Seville Square Historic District

Seville Square Historic District Review

Established in 1559, this is the site of Pensacola's first permanent Spanish settlement (it beat St. Augustine's by six years). Its center is Seville Square, a live oak-shaded park bounded by Alcaniz, Adams, Zaragoza, and Government streets. Roam these brick streets past honeymoon cottages and homes set in a parklike setting. Many buildings have been converted into restaurants, offices, and shops that overlook broad Pensacola Bay and coastal road U.S. 98, which provides access to the Gulf Coast and beaches.

Historic Pensacola Village. Within the Seville Square Historic District is this complex of several museums and historic homes whose indoor and outdoor exhibits trace the area's history back 450 years. The Museum of Industry (200 E. Zaragoza St.), in a late-19th-century warehouse, is home to permanent exhibits dedicated to the lumber, maritime, and shipping industries—once mainstays of Pensacola's economy. A reproduction of a 19th-century streetscape is displayed in the Museum of Commerce (201 E. Zaragoza St.). Also in the village are the Julee Cottage (210 E. Zaragoza St.), the "first home owned by a free woman of color"; the 1871 Dorr House (311 S. Adams St.); and the 1805 French-Creole Lavalle House (205 E. Church St.).

Strolling through the area gives you a good (and free) look at many architectural styles, but to enter some of the buildings you must purchase an all-inclusive ticket at the Village gift shop in the Tivoli High House—which was once in the city's red-light district but now is merely a calm reflection of a restored home. A guided tour (at 11, 1, and 2:30 and lasting 60-90 minutes) lets you experience the history of Pensacola as you visit the Lavalle House, Dorr House, Old Christ Church, and 1890s Lear-Rocheblave House. Tivoli High House, 205 E. Zaragoza St., 32591. www.historicpensacola.org. $6. Tues.-Sat. 10-4.