The Pensacola Historic District (also known as the Seville Historic District) is a

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

(designated as such on September 29, 1970) located in

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The district is roughly bounded by Bayfront Parkway, Tarragona, Romana and Cevallos Streets. Within the district are the Historic Pensacola Village, the

Pensacola Museum of History The Pensacola Museum of History at the University of West Florida, formerly the T. T. Wentworth Jr. Florida State Museum, is a museum of history located at 330 Jefferson Street in the Plaza Ferdinand VII in Pensacola, Florida. It is part of the ...

and Seville Square. Seville Square and its twin Plaza Ferdinand VII were the parade grounds for the Fort of Pensacola established during British rule. A site to the northeast of the Pensacola Historic District on the Pensacola Bay is the earliest known European settlement on the North American continent, dating to 1559.

Establishment

Pensacola Heritage Foundation

In the early 1960s, a group of local

preservationist Preservationist is generally understood to mean ''historic preservationist'': one who advocates to preserve architecturally or historically significant buildings, structures, objects, or sites from demolition or degradation. Historic preservation u ...

s led by Pensacolian Mary Turner Rule (née Reed) formed the Pensacola Heritage Foundation, joined the National Trust and surveyed the Seville Square Historic District, the neighborhood around Seville Square adjacent to Pensacola Bay. Realizing the importance of Pensacola's history and the need to save it, Rule and the Heritage Foundation nominated the Pensacola Historic District to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The group purchased the Dorr House and restored it. They convinced the city to bring the deteriorated square to its present-day restored state. Then they created a festival, a hometown Victorian picnic in the park, An Evening in Old Seville Square, to bring Pensacolians to the district encouraging restoration. Rule had the famous lighthouse at the Navy Air Station listed on the National Register. She also helped create a state board now called the N.W. Florida Preservation Board, whose function is to protect the Seville Square Historic District and Pensacola's history. The city established the Architecture Review board to protect Pensacola's history locally.

UWF Historic Trust

In 1967, the Pensacola Historical Preservation and Restoration Commission was founded to preserve the history of Pensacola, including its historic monuments and buildings, to educate the public. In 2001, the organization was repealed by the Florida legislature and its collections and buildings were transferred to the

University of West Florida The University of West Florida (West Florida or UWF) is a public university in Pensacola, Florida, United States. Established in 1963 as a member institution of the State University System of Florida, the University of West Florida is a comprehe ...

(UWF). In 2009, the Pensacola Heritage Society merged with the organization to become the West Florida Historic Preservation, renamed in 2013 to UWF Historic Trust.

Historic Pensacola Village

Historic Pensacola (located within the Pensacola Historic District) is a collection of 28 historical buildings and museums managed by the University of West Florida's Historic Trust. Historic Pensacola is located in downtown

, Florida, situated between Plaza Ferdinand VII and Seville Square.

Buildings and museums

*Pensacola Children's Museum *Museum of Commerce: a reconstruction of a

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only incorporated city, city in Escambia County, Florida, Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

street scene based on businesses that operated in Pensacola between 1880 and 1910. The Museum consists of twenty properties; some are interpretive history sites. They include stores for toys, leather goods, hardware and music, a print shop, a gas station, and a tram. The print shop contains one of the most complete collections of antique printing presses and type in the Southeast. * Museum of Industry *Voices of Pensacola Multicultural Center * Old Christ Church *Bowden Building: The lower floor houses classrooms used by the

and some of Historic Pensacola's collections. The upper floor houses Historic Pensacola's administration offices. *Tivoli High House: Historic boarding house now used as a ticket office * Lavalle House * Lear-Rocheblave House: Historic home restored to a 1920s boarding house * Dorr House *Manuel Barrios Cottage * Julee Cottage: a historic home, formerly owned by Julee Panton, a free woman of color and other black families *Barkley House *John Appleyard Cottage *Fountain Park *Colonial Archaeological Trail *

Pensacola Museum of Art The Pensacola Museum of Art (PMA) is an art museum located in downtown Pensacola, Florida. PMA is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. It was founded in 1954 by a group of women from the American Association of University Women. Since 2 ...

Image gallery

Image:Pensacola_HD_Julee03.jpg, Julee Cottage, 1805 Image:Pensacola_HD_Tivoli02.jpg, Tivoli House, 1976 replica of 1805 building Image:Pensacola Dorr House01.jpg, Clara Barkley Dorr House, 1871, residence of UWF president Image:Pensacola_HD_Lear-Rocheblave01.jpg, Lear Rocheblave House, 1890 Image:Pensacola_Old_Christ_Church03.jpg, Old Christ Church, 1763 Image:Pensacola_HD_Wentworth01.jpg, Pensacola Museum of History Image:Pensacola_HD_MOC02.jpg, Museum of Commerce Image:Pensacola HD MOI02.jpg, Museum of Industry

References

External links

University of West Florida Historic Trust's website

Historic Pensacola's website

Pensacola Heritage Foundation's website
{{Authority control Pensacola, Florida Tourist attractions in Pensacola, Florida Geography of Escambia County, Florida Museums in Pensacola, Florida History museums in Florida Open-air museums in Florida 1970 establishments in Florida Pensacola Historic District