By Associated Press
Mobile, AL – Mobile's historic Battle House Hotel, battered by fire, hurricanes, termites and hard times since 1852, reopens Friday.
The 238-room hotel across from the Mobile convention center ties into the state's tallest office building - a combined 220 (m) million dollar project by the Retirement Systems of Alabama.
Contractors and architects worked four years on the 35-story skyscraper and restoration of the Battle House, now a four-star Renaissance hotel under the Marriott brand.
Much of the hotel's interior reflects its Mobile heritage as a social hub for weddings, civic gatherings, politics and Mardi Gras.
The decor includes works by Alabama artists.
State Tourism Director Lee Sentell said the Battle House is a ``destination'' hotel, like the Brown Palace in Denver, the Peabody in Memphis and the Wynn in Las Vegas.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)