Mobile’s second shell-paved route, Bay Shell Road, once had a reputation for being the “most famous of all Alabama driveways,” according to a 1912 article published in “Municipal Journal.” Built in the 1850s, the 6-mile stretch of road ran south along Mobile Bay, from now-known Choctaw Point to Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley. Notable stops along the way included Frascati Park, Crystal Pool and the original location of the Country Club of Mobile.
Bay Shell Road closed in 1938. The area it covered is now the industrial site around the Mobile Port Authority. However, Mobile’s original shell road, Old Shell Road, remains viable nearly 200 years after it was constructed.
Does your family have memories of Bay Shell Road? Let us know! Email [email protected].
Photo from the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Photograph Collection • Colorization by Dynamichrome Limited
