Alabama Yesterdays: Historama

Friday, November 12, 2021

Alabama Photos of the Day: Remember the Historama?

No, I don't either. Let's investigate.

On January 9, 1965, Battleship Memorial Park opened in Mobile as the final resting place of the USS Alabama battleship. One of several U.S. Navy ships named after the state, this massive vessel had been commissioned on August 16, 1942. After service in World War II, the Alabama and other battleships of its class were decommissioned in 1947.

By 1962 the ship was scheduled to be scrapped, but the state formed a commission in September 1963 to raise money to bring the vessel to Mobile. Something close to $100,000 was raised in spare change from school children; I helped in that effort and have the receipt to prove it. The battleship is now the centerpiece of a 155-acre park that includes the USS Drum, a submarine, and an aircraft pavilion with two dozen warplanes that is dedicated to the state's Medal of Honor winners.

I recently came across some photos of an attraction that opened soon after the park itself, but apparently did not operate long. On May 15, 1966, something called the Alabama Historama began operation. According to the blurb on the back of one of the postcards below, the Historama was a "unique attraction. Visited by people from all over the United States and the world." Really?

Another postcard declares, "The only attraction of its kind in the country. The complete history of the State is depicted in diorama displays, among which are Indian massacres, naval engagements, Civil War battles and the world's largest relief map of Alabama."

Below are two photographs and four postcards, which represent most of what I've found on the Historama. The Alabama Secretary of State's Business Entity Records gives us a bit more. Alabama Historama, Inc., formed in Mobile on October 9, 1964, by Cecil K. Dickey, Lou N. Maier, Tom P. Ollinger and Alton H. Maier. Some $10,000 in capital was authorized and $7800 was "paid in."

I believe I found all four individuals at the Find-A-Grave site. Cecil K. Dickey [22 Nov 1924-17 Sept 1974] and Alton Henry Maier [27 Mar 1905-13 Feb 1976] are buried in Mobile Memorial Gardens, as is Maier's wife Essie Lou Newberry Maier [21 Jul 1918-3 Nov 2009]. Thomas Potter "Tom" Ollinger [28 Nov 1922-5 Feb 2015] is buried in Pine Crest Cemetery in Mobile. Ollinger founded a construction company that built "many local landmarks in Baldwin and Mobile Counties."

If you have any information about the Historama, feel free to tell us in the comments section. Of great interest would be how long it operated and what happened to the building. I've found nothing about it except the photos, postcards and bits of information in this post. Perhaps Hurricane Frederic wiped away the building as it came into Mobile Bay in 1979.