Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle. This area was first documented as “Panzacola” in 1686, which was a name of Native American origin given to Pensacola Bay and subsequently to the Spanish settlements. During the American Civil War, Confederates occupied Pensacola, but Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island offshore remained in Union hands. After the civil war, the lumber, cotton, agriculture, and fishing industry boomed. In 1884, German immigrant Conrad Kupfrian, along with his business partners, launched the first streetcars in the city. The service was replaced with motor buses in 1932. At the beginning of the 20th century, the bricking making and papermaking industries were built. Shipping declined in importance, but the military and manufacturing became prominent. The navy yard became a naval air station in 1914.
Here below are some historical photos of old Pensacola from the early 20th century that show streets, roads, landmarks, buildings, and everyday life of people.
#1 A group of swimers at Bayview Park, Pensacola, 1910s
#2 Pensacola’s Independence Day celebration in Bayview Park, 1908
#3 The first Pensacola Bay Bridge shortly before it opened in 1931
#4 American National Bank, Palafox Street, Pensacola, Florida, circa 1910
#5 Tarragona Street wharf, Pensacola, Florida, 1910
#6 Striking streetcar workers pose with a “captured” streetcar in the early days of a 1908 strike, Pensacola
#7 The Sherrill Oil Company, Pensacola, 1940s
#8 Plaza Ferdinand and harbor, Pensacola, Florida, circa 1910
#9 Louisville & Nashville Railway station, Pensacola, Florida, circa 1910
#10 Opera House and American National Bank, Pensacola, Florida, circa 1904
#11 Kids eating watermelon during the Independence Day celebration in Bayview Park, Pensacola, 1908
#12 The Motor Inn, on the southeast corner of Alcaniz and Gadsden Streets in 1931
#13 Pensacola’s Masonic Temple, 1936
#14 Unloading lumber, Pensacola, 1910
#15 Louisville and Nashville Railway station, Pensacola, 1910
#16 Bayview Park, Pensacola, 1907
#17 An East Hill streetcar prepares to head across Bayou Texar to East Pensacola Heights, 1910s
#18 Swimmers at the Bayview, Pensacola, 1908
#19 Bayview Park, Pensacola, 1931
#20 Sacred Heart’s operating room, Pensacola, 1932
#21 Hotel Escambia, Pensacola, 1910
#22 Bayview Park, Pensacola, 1900s
#23 Streetcar tracks in the North Palafox Street median, 1910
#24 Two streetcars meet at Palafox and Gregory Streets in Pensacola, 1910s
#25 Palafox Street looking south from Chase Street, Pensacola, 1910s
#26 The first men and women bath house, Pensacola, 1910
#27 Borras Auto Supply, Pensacola, 1921
#28 The Mixon Service Station, Pensacola, 1937
#29 The Palafox Apartments and other shops on South Palafox Street, Pansacola, 1936
#30 Beachgoers sit under umbrellas at the Pensacola Beach Casino, 1930s
#31 A 30 foot diving platform at the the shore of the park in Bayou Texar, East Pensacola, 1910
#32 Texaco station located at 400 East Gadsden Street, Pensacola, 1934
#33 The Motor Inn in the 1930s
#34 A swimmers at Bayview Park, Pensacola, 1930s
#35 People enjoying boating, swimming, skiing at Bayview Park, Pensacola, 1930
#36 Bayview Park, Pensacola, 1939
#37 Nurse pouring milk in the glasses for patients at Pensacola Hospital, 1930s
#38 The Halloween Night Fire of 1905 devastated Pensacola’s commercial section
#39 The Bass Building and Hannah’s Pharmacy, Pansacola, 1930s
#40 Palafox Street looking southwest toward Government Street, 1921
#41 Plaza Ferdinand VII, looking north, Pansacola, 1923
#42 South Palafox Street’s Brent Building, Pansacola, 1920s
#43 The Gilbert Hotel, located at Palafox and Government streets, Pansacola, 1939
#44 The Fisher Realty offices on the southeast corner of Palafox and Intendencia streets in 1936
#45 Palafox Street’s Bear Block, Pandsacola, 1968
#46 Streetcars on South Palafox Street circa 1910s
#47 Palafox Street Wharf, Pansacola, circa 1910
#48 Pensacola Bay Bridge, 1931
#49 The Pensacola Beach Casino, 1931
#50 The Pensacola Beach Casino, circa 1930s
#51 A rare look inside the Pensacola Beach Casino, circa 1930s
#52 A crowd gathers at the Pensacola Beach Casino to watch a boxing match, 1930s
#53 A boxing match underway at the Pensacola Beach, 1930s
#54 The Pensacola Beach Casino and its pier were essentially the only structures on the island in the 1930s
#55 Crowds enjoying on the beach, Pansacola, 1930s
#56 Young ladies at Pensacola Beach sitting atop a sign for the Child Restaurant, circa 1935
#57 Plant of the Consolidated Naval Stores Company, Pensacola, Florida, 1903
#58 Sorting cotton at Atlantic Cotton Compress Co., Pensacola, Florida, 1905
#59 Palafox Street, American National Bank Building, Pensacola, Florida, circa 1910
#60 The opening of Bayview Park
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Nice collection. What was your source of these photos?
