Residents of Mobile and Baldwin County can enter Bellingrath Gardens for free this Friday August 6, 2021. This is to celebrate Walter Bellingrath’s birthday. All you need to do is provide proof that you reside in Mobile or Baldwin counties. You can also organize a scavenger hunt for the whole family. Just ask people in the lobby. For more information, visit their website.
Although entry to the gardens is free for residents of Mobile and Baldwin counties, there is an entrance fee of $ 10 to visit the Bellingrath House.
Information provided by Bellingrath Gardens:
Born in Atlanta, Georgia on August 6, 1869, Walter D. Bellingrath was Mobile’s first Coca-Cola bottler and founder of Bellingrath Gardens and Home. Traditionally, Bellingrath Gardens and Home celebrates Mr. Bellingrath’s birthday on August 6 by offering free entry to residents of Mobile and Baldwin counties. The gardens and the house will be open with extended hours from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Guests are requested to show proof of residence in order to benefit from free entry on August 6. Customers are also encouraged to purchase tickets to take a guided tour of the Bellingrath House during their visit.
In the spirit of Bellingrath Gardens’ origins as a fishing camp, Magnolia Café will serve a fried fish lunch on August 6 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free slice of “Mr. Bell’s Birthday Cake” for dessert. Customers are encouraged to stop by the Bellingrath Gift Shop to take advantage of sales on summer merchandise.
Learn more about Walter D. Bellingrath
Walter D. Bellingrath and his wife, Bessie, created the Bellingrath Gardens from a former fishing camp along the River Fowl, which Bellingrath purchased in 1919. The Bellingraths first opened the gardens to the public. times on April 7, 1932.
The tradition of the August 6 ‘open gardens’ dates back to 1949, when Mr. Bellingrath invited local residents to come and enjoy the gardens for free as part of his 80e birthday party.
Here is the wording of Mr. Bellingrath’s open invitation, which appeared in The Mobile Press on Saturday, August 6, 1949. The day was declared “Walter Bellingrath Day” in Mobile.
(Title): Your invitation to visit Bellingrath Gardens on Sunday (August 7, 1949) as guest of Walter D. Bellingrath on his 80e birthday.
“It is a pleasant and sincere privilege for me to invite the inhabitants of Mobile and adjacent communities to be my guests at Bellingrath Gardens this Sunday on the occasion of my 80e birthday.
“These few of you who have felt the satisfaction of celebrating an 80e anniversary with friends and neighbors will understand the gratification I will experience in showing you around the Gardens and in joining me in observing the occasion.
“The gardens now provide a cool, shaded haven of natural beauty and their overall summer beauty will provide a pleasant setting for the party. I sincerely hope that you and your family honor me with your presence.
Sincerely, Walter D. Bellingrath.
Mr. Bellingrath died on August 8, 1955, two days after his 86e birthday.
Bellingrath Gardens and Home is operated by the trustees of the Bellingrath Morse Foundation through the Bellingrath Gardens and Home Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to the preservation and improvement of the 65 garden and property acres of Walter and Bessie. Bellingrath. For more information visit bellingrath.org or call 251-973-2217.
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