The community of Grand Bay could soon host a branch of the Mobile Public Library and a museum in the Grand Bay State Bank Building, one of its oldest buildings located in Grand Bay’s Historic District.

The non-profit organization, Citizens For a Better Grand Bay, (CBGB) working with the Mobile County Commission, and the Mobile Public Library has initiated a new project that will not only bring a public library to our area, it will provide a venue for highlighting the agriculture and history of our town .

The location for the library is in the old Grand Bay State Bank Building. The Grand Bay State Bank was located in this building from 1913 to 1929. It was used as the US Post Office from 1933 to 1975. Most recently it was the location of the El Cazador Museum. The upstairs of the 4,400 SF building was previously used as a Masonic Lodge.

With a $25,000 grant from the Gulf Coast Resource Conservation and Development Council (RC&D) and diligent work from members of the Friends of the Grand Bay Library, the project has completed the first phase of preliminary engineering drawings and architectural renderings for the Grand Bay Library & Museum. Local legislators from District 105, Representative David Sessions and past Representative Spencer Collier, were instrumental in helping to secure the RC&D grant funds.

The RC&D grant allowed CBGB to choose STOA Architects Kim Harden, AIA and Mark Essert, AIA to prepare the preliminary architectural renderings and engineering drawings needed for adapting the Grand Bay Bank Building into the Grand Bay Library. Harden has served as the State of Alabama’s registered Preservation Architect while working at the Alabama Historical Commission.

Both Harden and Essert are familiar with all the State and Federal requirements necessary for rehabilitating historical buildings.

In 2010, local architect David Parillo, AIA, and member of the Friends of the Grand Bay Library, performed an archival study for the building. This study documented the current condition of the building which helped determine the direction of the renovation project.

Earlier this year, at the request of Commissioner Mike Dean, the Mobile County Commission purchased the Grand Bay State Bank building then leased it to Citizens For A Better Grand Bay. Friends of the Grand Bay Library, made up of members from the Grand Bay community under the direction of Citizens For a Better Grand Bay, have committed to raise the funds, nearly $1,000,000, to rehabilitate the building and stock the library for opening day.

Over $100,000 in grants from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) have been secured to pay for construction projects on the building. Additional funds for the project will be obtained through fundraisers, public and private donations, bequests and grants.

Spencer Watts, director of the Mobile Public Library believes there is a need for a library facility in this area of the county and he is working closely with representatives of the Friends of the Grand Bay Library in the design of the building. Local and State Legislators, Grand Bay and Bayou La Batre School Principals and School media directors have also given their support to the Grand Bay Library project.

Having a public library in Grand Bay will give the area residents access to the thousands of books and resources available to other areas of the county. It will give them access to computers and the Internet so they can look for jobs, do homework and improve their education. The nearest public library is over 10 miles from Grand Bay. By utilizing areas of the building for an agricultural museum visitors can learn about Grand Bay’s history from the turpentine plantations in the 1800s to the Satsuma groves of the early 1900s.

The plans and renderings for the Grand Bay Library & Museum were completed in September and they can be viewed at the Grand Bay Community & Senior Center and at Grand Bay branch of Century Bank.

Friends of the Grand Bay Library meet on the second Tuesday of each month at the Grand Bay Community Center on Hwy 90. For more information on the Grand Bay Library, Friends of the Grand Bay Library or Citizens For A Better Grand Bay call 251-298-8089

Article by Aleta Boudreaux – Grand Bay Library Chair

251-298-8089