Tom McGehee
Ask McGehee: How old are the oaks in Bienville Square?
According to Ron Jackson, the longtime urban forester for Mobile, live oaks have been in that location since at least 1812....
Ask McGehee: Didn’t Mobile once have two different daily newspapers?
In the late 1920s, Mobile had only one newspaper, which published a morning and weekly afternoon edition. Mississippi-born Frederick Ingate Thompson...
Ask McGehee: Didn’t Mobile’s Saenger Theatre originally have a pipe organ?
According to news clippings from the opening in January 1927, the Saenger Theatre had every luxury at the time – air-conditioning, ...
Ask McGehee: When was Government Plaza built, and how did that design ever get...
A Mobile County Courthouse had stood on the southwest corner of Government and Royal streets since 1822. The fifth and last incarnation had...
Ask McGehee: Recently a brick building on Government Street, just east of Broad Street,...
The building, located at 850 Government St., dated to around 1944 when it housed a new A&P grocery store. Until 1928,...
Ask McGehee: What is the history of Baytreat at Battles Wharf in Baldwin County?
Nestled among the waterfront estates of Battles Wharf is a facility owned and operated by Mobile’s Government Street Presbyterian Church. While architecturally resembling...
Ask McGehee: A “Warehouse District” in Mobile?
While it was not officially called the warehouse district, there was, beginning in the 19th century, a small city of...
Ask McGehee: What ever happened to the Bienville Hotel?
In 1900, it was announced that Mobile would soon have a new hotel on the northwest corner of St. Francis and St....
Ask McGehee: Mobile buildings had a lot more ironwork in years past. What...
In 1839, the popular architect Asher Benjamin recommended cast iron in his book, “The Builder’s Guide.” He noted its low cost...
Ask McGehee: The former Higgins Mortuary
The building had a storied past as both a social club and a mortuary. One of the most well-respected funeral homes, Higgins...
