When&nbsp;It became clear to&nbsp;Spain that it could&nbsp;not afford to retain control of Florida it sought help from the United States.&nbsp;In return for ceding the territory, the U.S. agreed to take responsibility of claims agains the Spanish government, which amounted to five million dollars. On the spot where Jackson gave his speech to the residents of Pensacola that West Florida was now American territory (and the city its capital and he its governor) this park was constructed, with the bust situated where he stood.&nbsp; &nbsp; In 2002, archaeologists uncovered on park grounds previously unknown British-made structures when West Florida and Pensacola was British territory until Spanish forces wrested control of the territory from England during the American Revolution. Annually on New Year's, a "Pelican Drop" takes place in the park, where the Pelican, rather than a ball, drops during the countdown.&nbsp;

Bust of Andrew Jackson, on the spot where he was sworn in as territorial governor. 

The plaza features this water fountain and an obelisk dedicated to a later prominent Pensacola citizen, William Dudley Chipley.

National Park Service - American Latino Heritage

More Info

Blanche Higgins Schroer. "Plaza Ferdinand VII," National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places. 10-15-66.

On July 17, 1821 the official transfer of the Florida territory from Spain to the United States took place. Spanish Governor Don José María Callava and General Andrew Jackson—who would be President from 1829-1837—met at the the Government House, where City Hall is now located, and descended the steps and walked between lines of American and Spanish soldiers. The Spanish flag was lowered and the U.S. flag was raised in its place. Jackson was then sworn in as Governor. Two other ceremonies took place previously but this one was the only one in which the Spanish Governor participated. Immediately after the U.S. flag was raised, Jackson officially proclaimed Florida an American territory. The ceremony was the culmination of a two year negotiation period, ending with the signing of the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819 (it is also known as the Transcontinental Treaty) on February 22, 1821. The plaza was designated a National Landmark in 1960.

Plaza Ferdinand VII

This walking tour includes several museums and numerous downtown Pensacola historic landmarks including the former railroad station and other historic buildings. Those wishing to explore further should travel an additional four blocks to see a host of naval history sites and the National Naval Aviation Museum.

Completed between 1912-1913, this building served as Pensacola's main passenger station and express building for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Designed with a combination of Prairie School, Spanish Mission and Italianate architectural styles, this building was used by the railroad for over 60 years. In 1984, the building was refurbished and incorporated into the Pensacola Grand Hotel, then the Crowne Plaza Pensacola Grand Hotel, when the hotel was constructed behind it. The building houses a lobby, shops, a restaurant, and meeting rooms. 

Louisville and Nashville Passenger Station and Express Building

The Rough Riders were a diverse force of Native Americans, cowboys, miners, military service members, police&nbsp;and anyone capable of riding a horse and shooting a gun. Led by Roosevelt, on July 1, 1898, they led the charge up San Juan Hill to attack a Spanish position that protected the city of Santiago. This was a crowning moment for Roosevelt, who led the charge on his horse, Texas; he called this moment his "crowded hour." The American forces held onto the hill until the 17th, when the Spanish surrendered. Roosevelt's prestige only grew after the war and he would forever be associated with San Juan Hill.&nbsp;

This marker commemorates the day when Theodore Roosevelt and 170 of his volunteer soldiers "Rough Riders" arrived in Pensacola on June 1, 1898. The city welcomed them and bid them good luck on their journey to Cuba to fight Spain (in the Spanish-American War), which at that time controlled the island. They were on their way to Tampa, Florida from which they would meet the rest of the Rough Riders and then sail to Cuba on June 8; they arrived on the 22nd. 

Historical Marker: Rough Riders

The San Carlos Hotel was the project of local businessmen James Michael Muldon, Sr. and Frasier Franklin Bingham, local&nbsp;lumber magnate and shipbuilder, who saw the need for the kind of upscale hotel being erected in larger cities, and issued stock in the project under the name&nbsp;Pensacola Hotel Company. Regarding the site, their original choice was the northeast corner of Palafox and Garden Streets, which had no significant structures at the time. However, they instead purchased the northwest corner, at the cost of $75,000 from the First Methodist Church, which was relocating to Wright Street. The hotel was designed by New York architect&nbsp;William Lee Stoddart&nbsp;and erected by local firm C. H. Turner Construction Co. at the cost of $500,000.&nbsp;A sturdy beam-and-girder structural system, designed to withstand hurricane winds, was covered by ceramic tile and stucco. The name "San Carlos" was selected on January 15, 1909, and site clearing began thereafter. The name was chosen to represent Pensacola's Latino Heritage dating from Spanish colonization of the area. "San Carlos" was also the name used for the 1797 fort built by the Spanish after regaining&nbsp;control of West Florida from the British during the American Revolution. Called Fort San Carlos de Barrancas, it is remembered today as Fort Barrancas.&nbsp; Ground was broken in April 1909, and construction was completed in 1910. It opened its doors on the first day of&nbsp;Mardi Gras&nbsp;celebrations. The hotel had its own well, with a rooftop cistern and purification system, and the original 157 rooms each had an exterior window and modern furnishings.Muldon and Bingham leased operation of the hotel to brothers Charles Bedell Hervey&nbsp;and George Hancock Hervey of the Hervey Hotel Company (of Mobile, Alabama) until 1919, and then to the Newcomb Hotel Company until 1922, when it was sold to lumber magnate William Byrd Harbeson, Sr.&nbsp;and managed for 20 years by Harbeson's son-in-law Lee Conner Hagler. The new owners soon announced a massive expansion on the north and west sides of the hotel that maintained a consistent facade and added 246 rooms, a ballroom, a new lobby, and space for offices and shops. New Orleans architect&nbsp;Emile Weil&nbsp;and associate architect Walker Dorr Willis, Sr. were responsible for these renovations, with kitchen and food services upgrades completed by the Albert Pick-Barth Companies. WCOA&nbsp;began broadcasting there in 1932. Artist&nbsp;Joy Postle&nbsp;painted murals in the main lobby and dining room.The San Carlos Hotel ceased operations in 1982&nbsp;and lay vacant for more than a decade. A proposal by&nbsp;Baptist Health Care&nbsp;to convert it to retirement apartments failed to materialize. Despite it being added to the&nbsp;National Register of Historic Places,&nbsp;the hotel was demolished in 1993.&nbsp;A new United States Courthouse was built on the site in 1998 (designated the&nbsp;Winston E. Arnow&nbsp;Federal Building in 2010).

Sometimes called Hotel San Carlos, but affectionally called the Gray Lady of Palafox, the San Carlos was considered Pensacola's grandest and most revered hotel. Operating for almost 80 years, the hotel was used by hundreds, thousands, over the years as people sought to see the ballrooms and paintings made by environmental artists, Joy Postle, whose work depicted Florida's environment. Even housing a local radio station, the hotel was used until 1982 when it closed. It sat vacant for over a decade before being demolished and replaced by the new United States Court House. 

San Carlos Hotel (Pensacola, Florida)

In 1882, Christian Theisen, native of Denmark, contracted yellow fever after the ship he was stationed on docked in Pensacola. Left in Florida, Theisen stayed in Pensacola upon his recovery. He found a job working in a local saloon. However, the owner died in 1884 from the same fever Theisen had just recovered from. Theisen went on to marry the saloon's widow and became the owner of the saloon. His wife,&nbsp;Emilie Lehnkuhl, died in 1900 and soon remarried to&nbsp;Effie Lee Mitchell, followed by his gaining citizenship in 1902.&nbsp; Wanting&nbsp;to move on to bigger things, Theisen had a high-rise in mind and had one constructed. As it was being constructed, residents told him it was too risky and began to call it "Theisen's Folly." However, he proceeded on with it and the building was completed in around the time he achieved his citizenship. The building was&nbsp;designed by the Atlanta architectural firm of&nbsp;Morgan &amp; Dillon, and constructed by Pensacola contractors Wills &amp; Broughton. This "Folly" became a huge success after it housed a retail store and professional offices. To help its success were the facts that it was Pensacola's tallest building and had modern elevators.&nbsp; During this time as well, he was threatened with losing all his assets if he kept the venture going. To fight back to those that issued such threats, Theisen had the Danish flag flown over the building until his death on April 1, 1934. He is buried in St. Michael's Cemetery.&nbsp; The building was in use until the 1970s. From that point on until 1992, it fell into disrepair and was vacant. In 1992,&nbsp;businessman Ray Russenberger purchased and renovated the building to provide offices for his paging company Network USA. He restored the exterior to its original 1901 design.&nbsp;

Pensacola's first high-rise and first building to contain a modern elevator, the building was named after the Danish sailor who became stranded in Pensacola having contracted yellow fever. Christian Theisen, however, recovered, and conceived of this building. Considered a risky venture, it proved to a success. Home to a retail store and professional offices, the building was used heavily until 1970s. The building was also notorious for having the flag of Denmark flying proudly over it.  

Theisen Building 

Also known as the&nbsp;Grand Dame of Palafox, this was one of three Saenger Theatres, the others being in Mobile, AL and New Orleans, LA. All are known for their Spanish Baroque architecture, constructed by Emile Weil. This one was completed in 1925 and replaced the old Pensacola Opera House that was destroyed in 1917 Pinar del Rio Hurricane.&nbsp; This $500,00 theatre opened with Cecil B. Demille's&nbsp;The Ten Commandments as its first feature. During WW2 it stayed open 24/7 to allow residents to watch newsreels whenever they could or desired. As drive-ins became the norm and more desired way to watch movies, The Saenger fell into disuse and closed in 1975. Later donated to the city and with the help of the University of West Florida, the theatre was restored in 1981 and used for jazz performances. Since then, the theatre was renovated again, costing about $15 million and the first performance was "Jesus Christ Superstar" in 2009. The theatre is still operation providing various entertainment for attendees.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Opening in 1925, Saenger Theatre was the leading cultural center in the growing city of Pensacola, hosting touring shows, Vaudeville acts, films, and Broadway plays during its first decades. Following the trend of downtown theaters and playhouses, the playhouse became a movie theater after World War II. This historic structure and may have been demolished after the movie house closed its doors in 1975. However, the building was donated to the city and became a cultural center. Local activists, university faculty, and historic preservationists raised funds to restore its Spanish Baroque architecture and the theater reopened in 1981 and continues to host cultural events in the heart of downtown Pensacola, such as performances by the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra.

Saenger Theatre

Pensacola and Escambia County came into American possession in 1821, yet no building was constructed for the local and federal governments to work in for over thirty years. When one was finally constructed in 1854, the three-story wooden building was criticized by most all residents and people were content when it was destroyed by a fire in 1880. To replace the much-hated building, immediately plans were made for a four-story, limestone building. When an underground water flow site was discovered during work in the foundation, cotton bales were used to soak up the water and the foundation built around the cotton. The building was completed in 1887. The first floor had the post office, the second floor had the customs offices and the third and fourth floors held the federal courts.&nbsp; As the 1930s came, Pensacola's and the federal governments needed bigger places to operate out of more sufficiently. The then existing county courthouse was razed so that a bigger building could be built. The county took over this building so that the new building being constructed would house the post office and courthouse. When the new Post Office and Courthouse was completed in 1939, the customs building held onto the county and clerking offices. The now old Customs House and Post Office is still operation, still maintaing the county and clerk offices, with expansions made in the 1950s and 1970s.&nbsp; In 2008 the first of two renovating phases began. Plans were to use the upper floors to house the&nbsp;Arts Council of Northwest Florida&nbsp;and&nbsp;West Florida Historic Preservation, however, the state suspended historical grant funding so renovations have paused.&nbsp;

Also known as the Old Escambia County Courthouse, this 1887 building should not be confused with an older building that also served as the city's courthouse before it was razed in 1938. This building served both as the county courthouse and customs office and post office as the city grew and the city government expanded, needing bigger spaces to operate. Today plans are to use the building house organizations such as the Arts Council of Northwest Florida and West Florida Historic Preservation. 

United States Customs House and Post Office (Pensacola, Florida)

From 1910 to 1974, the American National Bank Building was the city's tallest structure. The building cost about $250,000 to construct.&nbsp;

Also referred to as the Empire Building, Florida National Bank Building and the Seville Tower (commonly called this latter name), the American National Bank Building would beat out the Theisen building to become Pensacola's tallest structure. Soon becoming Pensacola's most historic bank, this building was also home to the city's first telephone exchange, serving 31 phones. Today, the building house various offices. 

American National Bank Building (Pensacola, Florida)

On June 6th, 1840 William Dudley Chipley was born in Columbus, Georgia. Four years after his birth his family moved back to Lexington, Kentucky. He went to school at the Kentucky Military Institute and went on to graduate from Transylvania University which his father was a professor at. His father was also the warden of Eastern Asylum for the Insane in Lexington.&nbsp; Once William Chipley graduated he joined the 9th Kentucky Infantry. He had been wounded in two different battles which were the battles of Chickamauga and Shiloh. He made it to the rank of lieutenant colonel before being captured at the Battle of Peachtree Creek in Georgia. He was kept&nbsp;Johnson's Island in Ohio for the remainder of the Civil War. Once the war was over, he was brought to trial&nbsp;for the murders of Union soldiers which was called the Ashburn affair. The jury found him&nbsp;not guilty, and he was freed.<div> </div><div>After the Ashburn affair, William got into the railroad industry. Once he moved to Pensacola, Florida he built it's first railroad which is now&nbsp;part of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. He went on to build the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad. William went on to become mayor of Pensacola for one&nbsp;term. He passed away on December 1st, 1897 while in Washington D.C.&nbsp; <div> </div><div> <div> </div><div>&nbsp;<div> </div><div>&nbsp;<div> </div></div></div></div></div>

William Dudley Chipley was born on June 6th. 1840. William Chipley fought for the Confederacy during the civil war. During this time he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the 9th Kentucky Infantry. After the civil war he moved on to become a railroad executive and the mayor of Pensacola, Florida. This monument was built by the people of Pensacola to honor William after he passed away. 

William Dudley Chipley Obelisk

Established in 1954, the Pensacola Museum of Art features a variety of works by American and international artists of the 19th and 20th century such as Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Thomas Hart Benton. The collection also contains a variety of American and European sculpture and glass works, and a growing collection of works from Asia and Africa. The museum was established by members of the American Association of University Women who secured the use of the building, a former jail, when the city built a new jail in 1954. 

Pensacola Museum of Art 

T.T. Wentworth was an entrepreneur, politician, and collector, and&nbsp;preservationist. His collection of artifacts and curiosities&nbsp;are now part of the&nbsp;museum's permanent collection. Although the museum was not officially opened until 1988, these artifacts have long served an educational role.&nbsp;In the 1920s, Wentworth began to display parts of his&nbsp;collection 
of historical items in the windows of&nbsp;his bicycle shop. As the town of Pensacola 
grew, Wentworth started to see there was a need to preserve the city's history. In 1938, Wentworth donated what was then known as the Dorothy Walton House to the city of Pensacola. With additional support from the Wentworth family and others, this home served the community as a&nbsp;museum and meeting place. During World War II, however, there were not enough volunteers to keep the museum running so Wentworth moved his collection to&nbsp;his new home in Ensley. However, Wentworth continued to add to his collection and even built a&nbsp;separate building to house and share&nbsp;his collection with others. In 1983, Wentorth donated his collection of&nbsp;over 150,000 collectibles to the State of Florida. With a $1.2 million grant from the state and the support of many local volunteers, this new&nbsp;museum was able to open its door in November, 1988. One year later, Mr. Wentworth died of cancer.&nbsp;

Located in an historic building that originally served as Pensacola's City Hall, the T.T. Wentworth Jr. Florida State Museum opened in 1988 and offers three floors of exhibits that preserve and interpret the history of Pensacola and the surrounding region. Constructed in 1907, this Alamo mission-style building served as a city hall until 1985. The museum is open daily and is located in the heart of Historic Pensacola Village.

T.T. Wentworth Jr. Florida State Museum

Look around and you’ll see buildings surrounding you, but you might not notice the foundations and layers of history below your feet. Here at the Commanding Officer’s Compound, color-coded outlines represent the places people gathered hundreds of years ago. A 1763 map shows Spanish Captain of the Cavalry, don Luis Joseph de Ullate, owned a two-story house, kitchen, and other buildings in this location. His home was part of the Spanish colonial Fort San Miguel de Panzacola (1756-1763). At meals and social events, Spanish colonists ate meat, vegetables, and wine kept in a cold storage pit. Archaeologists found the pit while excavating in 2005. The British renovated Captain Ullate’s home into officer’s barracks, a courtyard, an outbuilding (possible kitchen), and a garden after taking Florida at the end of the French and Indian War (1754–1763). Many British loyalists found refuge in the Fort of Pensacola (1763-1781) during the American Revolution. The Commanding Officer might have hosted dinner parties for those loyalists. Inside the Commanding Officer’s Compound, meals were cooked in a wood-burning brick oven and over hearths found by archaeologists in 1993. Food was served in porcelain and English earthenware bowls alongside wine in decorated glassware. After a months-long siege by Spanish General Bernardo de Gálvez, the British surrendered Pensacola to Spain on May 10, 1781. Spanish colonists made the Commanding Officer’s Compound into their Government District. Archaeologists found evidence of frequent Spanish dinner parties layered on top of the earlier British and Spanish occupations. They found many ceramic and glass artifacts indicating dinner parties were a frequent activity in the Government District. Look around at the Colonial Archaeology Trail signs for more information on Pensacola’s history.

This location was the center of one British and two Spanish forts between 1756 and 1821. Located just east of the T.T. Wentworth Florida State Museum, this archaeological site, which features six historical markers/interpretive signs, dates back to colonial times. It is known as the Commanding Officer's Compound and is believed to be the site where general and future president Andrew Jackson accepted the ceding of Florida to the United States July 1821 (the transfer ceremony took place on the grounds of the Plaza Ferdinand VII just down the street). The British built or perhaps rebuilt the compound's structures (which included an outdoor kitchen and a garden) after 1767. Spain would gain control of Florida in 1783 and hold on until 1821. This site was created in 1994. Bricks from the compound were likely used to build a masonic temple that once stood adjacent to the site., which is part of the Pensacola Colonial Archaeological Trail.

The Commanding Officer's Compound

Charles Lavelle lived in the house until 1815. Successive owners largely kept the house intact. The Historic Pensacola Preservation Board moved it to its current location in 1969, thereby saving it from demolition.

Built around 1805, the Lavalle House is one of Pensacola's oldest remaining structures. It was  constructed by Charles Lavelle, who worked as a brick mason and also as a real estate developer. Lavelle built the house during the final period of Spanish occupation (1781-1821). It is made out of wood and also brick, which makes it somewhat unique since most houses from that time were built out of wood only (which is a reason why very few remain today). Today it is a museum owned and operated by the University of West Florida Historic Trust. Inside, visitors will see the authentic 18th and 19th century artifacts. Docents dressed in period clothing also provide guided tours. 

Lavalle House

&nbsp;In 1804, Julee made a request to the governor to grant her a piece of land. The Julee Cottage was then built with a tin-roof and shingled cypress as well
 as stood one and half story tall. This was just one of the many 
dwellings that Julee purchased throughout Pensacola and contributed to 
Pensacola's development. She was a great business lady and had a business making cakes as well as candles. With the money she made off her products, she would purchase other slaves freedom as well as help them start living their lives as free individuals. The Julee Cottage was also known as a sidewalk home as the side of the home faces the sidewalk. This home is a rare example of this feature that is commonly found in the south from New Orleans to Pensacola. This is Pensacola's only surviving "sidewalk to street" construction. Julee sold the cottage to another freed woman named Angelica. When the cottage was threatened to be torn down at 214 E. Zaragoza Street it was then relocated to 210 E. Zaragoza Street. It was dilapidated upon it's move and has since been restored to it's original appearance. The Julee Cottage is not the only site to visit on your trip. The Historic Pensacola Village consists of other historical buildings and museums.

Julee Cottage is one of the oldest homes in Pensacola, located within historic Pensacola Village. The home was built between the dates of 1804 and 1808 and owned by an African American woman named Julee Panton. During those years, Panton was known as a "free woman of color"--a moniker that reminds us that most African Americans were not free. Panton's home is now operated as a local African American history museum, with exhibits that offer a glimpse into the antebellum period. The home is also historically significant as the only surviving house in Pensacola that is similar to the Creole Cottages located in New Orleans. 

Julee Cottage and Museum

A history provided by the First Baptist Church's official website:&nbsp; 'When mission-minded men from Alabama set out to spread the gospel to the “heathens” of Northwest Florida in the early 19th century, Pensacola was their primary destination. Pensacola was a long-established center of population but was known for, among other things, its “dire need for preaching.” Because seaports always have a variety of cultural lifestyles imported from around the globe and because exotic spirits of both the drinking and emotional variety were abundant invading influences, the area became a mission field for Alabama Baptists. Today’s First Baptist Church of Pensacola is grateful for their efforts. In May of 1847, near the Bay and near what is now Seville Square, a small group of local citizens with Alabama preachers Alexander Travis and Joseph Mitchell founded First Baptist. Through the many years since, the church has, as have the city and the nation, endured and survived storms, wars, epidemics, economic hardships and other hindrances. While challenges have come our way we continue to be faithful to God’s Word and to his purpose for us and we thank God for his goodness to us. We invite anyone seeking to serve the Lord to become a part of the mission and the historical story of FBCP.'

This historic marker depicts the location of the original First Baptist Church, which was erected in 1852 and later moved to 5th and Palafox in 1894. The congregation was formed five years prior by local citizens under the leadership of Alexander Travis and Joseph Mitchell-two missionaries who traveled to Florida from Alabama. 

Original Site of First Baptist Church

The land that would become Seville Square was part of a large open common surrounding the British garrison, as laid out by Elias Durnford and depicted in the 1778 Joseph Purcell map. In 1814, during the second Spanish period, “[t]he fine common was cut up into lots, and distributed to different persons; a slice to one, and a corner to another. … Out of this massacre of order and decency, two small squares were saved, one on the east and one on the west ends of the old common.”1 The eastern square was known as Plaza de Sevilla, or Seville Square after Florida became an American territory in 1821. As Henry Marie Brackenridge described it, “This square is very extensive, and covered with a close sod that renders it an agreeable promenade in the evening.”2 In 1875, the last year before Reconstruction ended in Florida, four Black men were accused of the rape of a white woman, Melissa Taylor. Two of the suspects, Jeff Brown and Morris Morse, were held in the Alcaniz Street jail after a preliminary trial where they asked for time to procure witnesses to prove they were not in the area at the time. A third suspect, Jourdan Williams, escaped capture, and a fourth, Berry Dorson, was allegedly fatally wounded by the other three after informing on them. As a Republican newspaper noted, “The evidence of the lady was not positive… The deputy sheriff had a subpœna for two weeks to bring witnesses for the men, but he neglected to do so, which shows gross neglect on the part of that official.” Just after midnight on August 21, a mob of 100 people forcibly removed Brown and Morse from the jail and hanged them from separate trees on the eastern side of nearby Seville Square. Their bodies were then “riddled with bullets.”4 City police officers pursued members of the lynch mob but made no arrests. In subsequent decades, and especially around the turn of the century, Seville Square was used for band concerts, political rallies, and lantern festivals. By the 1930s, however, most large gatherings had moved to newer venues, relegating Seville Square as a playground for neighborhood children. After embarking on a renovation of the Dorr House in 1965, the Pensacola Heritage Foundation next set its sights on Seville Square. The city funded construction of a new gazebo, and on August 25, 1966, the Heritage Foundation held “An Evening in Old Seville,” a Gay Nineties-themed event with period costumes and entertainment. The popular event was repeated annually until 1972. After some attempted revivals, the Heritage Foundation relaunched the concept in 1988 as a summertime concert series called “Evenings in Olde Seville Square,” which shut down for good in 2016. The most enduring and popular event in Seville Square is the Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival, which began as “Festival Fever Days” in 1973 in the parking lot of Municipal Auditorium at the foot of Palafox Street, but expanded to Seville Square in 1975. Now a three-day, juried art show, it typically draws more than 100,000 attendees and has only been cancelled twice: in 2004 after Hurricane Ivan and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Initially the eastern of two parade grounds outside the former British fort at Pensacola, this block became a hub of Pensacola’s social activity following the construction of adjacent Christ Church in 1832. A gruesome lynching in 1875 was a forerunner of the racial animosity and violence that would haunt Pensacola in the decades following Reconstruction. An increasingly suburban population abandoned Seville Square by the mid-twentieth century, but it became the centerpiece of the historic preservation movement in the 1960s. With its stately gazebo and canopy of majestic live oaks, today Seville Square is the site of many community activities, including Pensacola’s largest annual cultural event, the Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival.

Seville Square

Creoles were designated as those with mixed backgrounds of African and French or Spanish blood. In general, Creoles tended to be isolated from whites and Blacks. As a result, Creole communities began to form there own community organizations. In Pensacola, the Creole community followed the example&nbsp;of Creoles in Mobile and New Orleans, who founded their organizations in the 1850s and 1860s. The purpose of these organizations was to provide support to members and their families in times of need as well as to socialize.

For eight decades beginning in 1895 when it was built, the St. Michael's Creole Benevolent Association Hall was the center of Creole cultural life in Pensacola. They association itself was founded in 1878. Here, the community held many social events such as parties, dances, youth events, and other functions. Declining interest in the association began in the 1960s and by 1971 it dissolved and the hall was sold. It appears to be a private home today. Given its cultural significance, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Culture and History of Pensacola Walking Tour

Plaza Ferdinand VII

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information