Book excerpt: From Fort to Port covers the architectural history of the city of Mobile, Alabama, from the time of the French fort of 1711 to the end of World War I in 1918. The text, with 332 illustrations, traces the history of Mobile's architecture from the town's beginnings as a colonial military outpost o its establishment as a modern commercial port city. Included is a record of the evolution of commercial, civic, religious, and residential buildings as they were affected by the environment, by building practices, and by the historical and social changes brought about through two centuries.