We let downtown deteriorate for 50 or 60 years, and in my estimation, it's going to take at least 25 to get it all the way back. Flight to the suburbs Sandwiched on a delta between Mississippi and Florida, Mobile is mostly all there is of big city in South Alabama. Four rivers wind together north of the city, creating the delta and a deep harbor at Mobile Bay. Like Corpus Christi, it's a heavy industry city whose port is one of its biggest assets, ranking among the 10 busiest in the nation. Along the waterfront north of downtown are shipbuilders and a rail yard.
Cranes interrupt the skyline, loading lumber and coal onto ships in the bay.
Caller-Times Mobile is a heavy industry city whose port is one of its biggest assets. The port ranks among the 10 busiest in the nation. Along the waterfront north of downtown are shipbuilders and a rail yard. Cranes interrupt the skyline, loading lumber and coal onto ships. Mobile has seen that heavy industrial base shrink as industries found land on the city's outskirts more appealing.