From Primedia Publications

The Radisson Admiral Semmes
Mobile, Alabama

By The Editors of HistoricTraveler.com


A member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and of its Historic Hotels of America, this Mobile Superior Stay may be the only nationally ranked hotel named for a Confederate naval hero.

Raphael Semmes was a seasoned U.S. Navy officer and resident of Mobile who sided with the South when the Civil War broke out. He gained a reputation as a commerce raider, attacking and burning Union merchant shipping at sea, and in 1864 as captain of the C.S.S. Alabama fought one of the most distant engagements of the war, taking on and losing to the U.S.S. Kearsarge in Cherbourg Harbor, France.

Despite the loss, Semmes was still promoted to admiral, and when this Mobile hotel opened in 1940, near prominent U.S. Navy installations, it was proud to take on his name. It is, however, a significant historic American hotel, not because of its identification with Semmes, but because its refurbished interior design faithfully replicates the most popular styles of the period in which it was built. According to the National Trust: “The exterior, typical of the restrained architectural styles commonly found at the end of the Depression, is contrasted by surprising interior flourishes including the lobby’s expansive marble floor and curving stairs, a unique oval balconied lobby highlighted by a large central chandelier, mirrored walls in the mezzanine, and the original Art Deco elevator doors.”

Closed for six years by damage done by a 1979 hurricane, the renovation work at the Semmes makes it a worthwhile stop for Historic Travelers. Its close proximity to the U.S.S. Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, where visitors may tour the authentic 1942 battleship, its companion vessel, the 1941 submarine U.S.S. Drum, and the U.S. museum of World War II combat relics and weapons make it even more appealing to history lovers. Its location also makes it desirable when the City of Mobile throws its annual pre-Lenten Mardi Gras celebration. But then, that’s a story for another day.

The Radisson Admiral Semmes
251 Government Street
Mobile, Alabama 36602
(334) 432-8000