Bienville Square

Bienville Square. . , On May 26, 1824, the United States Congress passed an act granting two parcels of land to the City of Mobile. The property, located on the southwest corner of the block bound by St. Francis, St. Joseph, Dauphin, and Conception streets, was designated as a public park and named for the City's founding father Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville. Soon after, elected officials began a decades-long effort to acquire and clear the other lots of land within the same city block. In 1847, its rows of live oak trees were established and Bienville Square opened much in its present format. Adorned with a cast iron deer at its center, and for a time, enclosed by a decorative fence, the square served as the main, but ever evolving, meeting space for the city for the next ninety years. In 1889, the deer was relocated to the newly established Washington Square and replaced by a privately funded, four-tier ornamental fountain, erected in honor of Dr. George A. Ketchum, president of the Bienville Water Works Co., Reverse Side , During the 20th century, Bienville Square served as a backdrop to many of the city's major events, including visits by Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. Mayor Pat Lyons planted more live oaks to increase the majestic canopy, erected a bandstand, and dedicated multiple commemorative monuments. In 194l, Sears Roebuck and Co. funded the present, more substantial bandstand to replace its predecessor. New cast iron benches were added using the original 19th century molds. Emerging from the mid-century disrepair that defined much of downtown; Bienville Square was added to the National Register of Historic Plaçes just as Hurricane Frederic, September 12th, 1979, carved a path of destruction through the heart of Mobile. Restoration of the beloved Ketchum Fountain occurred in 1993 and again thirty years later, after Hurricane Sally decimated much of the site's canopy. Bienville Square re-opened to the public in May 2024 at the 200th anniversary of the Act of Congress that marks its founding.