presence of a large Union Naval blockade, rebel blockade runners managed to slip out of port to reach markets spread across the world. The city that most of the Confederate ships reached was Havana, where its crews exchanged lumber and cotton for much needed war supplies. And after the fall of New Orleans some two years prior, Mobile was the only place where those blockade runners could return. The Lincoln administration became increasingly aware of the city’s importance to the Confederate war effort. Ulysses S. Grant—then the Commanding General of the United States Army—instructed Admiral David Farragut to lead a force to capture the city in early 1864. The admiral took all spring to prepare for the assault, gathering a flotilla of 18 warships. Among the vessels Farragut had procured for the mission were four ironclad monitors—new steel covered boats that heralded the arrival of the battleship a few decades later. He also enlisted 5,000 men under the command of Union Major General Edward R.S. Canby to act as the landing force, once his ships breached the city’s defenses. Opposing both Farragut and Cranby were a ring of three forts that protected Mobile Bay: Fort Morgan, Fort Gaines, and Fort Powell. There was also a small squadron of four ships commanded by Admiral Franklin Buchanan, which included the mighty Confederate ironclad, the USS Tennessee. A series of small coastal batteries also lined the shores of Mobile Bay, although their overall defensive impact was limited. Furthermore, the bay itself was heavily saturated with underwater mines that sailors of the day referred to as “torpedoes.” By the summer of 1864, Mobile had truly been converted into a virtual citadel.

After spending months preparing, Admiral David Farragut began his attack up Mobile Bay on August 5, 1864. The resistance from the three forts, as well as the small Confederate fleet was immediate and fierce. Cannon shells rained throughout the countryside as Farragut’s fleet crept forward toward Mobile. As the Union ships approached a narrow channel, they were beset by a series of mines that nearly spanned the width of the bay. One ship—an ironclad named the USS Tecumseh—even struck an underwater mine and sunk. His fleet wavering, Admiral Farragut strapped himself to the mast of his flagship (a sloop called the USS Hartford) and shouted, “Damn the torpedoes! Four bells. Captain Drayton, go ahead! Jouett, full speed. Traveling single file, the remaining Union vessels cleared the mines and engaged the outnumbered Confederate navy. Three of the rebel ships were knocked out in short order, only leaving the CSS Tennessee to face Farragut. While it dealt some serious damage to the Union flotilla, it was eventually battered into a motionless hulk. Admiral Franklin Buchanan and most of his command were also captured during the battle, which ended once the Tennessee’s crew surrendered. The 5,000 men of Canby’s command (led by Major General Gordon Granger on his behalf) subsequently spent the next three weeks besieging the forts near Mobile, capturing all of them by the end of the month. Even though Union forces never bothered to enter Mobile itself, the destruction of its defenses made it useless as a port. The Union victory was covered extensively in northern newspapers afterward, and played a crucial role in Abraham Lincoln’s reelection bid later that year.

Operation Ivory Soap (1944): Starting in 1944, the Grand Hotel Resort & Spa served as the base of operations of a top secret military program known as “Operation Ivory Soap.” As the U.S. military captured one Japanese-held island after the next in the latter stage of World War II, it became increasingly clear for the need to create a system of floating air supply depots and repair centers. The time it took Navy Seabees and Army engineers to create new airfields on the capture islands was taking too long. As such, American aircraft were constantly at risk of limiting their operational range throughout the central Pacific. To resolve the crisis, the Commander of the U.S. Army Air Corps—the legendary Henry “Hap” Arnold—decided to transform nearly two dozen merchant vessels into floating repair stations that would be manned by a few hundred sailors. The ships themselves were outfitted with fuel and a variety of aircraft parts, ranging from wings to radars. Arnold also decided that he would need a specialized crew to operate the ships, and received permission to establish a special training regimen from the War Department. Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Thompson subsequently received the commission to head the school from Arnold.

Given just two weeks to organize the program, Colonel Thompson began looking for a suitable location to set up camp. When he received word that the Grand Hotel was considering a temporary closure, the colonel immediately contacted its proprietor—Edward A. Roberts—to see if he would lease him the location. Roberts was enthused. Claiming it his patriotic duty, he allowed Thompson to use the resort for a single dollar. The only caveat was that the men stationed at the Grand Hotel would have to walk through the main building barefoot, so to protect its new hardwood flooring. Soon enough, Thompson had some 5,000 men trained at the resort, learning such skills like navigation, cargo handling, and aircraft repair. Yet, he also trained them as regular infantry, instructing them to receive lessons in calisthenics, drilling, and amphibious operations. Many of the servicemen trained at the resort served in future operations during the campaigns to take Guam, the Philippines, and Iwo Jima. All the while, Colonel Thompson administered the program from his desk in Room 1108 of the Grand Hotel. The space is preserved today as a suite that guests can still reserve.

Pattie Labelle, singer and songwriter known for such songs like “If Only You Knew,” “New Attitude” and “On My Own.”

Fannie Flagg, actress best remembered for her role in Fried Green Tomatoes.

Dolly Parton, country music icon known for such singles like “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” and “9 to 5.’

Colin Powell, 65th U.S. Secretary of State (2001 – 2005)

Barbara Bush, First Lady to former U.S. President George H.W. Bush (1989 – 1993)

Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1979 – 1990)

Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States (1977 – 1981)