City of Mobile holds bicentennial celebration for Bienville Square
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — The City of Mobile held a bicentennial celebration on Friday for one of its oldest parks.
With the revitalization of the Ketchum Fountain and the newly improved groundwork, people gathered at the square excited for the park’s milestone.
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“It is absolutely beautiful! We are so excited!” local parkgoer Shree Shaw Lovett exclaimed.
To help kickstart the celebration, city officials including Councilman William Carroll of District 2 reflected on some of his fondest memories of Bienville Square.
“We used to, as kids come down here, ride our bikes, walk, whatever,” Carroll explained. “We stop at the peanut shop; we get a bag or two peanuts, and we come over here and we sit down. We throw them out in the grass, and we watch the squirrels. Sometimes, we thought that we were quick enough to actually catch a squirrel too, but we found out very quickly that that was impossible.”
Nearly $3 million was invested to bring Bienville Square to how it is today. With a hefty price tag, Mayor Sandy Stimpson said it’s worth it because the renovations will help attract more businesses and tourists to the Port City.
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“I think we ended up with a great plan and especially when you consider the amount of money that they had to work with originally,” Stimpson said. “Like a lot of plans came back, and it wasn’t something that we could afford, but I can’t imagine that it’s any better than what we’ve got, and so, I think they did a magnificent job.”
With live music and a cake, people celebrating the park’s milestone were excited to see Bienville Square come back to life.
“Well, it’s nice to come out here and to see how they’ve remodeled Bienville Square and everything, and it’s real nice,” parkgoer Julia Rembert said.
“I’m a fifth-generation Mobilian,” fellow parkgoer Peter Tanner said. “I support everything about Mobile. I love it. I live downtown in the daytime because I’m old. But anyway, it’s just a great spot. And my heart is in Mobile, and this is such a positive thing being here and be able to see the square.”
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