Tom McGehee
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...
Ask McGehee: How has Santa Claus visited Mobile in the past?
Throughout the 19th century Santa developed from the Dutch tradition of a “jolly old elf” to the robust, bearded man described by...