Historic Pensacola Virtual Tour
Our flagship museum is the Pensacola Museum of History, which is housed in the three-story Mediterranean Revival former Pensacola City Hall built in 1908. The Pensacola Museum of History, a highlight of the self-guided tour, is a general history museum with galleries dedicated to both permanent and changing exhibits. It also serves as a ticket office and museum store. The museum is open extended hours from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. and on Sundays from noon until 4 p.m. for Half Price Evenings & Sundays.
Opened in 2014, multicultural center highlights our rich heritage through dynamic exhibits representative of the cultural groups that have shaped Pensacola history. Visitors to the Voices of Pensacola can watch videos of individuals telling their unique Pensacola story. The space also includes an oral history recording room where additional stories can be recorded and archived. The Hilton-Green Research Room, located on the second floor, houses a vast variety of documents, maps and photographs.
Hands-on exploration of Pensacola history for children age 13 and younger! Come see what colonial life was like in Pensacola. Other play areas explore Pensacola’s military, maritime, industrial, multicultural, Native American and Civil War history. The Party Central room, home to storytelling and special activities, is a popular spot for private birthday parties. The museum also children’s books and age-appropriate branded toys.
Lumbering, brick making, railroads and commercial fishing were among the industries that propelled Pensacola from a sleepy frontier garrison into a thriving commercial center in the 19th century. Step back in time and learn more about some of Pensacola's pivotal industries. The museum is a popular stop on the self-guided tour.
An example of French Creole colonial architecture, the Lavalle House was built in 1805 during Florida’s second Spanish period by Carlos Lavalle and Marianna Bonifay. The house, furnished with authentic 18th and 19th century artifacts, recreates the early 19th century frontier lifestyle in Pensacola. The house include on the guided tour Tours .
Built around 1805, this early example of platform frame construction, reminiscent of the Creole cottages of the New Orleans French Quarter, was named for one of its earliest owners, Julee Panton, a free woman of color. It is the only surviving form of this urban Creole architecture in Pensacola. Included in the self-guided tour, the cottage interprets the home of a working class African-American family during the era of Reconstruction.
Completed in 1832, Old Christ Church is one of the oldest surviving church buildings in Florida, serving the Pensacola community as an Episcopal Church, public library and museum. The building was also occupied by Federal troops during the Civil War. Today, it is a popular stop on the guided tour and continues to serve the public as a museum, special events venue and meeting hall as well as weddings.
The spacious rooms and jig-sawed porches of this example of two-story Folk Victorian architecture, recall a time when large families made their homes near Historic Pensacola’s Seville Square. Although built for John and Kate Lear, they never lived in the home. The Captain Benito Rocheblave owned and lived in the house for many years during the turn-of- the-century. Typically the last stop on the guided-tour, the home is decorated for Christmas in November and December for a special Victorian Holiday Traditions Tour.
The Pyramidal roof Gulf Coast cottage, built around 1888, was once a common sight in Pensacola. These small houses had only two rooms, which were often rented separately. Today, this simple cottage, included self-guided tour, displays the history of Pensacola in the “Roaring Twenties. See More.
The circa 1825 Barkley House, located on Pensacola Bay, is the oldest surviving example of a high-house in the city. Because of its beautiful grounds and spectacular view, it is a popular venue for outdoor weddings and receptions.
Inside this brick turn-of-the-century warehouse, which is included on the self-guided tour, is a reconstructed 1890s era streetscape. On exhibit are historic shops featuring toys, hardware, music, households, leather goods as well as a print shop exhibit containing one of the most complete collections of antique presses and type in the Southeast. An interesting collection of horse drawn buggies and an antique local trolley car are also part of this nostalgic recreation of yesteryear. See more.
The first floor of the Tivoli House serves as a ticket outlet and museum store offering unique Historic Pensacola items, books, souvenirs and refreshments. Reconstructed for Pensacola’s bicentennial in 1976 from photographic and archaeological evidence, the original 1805 Tivoli House was once a boarding and gaming house and tavern. To the east of the original structure was a large octagonal theatre and ballroom that served as a meeting place for early Pensacolians.
The Dorr house was built by Clara Barkley Dorr in 1871 during a time of economic prosperity in Pensacola. This prosperity was partly the result of a thriving lumbering industry. Currently interpreted as a Victorian era family home in Pensacola after the Civil War, the home is an example of Greek Revival architecture in West Florida. The house, which is included in the guided tour of Historic Pensacola, is the best-preserved example of post-Civil War Classical Revival architecture in Pensacola’s historic district.
The McMillan home was built around the 1880s and was located at 415 Cevallos Street. When Hurricane Ivan hit Pensacola, the house was badly damaged and threatened with demolition. Interested in saving the house, the UWF Historic Trust relocated and restored the house to become a small exhibit space. Now the Appleyard Storytelling Cottage, the exhibit highlights the premier Pensacola storyteller John Appleyard.
South of Seville Square, this small park has a decorative fountain, donated by the Fleming family, highlighting various scenes of Pensacola. Back in the late 1800s, this park was a residential area, with small shotgun houses lining the street. Throughout the decades, these houses eventually were moved or demolished and by the 1980s was transformed into a park. Fountain Park is a wonderful space that is the location of many downtown festivals and special events.