FOLEY – The giant American flag flying near the intersection of Baldwin County’s two busiest highways has moved to a new location across the street as part of plans to display the Stars and Stripes in the Forward City. Plans for the new flag display improvements also include a patriotic mural and small park.
The large flag had flown from a pole in a parking lot near the southwest corner of Alabama 59 and U.S. 98 in downtown Foley. The banner now flies from a new 90-foot pole about one block to the south next to the NAPA auto parts store.
Brenda Shambo, secretary to the Foley Revitalization and Beautification Board, said city employees will take down the old flagpole. The pole will be moved to the Riviera Utilities building on East Laurel Avenue. The pole now at the Riviera building is going to the Foley Memorial Veterans Park, across South Alston Street from the city’s main fire station.
The city plans to donate the flagpole now at the Veterans Memorial Park to an outside organization.
The patriotic mural, which features an eagle in front of an American flag, is planned for the side of the NAPA building. The new park also includes benches, plants and a mulched walkway.
Shambo said a stone marker and bronze plaque will also be placed at the base of the new pole.
The Revitalization and Beautification Advisory Board voted to endorse plans for the mural and park work. The site is in the Foley Historic District. City staff members will also check with the Foley Historic Commission to determine if the work requires commission approval.
City officials also plan work at the flagpole site next to the Foley World War II Memorial at the northwest corner of John B. Foley Park. The pole, which was erected in 1946, is leaning. City officials said the 77-year-old pole is in good condition, but the foundation needs repair.
The city recently cleaned the bronze marker set in stone at the base of the pole. Shambo said that while many people consider the pole and marker to be the commemoration, the actual memorial is the live oak next to the pole. The oak was planted in 1943, at the height of World War II, in recognition of the Foley men and women serving in the military during the conflict.