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from Cossondra You may remember previous articles about the historic and elegant RSA Battle House Hotel. We have looked at the significance of the first Battle House built in the 1850s and the second rebuilt in the early 1900s after a fire destroyed the historic building. There is even a dramatic picture of the building in flames in the hall near the JSM office. What I didn't know until recently was that when the Battle House burned, so did a smaller business next door. That business was a restaurant and "coffee saloon" opened in the 1880s by Austrian-born Andrew Dacovich. Born in 1838, Andrew was the youngest of his siblings. The Dacoviches, who worked near the water, were overwhelmed when the father drowned accidentally, leaving the family financially insecure. At 15, Andrew obtained passage to America and sailed to New Orleans, and the ship's captain introduced him to a family who took him in. Andrew maintained several jobs, from dock worker to produce vendor, and he eventually opened a coffee shop in the French Quarter. At some point during the U.S. Civil War, Andrew moved from New Orleans to Mobile. After the war, he purchased land on Royal Street and established his restaurant and later the Commercial Hotel, Restaurant and Cafe. Amenities included a billiard hall on the second floor and ice imported from Canada on refrigerated ships. When the Commercial (and the Battle House) burned, Dacovich hired renowned architect Rudolph Benz to design plans for a 150-room hotel, the largest in Mobile. (You will recall that Benz was the architect for our office's building.) However, when the newly named St. Andrew Hotel opened in 1907, plans had swelled to offer 200 rooms. According to Mobile historian Tom McGehee, the St. Andrew's modern amenities included ladies' parlors and carpeted rooms, each equipped with a telephone. Andrew died in 1921, and new owners registered the hotel as the New St. Andrew in 1930. Before the end of World War II, there was another change in ownership, and in 1947, the business was closed and the building demolished. That's the way of our world. Businesses go under, and buildings crumble. Mountains erode, and water gets polluted. And if things are overshadowed by bigger events (or hotels), we may not even notice. But God does. He knows when a sparrow falls, when your hair count lessens, when your keys are lost, when your heart is broken. And not only does He know, He cares. Maybe something has happened that has made you feel insignificant or forgotten. Perhaps it happened recently or has been shadowing you for years. You may be afraid to talk with people about it, thinking they will consider you silly or petty. Well, they might. But God won't. God is the best listener. Yes, He already knows what happened, but He wants to hear your side. Honest. He likes hearing from you. Pray through the situation, asking what you need to see, learn, forgive. Let God be your architect to rebuild.
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