1899 Mardi Gras

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The 1899 Mardi Gras celebration was the fourth annual celebration of Mardi Gras in Birmingham put on by the Birmingham Carnival Society on May 8-9, 1899. It was the city's fifth overall observation of the holiday, as the German Society had held an earlier one-time Mardi Gras event in 1886.

A February blizzard put the city under a foot of snow with temperatures as low as -10°. The Carnival Society decided to postpone the festivities until May.

The event began at 1:00 PM om Monday, May 8, with the arrival of a special train at the Union Depot bearing Henry Milner who was crowned "Rex Vulcan IV" by Rex Vulcan III, Mitchell A. Porter.

For the parade through downtown, Rex Vulcan enthroned himself on the back of a phoenix depicted amid flames on the royal parade float. He was followed by additional floats, carriages, riders and marching groups. The procession was detailed in the Weekly Age-Herald thus:

  • Cortege of Mounted Police
  • Grand Marshal and His Aides de Camp
  • Band of Music
  • Birmingham Battalion of Infantry
  • Troop D, Alabama National Guard
  • Band of Music
  • Rex Vulcan IV, in the Royal Carriage
  • His Majesty's Baggage Wagon
  • Rex Vulcan III and Escort
  • Rex Vulcan II and Escort
  • Rex Vulcan I and Escort
  • Executive Board of the Birmingham Carnival Society in Carriages
  • Committee on Design of the Birmingham Carnival Society in Carriages
  • Carnival Society in Carriages
  • Band of Music
  • Mayor and Members of the Board of Aldermen in Carriages
  • Members of the Board of Police Commissioners in Carriages
  • Members of the Board of County Commissioners in Carriages
  • Band of Music
  • "The Tower of Sevilla" (official float)
  • "Lost in the Ural Mountains" (official float)
  • "Viking Ship" (official float)
  • "Turkish Court Circle" (official float)
  • "Oasis in the Desert" (official float)
  • Band of Music
  • "Reception of Li Hung Chang" (official float)
  • "Worship of the Sun" (official float)
  • "Pilgrimage to Mecca" (official float)
  • "The Arab's Dream" (official float)
  • "Ruins of the Temple of Karnak" (official float)

The route from Union Depot went south on 20th Street to Avenue D, then u-turned back to 1st Avenue North, west to 18th Street, north to 2nd Avenue, back east to 19th Street, north to City Hall at 4th Avenue North. There Mayor Frank Evans and the Birmingham Board of Aldermen presented Rex Vulcan with the "freedom and keys of the city."

The parade continued northward to 6th Avenue, then east one block to 20th Street, and back down the city's main business street to 1st Avenue. From there the parade moved east to 22nd Street on the north side of the avenue before u-turning again to pass the grandstand at the "royal treasury building" on the corner of 21st Street. There Rex Vulcan dismounted to observe the remainder of the procession, which continued on to 18th Street before disbanding.

The afternoon parade was followed by a concert by Memoli's Band at Capitol Park at 6:00 PM. That was followed by a "grand pyrotechnical display" carried out by the A.L. Due Fireworks Company of Cincinnati, Ohio at 7:30. At 9:00 PM the German Turn Verein hosted a reception and "Grand Bal Masque" at the Birmingham Auditorium, with music from Leo Sutto's orchestra.

The program for Tuesday, May 9 included a "Grand Mardi Gras Parade" led by Rex Vulcan riding once more on his phoenix, followed by:

  • "Summer Night's Dream" (official float)
  • "Robin Hood" (official float)
  • "Coronation of Louis XIV" (official float)
  • "The Alchemist" (official float)
  • "The Aztec's Sacrifice" (official float)
  • "The Troubadore" [sic] (official float)
  • "The Sea Serpent" (official float)
  • various trades' displays

The second parade formed on 18th Street at 8th Avenue, then moved east one block to 19th Street, turning south to 6th Avenue, east to 20th Street, and south as far as Avenue D. There the parade made a u-turn and came back to 1st Avenue, turned west to 18th, north to 2nd Avenue, east to 26th Street, and north again, disbanding after it passed 3rd Avenue.

That evening a "Grand Official Night Parade" followed the same route with the same floats, but illuminated. A second masked ball was held, including an "official grand march;" the crowning of Milner's sister, Mary Claire as "Queen of Mardi Gras"; and a "royal Polonaise". The identities of the monarchs, previously unpublicized, were revealed at their unmasking at 11:30 PM.

References

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