Secret History Tours

12/18/2024

Designed to attract affluent families to Mobile during the cotton boom, Barton Academy was a statement design that was completed in 1836, and with its massive domed cupola resembling the US Capitol in Washington. Designed by Gallier and Dakin, this impressive Greek Revival structure housed the first free public school in the state, and was completed the same year as the Government Street Presbyterian Church a few blocks east. The Greek Revival style would permeate vernacular architecture in Mobile for the next quarter century.

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12/17/2024

The Beal-McNeal Cottage at 205 North Conception Street is an example of vernacular use of classical influences, Constructed in 1836—the same year as the GovernmentStreet Presbyterian Church and Barton Academy. Doubtless the owner asked the builder to give the house a similar style. Note also that the doors and windows are so similar that one has to check for a k**b to tell one from the other.

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12/16/2024

With its Greek Revival design and slender Ionic columns, the elegant Government Street Presbyterian Church was completed in 1836—the same year as Barton Academy. Standing proudly at the corner of Jackson Street and Government, the brick structure is covered in gleaming white plaster scored to resemble stone. The interior is a more ornate version of ancient Greece, with Corinthian columns behind the pulpit and a Greek key pattern along the face of the balcony.

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12/15/2024

Named for the first bishop of Mobile, the Portier Cottage was constructed around 1834. Standing diagonally across from the cathedral, it has the typical features of a cottage, including an elevated porch, gabled roofline parallel to the street, and tall gabled dormers.

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12/14/2024

Mobile’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was begun in 1834, with the main part of the church designed by Claude Beroujon, and completed by 1849. The Greek Revival colonnade were designed by James H. Hutchinson and his son, and built from 1875 to 1887, with the two towers completed by 1895. The massive granite columns , marble floors, and gilded interior are indeed heavenly, and makes the cathedral a sight to behold.

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12/13/2024

The Old City Hospital was built from 1833 to 1836, and designed by architect William George, who utilized a huge facade and colossal columns supporting a classical entablature. The original structure had walkways behind the colonnade, but when two more bays were added to each end flat pilasters allowed more interior floor space. Located at the northwest corner of Mobile’s downtown, the structure at 850 Saint Anthony Street is now the Police headquarters.

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12/12/2024

The Oakleigh House was a country home completed in 1833 during the cotton boom, and it is one of the oldest houses in Midtown. Located at 350 Oakleigh Place, it was built by James Roper in the Greek Revival style, with a curving staircase, elevated story, and T-shaped plan. Oakleigh’s classical details such as a Greek Key motif door frames and classical pediment give it the appearance of a Greek Temple.

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12/11/2024

Built originally as Mobile’s jail inside the walls of the old fort, the Conde-Charlotte Museum is one of the oldest structures in Mobile, dating to 1822. Located on Theater Street, the handsome structure was remodeled in 1849 after the fort’s demolition and converted into a home for the Kirkbride family.

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12/10/2024

Straight out of a German fairy tale, this Carpenter Gothic (edit) home on Dauphin Street was built for the Macy family family before Macy Place was developed. The distinctive board and batten walls, 6 over 9 light windows, with pointed tops, and gingerbread barge boards give it the style of a European country cottage.

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12/10/2024

Friday night's Dark Secrets at Iron Hand tour includes beautiful building this on the lantern tour. The weather should clear up by then. Why not join us? Get tickets at secrethistorytours.com

The striking style of this Spanish Renaissance structure on State Street marks it as Robinson Memorial Hall. Originally part of the Trinity Church complex, it was marooned when parishioners moved the church from De Tonti Square to Midtown in 1945. Its distinctive Corinthian columns and rustic stucco wall treatment make it stand out from the Antebellum homes that surround it.

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12/09/2024

The striking style of this Spanish Renaissance structure on State Street marks it as Robinson Memorial Hall. Originally part of the Trinity Church complex, it was marooned when parishioners moved the church from De Tonti Square to Midtown in 1945. Its distinctive Corinthian columns and rustic stucco wall treatment make it stand out from the Antebellum homes that surround it.

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12/08/2024

This stunning house on State Street in Detonti Square features a gabled hip roof, carved trim, and turned posts in the Queen Anne style. The turreted bay window makes quite a striking impression.

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12/07/2024

The Creole Cottage on North Conception Street is just one of the many historic homes in Detonti Square. Actually a duplex, it includes tall gable dormers and a raised floor and porch that give it a commanding view of the street.

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12/06/2024

This simple and honest Southern Colonial house on Church Street includes gabled dormers, 9 over 6 light windows, shutters, and a handsome formal symmetry.

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12/05/2024

South Warren Street is home to this Church Street East Antebellum beauty, built in 1859, with heavy use of ornamental cast iron. The house includes a walled courtyard. EDIT: Per Douglas Kerley and Cart Blackwell, it is not Federal as some suggested. It originally stood several blocks east of this location, and was moved when the Wallace Tunnel was constructed.

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