Founded by Spanish sailor Don Tristan de Luna in 1559, the Pensacola Bay Area was the first European settlement in the New World. Over the centuries, the flags of Spain, Britain, France, the Confederacy and the United States have flown over the “City of Five Flags.”
Located just a few blocks from Pensacola Bay, the Historic Pensacola Village includes 27 properties in the Pensacola National Register Historic District. Eleven of these properties are interpreted facilities that are open to the public.
The T.T. Wentworth, Jr. Florida State Museum, originally the 1908 City Hall building, is a virtual treasure trove of historic artifacts, Americana, and West Florida history. Historic Pensacola Village also includes the Pensacola Children’s Museum, the Voices of Pensacola Multicultural Center, the Museum of Commerce, and other sites.
Also, part of Historic Pensacola Village, Old Christ Church on Seville Square was built by slave labor in 1824. It’s the oldest church in Florida still on its original site. On this site, visitors can see where Union soldiers stabled their horses during the Civil War.
Belmont-Devilliers is a historic neighborhood centered around Belmont and Devilliers streets. This neighborhood was a melting pot for music, food and entertainment during the early 20th century. The Devilliers Cultural Heritage Museum was created as a performing arts venue to showcase local and national blues, gospel and jazz artists.
Said to have been a burial site since the mid-1700s, St. Michael’s Cemetery near the Pensacola Bay Center is one of the only cemeteries in the country that has both nobility and slaves buried side by side.
And that’s just downtown – the National Naval Aviation Museum, the Pensacola Lighthouse and Museum and several waterfront forts are also just a short drive from the heart of the city.
