In 1938 the U.S. Army established Brookley Air Force Base on the shore of Mobile Bay, Alabama.

During World War 2 Brookley became the main supply base for the U.S. Air Force in the Southeast and Caribbean.

In 1944 the Army took advantage of Brookley's large, skilled workforce for the top-secret "Ivory Soap" project, designed to accelerate U.S. victory in the Pacific.

Brookley Field Recreation Center, sometime in the 1950s-60s (U. South Alabama Archives). After more research, I'm pretty sure this is the building I'm exploring. Because the ceilings seem too low for working on aircraft. Also the windows look the sa… — Brookley Field Recreation Center, sometime in the 1950s-60s (U. South Alabama Archives). After more research, I'm pretty sure this is the building I'm exploring. Because the ceilings seem too low for working on aircraft. Also the windows look the same. The outside is currently red bricks but could have been added at some point.

After World War II the base continued to serve the Army, maintaining aircraft and employing over 16,000 workers until it's closure due to budget cuts in 1964.

Brookley was Mobile's largest employer for nearly 30 years and it's closing was devastating to the local economy, to say the least.

The Merchants National Bank building sticks out like a sore thumb from the skyline of downtown Mobile, Alabama. The 236-foot, 18 story building is clearly an old part of the port city, with it's Art Deco facade of patterened yellow bricks, ornate concrete carvings and green copper pyramid roof. They just don't make 'em like this anymore.

Opened in 1929, the same year that The Great Depression began, The Merchants National Bank was the first skyscraper on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Downtown Mobile on August 9, 1932 when it was the city's tallest building (National Archives)

On July 1, 1985 it was renamed to the First Alabama Bank Building and in the 1990s again to the Regions Bank Building but 'Merchants National Bank' remains carved into it's exterior today.

In 2017 a Tennessee development company announced it had bought an entire city block in downtown Mobile, including the Merchant's National Bank.

Plans are to restore and redevelop it into high-end loft apartments, restaurants and retail spaces. Starting this month, the landmark building will never be quite the same again.

The vault was totally cleaned out. No forgotten fortunes here.

It was designed by the architectural firm, Graham, Anderson, Probst & Whiteheld who are responsible for, among other famous buildings, the Wrigley in Chicago.

The building is currently occupied by a few legal firms but is otherwise completely deserted. Also I discovered crews have already started gutting the first few floors.

The Merchants National Bank held the title of tallest building in Alabama outside of Birmingham and tallest on the Gulf Coast until 1965. Today it's only Mobile's 6th tallest but remains one of the largest surviving examples of Art Deco architecture in the Deep South.