Walkaboutcity.com is a fascinating product of the dot-com boom which remains as an artifact portraying Downtown Mobile at the turn of the millenium.

Start here on Dauphin across from Cathedral Square and walk around.

It was created by then-Mobile resident Joann Okuzono-Perkins of Digital Zo LLC. The idea was to give a virtual online tour of Mobile. Okuzono-Perkins now lives in Roanoke, Virginia but the website lives on. Her other website www.digitalzo.com also shows early area websites such as Dr. Chuck Dyas and Old Bay Steamer.

The website focuses on Lower Dauphin St., of which it profiles its entire length, but includes other areas. It even allows the user to go inside some of the buildings.

It portrays businesses (some of which no longer exist) such as L’Estrade Comedy Club, Monsoon’s, The Crown, Big E’s, Derry’s Old Time Cafe, and many others.

The website was created during the internet mania of 1999-2000. It portrays not only the promise of technology at the time, but the promise of Dauphin St. and Mobile during the ‘String of Pearls’ era.

As Ms. Okuzono-Perkins says: “The site has not been updated since April 2000. I’m sorry to say, some of the businesses listed on this site are no longer in business and the menus are no longer up-to-date for the businesses that are still open. Hope you enjoy the site! We enjoyed developing it when the web was still fairly new and enjoyed living in Mobile.”

Thank you to Ms. Okuzono-Perkins for maintaining it.