Brent Building, Palafox between Romana and Garden

Byrne Building, Palafox between Government and Zarragossa

Chaffin Building, Palafox between Government and Zarragossa

City Hotel, Government, opposite Public Square

Commercial Hotel, Government, near Opera House

Clubb's Building, Palafox corner Government

Cushman's Building, Government, opposite Public Square

Damianni Building, Palafox between Romana and Intendencia

Germania Hall, Zarragossa corner Jefferson

Gonzalez Building, Palafox between Romana and Intendencia

Hutchinson Building, Palafox below Main

Hyer Building, Palafox between Intendencia and Government

Luke's Hall, Romana corner Alcaniz

Merchants' Hotel, Palafox corner Government

Moloney's Building, Palafox near Romana

Moreno Building, Palafox between Romana and Garden

New Continental Hotel, Palafox, corner Wright

Opera House Building, Government corner Jefferson

Pfeiffer, J., Building, Palafox between Zarragossa and Main

Pitt Building, Palafox between Intendencia and Government

Pitt's Hall, Pitt Building, Palafox

Post Office, Palafox near Garden

Reache Building, Palafox near Intendencia

Riera Building, Palafox between Government and Zarragossa

Spotzs Building, Palafox near Intendencia

Stevedore's Hall No. 2, Tarragona near Intendencia

Union Depot, Wright corner Tarragona

U. S. Court Rooms, 24 Palafox

U. S. Custom House, Palafox corner Government

White Building, Palafox between Romana and Intendencia

Yniestra Building, Palafox between Romana and Intendencia

 

WHARVES.

 

Central, foot of Jefferson

Clubb's foot of Fla. Blanca

Ice House, ft Commendencia

Muscogee, foot of 14^th ave

Palafox St.

Perdido, terminus Pensacola and Perdido R. R.

Sullivan's, foot Barracks

 

PENSACOLA.

The Naples of America.

         Much has been written about the past of Pensacola, its history from the time it was founded by the Spaniards in 1696 on down through the succeeding century during which time it was captured by the French, recaptured by the Spaniards, came into the possession of the British Government in 1763, and the part known as "Old City" laid out in 1764-65, when it was a simple fishing village, and when its solid history began.   It was again recaptured by the Spaniards in 1780, who held possession of it till the United States took possession in 1819.

        With the Cursory glance at the ancient history of the city, we proceed to describe Pensacola as it is rather than what it was.   As an author once wrote in his description of St. Augustine, "It is the custom , and an old custom it is with guidebooks, to surfeit the reader with dates.   What purpose does it serve for us to recount how the Spaniards settled the city, and how it came into possession of the English, how the Spaniards came back, and finally, after passing through a host of vicissitudes, the United States obtained possession?    In fact these antiquarian minutiae have become a bore after reading them a dozen times to submit to their rehearsal" B so we express ourselves with the same words in reference to Pensacola.  

 

        Location.

     The city is situated in the western part of the State, and in the southwestern part of Escambia County, of which it is the county seat, and on the north side of Pensacola Bay, within ten miles of the outer buoy in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, which marks the entrance to the harbor.   The channel at the entrance to the port has a depth of twenty-five feet, and when the obstructions now being removed are away, the channel will again have the depth that it had before the war and ocean vessels can be brought alongside of and within ten feet of the cars, thus enabling this port to successfully complete with all others for both foreign and domestic trade.

 

Distances.

    Pensacola is 246 miles from New Orleans, 371 from Jacksonville, 203 from Tallahassee the capital of the State, 420 from Savannah, Ga., 165 from Montgomery, Ala., 105 from Mobile, Ala., 653 from Louisville, Ky., 763 from Cincinnati, 740 from St. Louis, 970 from Chicago, 1222 from New York, 994 from Washington, D. C., and 1439 from Boston.

 

The Harbor

is one of the finest in the world.   It has an area of about 200 square miles, is 30 miles long, with an average width of seven miles, and an average depth of water from 30 to 35 feet.   Here can be enjoyed the not unusual scene for Pensacola, 200 square rigged ships from all ports of the world sent her for

 

Lumber and Timber,

the all absorbing interest on which for the present the people depend.

      It is but necessary to add Pensacola's Annual Marine Statement, for the year ending July 1, 1884, to astonish the uninformed:

Foreign vessels entered,     372

American vessels entered,   51

Coasting vessels entered,   170

593                      

Tonnage           248,018

Tonnage             19,912

Tonnage             80,718

                        348,648

Men in crew                 5,119

Men in crew                    341

Men in crew                 1,525

                                    6,985

      During the season of 1884 ending October 31^st, there were shipped 10,489 bales of cotton.  Pensacola possesses unquestionable facilities over all other Gulf ports for shipping cotton.   A compress was built last season.    Its easy access to and from the Gulf, its direct accessibility to and from the Western, Northwestern and Central Southern States, must furnish a very large, regular and rapidly-increasing business in transportation to and from its port, not only of lumber, but also of cotton, grain, coal, iron, and all the products of the West Indies and South America.

 

       The Bay Island Fruit Co. which has just been organized with ample capital for the importation of bananas and other tropical fruits, after investigating the facilities of New Orleans, Mobile, and other Gulf ports have decided in favor of Pensacola, and will soon commerce running a line of weekly steamers between this city and the Bay Islands on the coast of Central America and the West Indies.   By deciding on this port they rid themselves of jetties, drayage, wharfage and other expenses, and will thus be enabled to flood the great West and Northwest with cheaper and better fruit than ever before.

 

     Quite a trade in guano and coal is being developed, large quantities of the first named being imported and distributed throughout Alabama and Tennessee.  In and about the city are situated numerous mills for the sawing of lumber, and by reference to our Business Directory the reader will note the other manufacturing industries.

 

      Population.

 

     The city has advanced in population from 1870 to 1880, 117 per cent, at least 90 per cent of which occurred from '76 to '80.   This Directory contains 2,634 names, showing a population on April 1, 1885, of 10,536.

 

Railroads.

 

     The Louisville and Nashville Railroad in Florida runs from Pensacola north to Flomaton or Pensacola Junction, 44 miles, where it connects for the North, East and West.    The Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad which is owned by the above-named road runs from Pensacola east to River Junction near Chattahoochee, 161 miles, where it connects for the East and North via the Florida Railway & Navigation Co. and the Savannah, Florida and Western Railway.

 

      The Pensacola and Perdido Railroad runs from Pensacola to Millview on Perdido Bay, ten miles, and is used largely in the transportation of lumber, although regular passenger trains are run.   Then there are the St. Andrew's Bay and Chipley Railroad, which is being constructed from Chipley, on the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad, 120 miles east of Pensacola, south, fifty miles to St. Andrew's Bay on the Gulf of Mexico; and the Pensacola and Memphis Railroad recently chartered, and which will be, when completed, an air-line road between the two cities, both of which roads have offices in Pensacola.   Under this general heading of Railroads should not be omitted the Pensacola Street Car Company which has three and a half miles of track in the city and runs seven cars.

 

      Climate.

 

     The "Indian Summer" of the North closely resembles the winter climate in Pensacola; while in the summer the fame of its baths, boating, and fishing is rapidly increasing its popularity.   All classes of chronic diseases such as diarrhea, dysentery, rheumatism, diseases of the kidneys, and incipient pulmonary cases are benefitted and relieved by a visit to Pensacola.   The mean annual temperature at Pensacola during twenty years was as follows, for each month of the year: January, 57.03; February, 59.94; March, 63.34; April, 68.78; May, 73.56; June, 79.36; July, 80.90; August, 80.56; September, 78.60; October, 71.88; November, 64.12; December, 57.26.

 

Business Blocks and Public Buildings.

 

       The visitor to this city will see evidences of a long-settled community.   Within the last few years many new business structures have been erected, notable among which are the Pensacola Opera House, the Escambia County Court House, the New Continental Hotel, Clubbs' Building, the Union Depot, and the Custom House which is now being erected, to cost when completed $200,000.

 

Fine Residences.

 

       The enterprise of the citizens is shown not alone in business blocks.    Among the more prominent private residences are those of W. D. Chipley, Mrs. Clara Whiting, H. Baars, Edward Abercrombie, William Fisher, C. B. Parkhill, Henry Horsler, Mrs. Simpson, Joseph Simpson, Bryan Dunwody, William K. Hyer, Geo. W. Wright, L. M. Merritt, Sr., Alex. Stoddart, and A. V. Clubbs.

 

Public Schools.

 

      The public schools of Pensacola have the earnest support of the people, and are classed among the best in the State.  Under the careful drill of A. H. Todd, Esq., the principal of the High School, students are prepared for college.   Among the private schools may be mentioned the Pensacola Classical Academy, C. V. Thompson, Principal; Carlin's Academy and Commercial Institute, J. F. Carlin, Principal; and the schools of the Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches.

 

Fish.

 

      When the remarkable increase and growth of fish, oysters, shrimp, and turtle are taken into consideration, and the extent of the territory tributary to the city of Pensacola is taken into the account, the possibilities of future trade in this single direction can hardly be over-estimated, especially in view of the rapidly increasing price of beef.

       To day we find the supply of fish, even for New Orleans and Mobile, as well as points North and West, is being shipped mainly from Pensacola, where they are landed, packed in ice, and sent by rapid railroad transit to other cities.   Fish cannot be sent either by the way of New Orleans, Mobile, or any other Gulf port with the speed and cheapness with which they can be shipped from Pensacola; nor is there any other port so near and so easy of access from the snapper banks and other fishing grounds.    Pensacola is and ever must remain the great fishing centre for the waters of the Gulf, and the rich harvest field on which will be gathered the rich and bountiful supplies for the North and West.   The delicate fish so plentiful here will soon be abundant throughout the Union.  It is only a question of time and capital.    Pittsburg, Chicago, and Cincinnati and other Northern cities have already got, through dealers in Pensacola, a taste of green turtle, pompano, Spanish mackerel, and red snappers, and they will not rest till they get a full supply, and there are daily trains  of fish cars from Pensacola to all points of the compass reached by the railways.    We call the attention of fishermen and fish dealers and breeders of the North to this subject.  We ask them to open their maps and study them well, and see how nature has formed the inland and seaward water-ways that lead to the port of Pensacola, and her location in regard to the great snapper banks of the Gulf in the near future, sure to be as productive as those of Newfoundland and Alaska.   This is but a tithe of the product, for in the same territory are countless millions of blue fish, sheephead, groupers, black fish, drums, Jew fish, jack fish, amber fish, and almost countless other varieties, all edible.  Besides these there are six kinds of edible turtle, soft- and hard-shell crabs, and two kinds of shrimp, making an almost endless variety of salt-water food without taking into account the immense supply of fresh-water trout, bream, etc., common to the rivers North and South, nor to the shad that is just beginning to make its appearance in the Southern rivers emptying into the Gulf.

 

      On the line of coast tributary to the fish mart at Pensacola there are at present employed, as near as we can learn from the imperfect data, about 2500 men employed in fishing, with their families, mainly located on the shore nearest the snapper banks, or other fishing grounds on which their work is done.   Besides smaller craft there are engaged in this trade about forty or fifty large fishing smacks of from 25 to 40 tons burden, besides a few steam smacks and luggers.   The deep-sea fishermen reside mainly in Florida and Alabama, and send their red snappers, groupers, Spanish mackerel, pompano, etc., north from Pensacola, where they are landed fresh, alive and kicking from the vessel, and placed at once in refrigerator cars, packed in ice, and landed in Minnesota and Colorado as fresh and sweet as when they swam over the beds of coral in their native habitation.

 

     Now take your map and a pair of dividers; place one leg of it on Pensacola and extend the other until Matamoras and Key West are intersected by the segment of the circle, and within it you have the fish and the fishing territory naturally tributary to Pensacola, and within which the supply is practically unlimited and the demand for that supply already great and constantly increasing.

 

     This trade is to-day worth $500,000 annually, and can easily be increased to as many millions.

 

Hunting, Fishing, etc.

 

      By consulting the map of Pensacola and its surroundings, the reader will observe the network of water-courses, bays and bayous centering here.   The water is clear, bright, and beautiful.  Surf bathing upon Santa Rosa beach, as enjoyable as language can express, the salt-water bathing in the bath-houses of the bay, and bathing in fresh water as clear as crystal, can all be had within a distance of seven miles.   One may weary of St. John River, which at first impresses the beholder as grand, but soon becomes monotonous.  How different the broad, beautiful bay of Pensacola!  On its rolling waters one can never tire.   For lovers of St. John scenery the Santa Rosa Sound offers a magnificent substitute, with Live Oak Plantation skirting its bank on one side, and only Santa Rosa Island, with its narrow strip of soil, between it and the blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico on the other.   The Perdido Bay is one of the loveliest sheets of water in the State, rivaled by the Escambia Bay, with its bluffs and ever-moving fleets.   Any attempt to particularize becomes confusing, as the special beauties and attractions of the different bays and bayous are remembered.    Escambia River is the "Ocklawaha" of West Florida.   The stranger who wishes to enjoy a short trip will be pleased as the  steamer ploughs through the broad placid waters of Escambia Bay, and then delighted with the luxuriance of the tropical growth as the vessel winds its way up the narrow and tortuous channel of Escambia River to Molino.   At this point the excursionist can take the train and return by rail to Pensacola.

 

     The fresh-water fishing is superb.   The waters literally swarm with all kinds of fish, notably trout, black bass, and pike!   All varieties of perch abound, including a special kind, a very game fish, called bream.   It is not unusual for a good angler to pull out fifty to sixty of these fish in an hour, weighing from a half to one pound.   No one can claim to have seen what fishing is until they have visited the snapper banks off Santa Rosa Island.    There the famous red snapper can be caught two at a time, weighing from five pounds to sixty, as rapidly as the line is thrown in.   The limit to the quantity that may be caught is commensurate with the physical endurance of the catcher.

 

      It is claimed that no one can know the flavor of fresh fish until he has eaten a pompano at Pensacola.   Another very attractive amusement is turtle hunting on Santa Rosa Island.   It is not unusual to find as many as 180 eggs in one nest.   From Flomaton to Pensacola, all around the city and opposite it, in Live Oak Plantation, every description of game can be found in large numbers, including deer, turkeys, and partridges, with an occasional bear.   It should impress every one that it is not necessary to exile one's self and endure all imaginary pleasures of camp life to secure the best possible sport with rod and gun; both are within from one to three hours' drive, sail or walk, of the hotels.   The splendid duck shooting at the mouths of the rivers, in season, should not be forgotten.  Oysters of the finest size and flavor are taken in any quantity wanted.   Attention has been turned to planting the bivalve with fine results.   Mr. Alexander Stoddart, of No. 175 Broadway, New York, set out 750,000 in Bayou Texar, along the water-front of his fine estate in one season.

 

The Suburbs.

 

     The pleasure of boating at Pensacola is not confined to fishing or idly rolling on the mighty waves, or smoothly ploughing the placid waters; but added to these charms are the numerous places in the vicinity.   The stranger who may visit it will not wonder at finding first on this list Santa Rosa Island.  Upon its beach, mid-day in its overflowing brilliancy makes the beholder feel as if according to Milton, "another morn had risen on mid-noon."   The sunset comes with a splendor and glory unknown to more northern climates.   As the ever-moving waves roll, with permeated and ever-varying colors, upon the snow-white sand, one feels the awful supremacy of the Almighty, and the littleness of man in a manner conveyed by no other sight in nature.   While on the Island, very few visitors fail to find an interest in collecting shells and sea-beans.   Then comes a visit to Fort Pickens.  This grand and historic old edifice, though denuded of a portion of the iron dogs of war that used to bay, not "sleep-mouthed welcome home," but roars of defiance, still possesses a multitude of pleasant and interesting sights and objects that make a visit there both profitable and agreeable.   

 

      One of the suburbs, so far as the tourist is concerned , is the New Florida Chautauqua at Lake de Funiak, and although it is 80 miles distant on the Pensacola & Atlantic Railroad, space and time are annihilated by the excellent road-bed and modern-built cars, and the excursion tickets are exceedingly reasonable.   Upon the highest land in the State, in an atmosphere laden only with the health-giving aroma of the rich, resinous pine, abundantly supplied with the purest spring water, a score of miles from mud and swamp, is this the healthiest spot in all the States.   The lake, considering its regularity of form, the purity and clearness of its water and the symmetry of its banks, its remarkable depth, upon a location 275 feet above the sea, is perhaps the most beautiful in the State.   Although small, it is perfectly adapted to the purposes of the Assembly.  With illuminated fleets, colored fountains, fireworks, and floating concerts, the lake may be caused to seem a veritable fairyland or rival in weirdness and splendor the scenes portrayed at the mother Chautauqua, in New York.

 

      Across the bay from Pensacola is the Navy Yard, and just west of the Navy Yard is Fort Barrancas.   Both are beautiful, and will interest the most indifferent.   Added to the novelties to be seen, is the delightful society enjoyed by all who know the hospitable and intelligent officers of both the garrisons.  Below Barrancas is the Pensacola Lighthouse.   Near by is Fort McRae, once familiar with the Apomp and circumstance of glorious war,@ but where now the solemn bat reigns supreme, in a silence only broken by the never-ceasing roll of the mighty ocean, as the wild waves dash upon its once proud walls.   Years ago it was built upon a foundation which seemed as enduring as granite, but the Gulf threatened, and for a time its fall was averted by the construction of an immense sea wall.   The rolling waters could not be withstood.   It is at McRae that the searcher after shells and other marine treasures is most successful.

 

    The Southern Pottery Works, Mr. J. H. Kohler proprietor, is well worth a visit.   The clay of which the wares are made is said to be as fine as Jersey clay, if not better.

 

     The Alderney Dairy at AFairnie Hill,@ which was established in 1883, will be a surprise to those who say that they never saw fine stock in Florida.   Here are found sixty head of fine Jersey stock, and the only registered Jerseys in the county.   Fairnie Hill embraces not only a dairy but a truck farm, and comprises twenty acres on which is an elegant residence, to which leads a boulevard two miles in length, lined on either side with trees, and the finest in the State.   It is the model dairy farm of West Florida, and is owned by Mr. J. W. Stoddart of New York, and managed by Mr. J. Emmet Wolfe of Pensacola.

 

     With the old Spanish fort, the pretty villages of Milton and Bagdad, the Life Oak Plantation, Kupfrian=s Park, Magnolia Park, bays, bayous, sounds and rivers, the list might be extended indefinitely.

 

      As the tourist stands on that eminence which is surmounted by old forts, immediately in the rear and above the residential part of the city, he sees at his feet the residence of General Edward A. Perry, the present Governor of Florida; that fine architectural beauty, the New Continental Hotel, made conspicuous by its surrounding grounds, and from the flag-staff of which floats the emblem of freedom.   At the left and in the foreground is the Union Depot, a credit to the city, where are situated the executive offices of Col. W. D. Chipley, the Vice President and Land Commissioner of the Pensacola & Atlantic Railroad.  In the centre foreground towers the dome of the new Escambia County Court House, while farther on are seen the massive Pensacola Opera House, the Merchants= Bank, the new Custom House, and the business centre of Palafox Street, at the extreme end of which lies the wharves; and out in the scintillated waters of the beautiful bay, hundreds of ships from all parts of the world, whose thicket of masts fringes the water-front of the city.  From the liberty pole in the public square floats the signal which calls the hundreds of stevedores at work in the bay from labor to refreshments.   In the southern horizon the bold shores of Santa Rosa Island across the bay are seen, while still farther beyond skirt the beautiful blue waters of the Gulf.   As he contemplates this lovely landscape and scene of business activity, he turns he steps toward that elegant caravansary provided for him through the forethought and enterprise of the representative  men of the city, and marks Pensacola and her surroundings on the tablets of his memory as the fairest spot in that Land of Flowers which gems the bosom of the sea.