Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama — ca. 1940

A spectacular Mardi Gras parade float moves through the streets of Mobile, Alabama, around 1940, surrounded by large crowds celebrating one of the city’s most famous traditions. The float belongs to the Knights of Revelry, one of Mobile’s oldest mystic societies, organizations that have organized elaborate carnival parades and balls for generations.

Although many people associate Mardi Gras primarily with New Orleans, Mobile actually hosted the first Mardi Gras celebration in the United States in 1703, when the city was still a French colonial settlement. Over the centuries, the festival evolved into an elaborate series of parades, masked balls, and civic celebrations that became a defining cultural tradition of the Gulf Coast.

The scene in this photograph captures the excitement of carnival day: ornate floats, costumed participants, and crowds reaching out to catch the throws traditionally tossed from the parade. Even during the difficult decades surrounding the Great Depression and World War II, Mardi Gras continued to bring the community together in celebration.

📸 Courtesy of the S. Blake McNeely Collection,
Doy Leale McCall Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of South Alabama

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