Mobile Development Thread - Page 71

LHG · #**1401** Posted **Mar 26, 2008, 7:59 PM**

West Mobile with all of its attributes should make her feel right at home...

BlessedMobile · #**1402** Posted **Mar 27, 2008, 2:38 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Musicisright

I know it was called Mario's back like 5 years ago or so. Had some good New Orleans-style food.

"John Word's" as it was called had great food and a piano bar on the second floor. The atmosphere was what we all like about downtown restaurants ...warm, rustic ambience. Things were not hopping in the early 80's like they are now. He just did not have enough business to keep it up. There was no night life on Dauphin at the time except a few very rough bars.
John Word was among a handful of popular restauranteurs who put together Mobile's better restaurants during that time. There just wasn't a lot of variety in the 70's and 80's; the chains were becoming popular so the local places took the hit.

Port_of_Bama · #**1403** Posted **Mar 27, 2008, 5:09 PM**

Yo Blessed, the decline in the 70`s and 80`s you are talking about is it due to the closings in Brooklyfield ? I was born in 85 I was to young to know about ecomomics then, people have told me Mobile was realy doing good before Brookly became what it is now. Boieng claimed that Mobile has no experience in in air craft , but they use to build jet and air plane engines and tested them for the air force back in brookly`s hay day if i`m not mistaking. My mechanic told me he use to work on jet engines in Brooklyfield.

According to AL.com I believe they have included Balwdin county in our MSA again from my understanding they were excluded from Mobiles MSA. Today they said it is part of Mobile`s MSA unless theres a difference between metro Mobile and MSA.

Bayside · #**1404** Posted **Mar 27, 2008, 6:05 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Port_of_Bama

Yo Blessed, the decline in the 70`s and 80`s you are talking about is it due to the closings in Brooklyfield ?

Port ... I can't speak for Blessed, but the Brookley closure did contribute to the downtown decline. Mostly, though, it was due to the loss of retail to Springdale Plaza, and later, to BelAir Mall. With no retail, there was no reason to come downtown. Restaurants closed when shoppers went away. As the population moved westward, other non-retail businesses moved west, too.

I first worked downtown in the early 80s and it was dead as a doornail. More dead that you might imagine. Happily, we have come a very long way since then, but we are still not at the activity level of the 40s and 50s.

Musicisright · #**1405** Posted **Mar 27, 2008, 9:06 PM**

When did "John Word's" close?

Port_of_Bama · #**1406** Posted **Mar 27, 2008, 9:27 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bayside

Port ... I can't speak for Blessed, but the Brookley closure did contribute to the downtown decline. Mostly, though, it was due to the loss of retail to Springdale Plaza, and later, to BelAir Mall. With no retail, there was no reason to come downtown. Restaurants closed when shoppers went away. As the population moved westward, other non-retail businesses moved west, too.

I first worked downtown in the early 80s and it was dead as a doornail. More dead that you might imagine. Happily, we have come a very long way since then, but we are still not at the activity level of the 40s and 50s.

Hmmm interesting, downtown has come a long ways since I was a kid like I said I was born in 85. downtown needs reatil bad. I have seen pics of DT Mobile in the 40s,50s and even 60s . They all seemd to have been tooken in a large metropolitan area. When I was home for Christmas there were alot of people DT there was a wedding practice in the Cathedral park. I saw tourist I guess(Carnical Holiday) were DT taking pics and pointing .People were out feeding birds ,the police were patroling on foot,bike,and the little scooter. It was nice I loved it. Then it came to mind that what if DT had a nice shopping sector 1 street can hold all of th reatil. Nothing crazy like Gucci, but a footlocker,Gap(I hate Gap),Guess,or a Mac Apple store. This may sound crazy but Mobile doesn`t have a Macy`s but I have been seeing commericals when i`m at home. A Macy`s DT that may sound crazy to the small mind but it could work. When People in Mobile think of DT they think about Mardi Gra ,I want to say I`m goind going DT to buy a new shirt !!!

Thanks for the info Bay !!!

Musicisright · #**1407** Posted **Mar 27, 2008, 9:57 PM**

Yeah, I always wonder why I see Macy's commercials. Is there one around that I'm unaware of?

10101000 · #**1408** Posted **Mar 27, 2008, 10:16 PM**

B.r.

bayou15 · #**1409** Posted **Mar 27, 2008, 10:43 PM**

Beau Rivage?

bayou15 · #**1410** Posted **Mar 27, 2008, 10:58 PM**

And the ones that laughed at me about Trump... Check this out about a Downtown NYC developer.

http://www.wkrg.com/mobilesmakeover/article/investment_mobile/12006/

spookyapp · #**1411** Posted **Mar 27, 2008, 11:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by bayou15

And the ones that laughed at me about Trump... Check this out about a Downtown NYC developer.

http://www.wkrg.com/mobilesmakeover/article/investment_mobile/12006/

I think you're taking that at a little more than it's worth at face value. I assure you there are several thousand private investors in downtown New York. Keep dreaming about Trump though

MobileLSUboy2005 · #**1412** Posted **Mar 27, 2008, 11:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by bayou15

Beau Rivage?

no... baton rouge...THE BR haha...the beau rivage is...the beau... haha

bayou15 · #**1413** Posted **Mar 28, 2008, 12:28 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by spookyapp

I think you're taking that at a little more than it's worth at face value. I assure you there are several thousand private investors in downtown New York. Keep dreaming about Trump though

Yeah, well at least the article is about maybe a skyscraper, instead of what has been posted on here lately; traffic, courthouse land, tanker contract ,a new mall.

And also i didnt neaux that us Mobile Countians are trying to compete with Nawlins and Red Stick? So What? if those cities are much bigger as far as population geauxs . We share alot in common(sp?), If it would be me the Gulf coast region( Nawlin/BR to Destin/PCB) would be the 51st state of the union. It seems like we get the Red Headed step child treatment. Hell, we all cuzins down here(so they say).

I might dream alot, And come up with some real crazy ideas, But this is the WORLD WIDE web. And you never neaux who is watching that has money and wants to invest.

Port_of_Bama · #**1414** Posted **Mar 28, 2008, 12:31 AM**

Well I have heard thet Target is leaving the mall and will be headed to this shopping area that will be built near Hank Aaron Stadium. So maybe the new Target area will be a Macy`s it doesn`t make sense to be airing commercials about the store and the nearest one is in B.R or Baton Rouge or what ever. i hope the developer bring reatil with the condos.

I heard a few years ago Trump was going to build something downtown, what happend ?

Bayou I know were you are comming from my friend I dream big for the Port City also. I beleve in if you build it they will come ,I beleive in risks I hope they build the Condos to the west of the sky line it is in serious need of infil come on I`m hoping for a atleast a 300 footer. I don`t know about the rest of you but I miss the excitement of the "Oh My ! The RSA Tower has Grown " thread it fealt good as a Mobilian as forumers from Chicago, Atlanata. Philly commenting on our building and looking at Alabama in a diffirent way because of that building. We need a reason to do another Oh My !! thread, tha thread is the only one with over 95,000 views over a building alone not devlopments but a building thats crazy.

I have been to every major city in Alabama and I have been to N.O and B.r I personaly feel that we (Mobile) has some type of weird tyes to Louisiana.We are nothing like the rest of this state.When I was a kid I use to wonder how N.O looks peoeple would tell me " Well it`s sort of simular to Mobile" when I visited for the first time in 1996 I was shocked because they were right. There is no other place like N.O in the world but hell Mobile comes closer than any city out side of Louisiana !!

oh yeah Red Stick (B.R) now that was funny.

bayou15 · #**1415** Posted **Mar 28, 2008, 1:15 AM**

I hear ya ,Bra

MobileLSUboy2005 · #**1416** Posted **Mar 28, 2008, 6:33 AM**

Mobile has alwaaays had some sort of disconnect with the rest of the state... we've never really been anything like the cities from Atmore north... We're separate and part of the northern gulf coast more than the rest of our own state, i think. We have more in common with BR, Nola, Pensacola, Biloxi-Gulfport, than we do with Montgomery, B-ham, and Huntsville... which has always caused some problems with state legislature, they (as the good example was made above) treat us like the 'red headed stepchild'.... well! we've showed them! haha

Muskavon · #**1417** Posted **Mar 28, 2008, 7:44 AM**

^^ As a Pensacolian, I feel the same way about my town in regards to Florida. It doesn't exist much in Florida. Really the most culturally alike/common resources/needs state would be an area from about Eufaula down to Panama City across to the Louisiana line up to Hattiesburg and back to Eufaula.

(edited: was messing with the latest poulation stats all along the gulf coast, but need to figure some more stuff out before posting)

10101000 · #**1418** Posted **Mar 28, 2008, 2:30 PM**

Well, the whole south is connected to Europe!

elb401 · #**1419** Posted **Mar 28, 2008, 2:51 PM**

Speaking of the "West Florida" state....maybe we have so much in common because the last half of our area's colonial life we were apart of the same colony...West florida. But there was a movement in the 1930s till about WWII to break away from our states and become one again. I think it died out with all the distractions of its time. (depression and the war). It would be neat to see....but what about all the improvements that the states have invested....they would never let the casinos in Miss go or the tax revenue from the panhandle in FL go either. And the way Mobile is booming now....forget about the Alabama legistlature giving us permission!!

10101000 · #**1420** Posted **Mar 28, 2008, 3:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by elb401

Speaking of the "West Florida" state....maybe we have so much in common because the last half of our area's colonial life we were apart of the same colony...West florida. But there was a movement in the 1930s till about WWII to break away from our states and become one again. I think it died out with all the distractions of its time. (depression and the war). It would be neat to see....but what about all the improvements that the states have invested....they would never let the casinos in Miss go or the tax revenue from the panhandle in FL go either. And the way Mobile is booming now....forget about the Alabama legistlature giving us permission!!

Mobile is what it is today because Alabama invested in it!!!