Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola (IPA: ) is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 51,923. Pensacola is the principal city of the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area, an area with about 455,102 residents in 2009.

Pensacola was founded in 1559 by a Spanish explorer named Tristán de Luna y Arellano. It was officially America's first settlement. After about 116 years of Spanish rule, the French took control over Pensacola from 1719 to 1722. The colony was then passed to the British who seized control of Pensacola temporarily through the Peace of Paris. Pensacola was also named the capital of the new British Colony. During the Civil War, Pensacola was a part of the Confederacy. The United States later regained control, and Pensacola was once again a part of the union on May 1862.

Pensacola is a sea port on Pensacola Bay, which connects to the Gulf of Mexico. A large United States Naval Air Station, the first in the United States, is located southwest of Pensacola (near the community of Warrington) and is home to the Blue Angels flight demonstration team and the National Naval Aviation Museum. The main campus of the University of West Florida is situated north of the city center.

Pensacola is nicknamed "The City of Five Flags" due to the five governments that have flown flags over it during its history: the flags of Spain (Castile), France, Great Britain, the Confederate States of America, and the United States. Other nicknames include "World's Whitest Beaches" (due to the white sand prevalent along beaches in the Florida panhandle), "Cradle of Naval Aviation" (Naval Air Station Pensacola is the home of both the legendary Blue Angels and the National Museum of Naval Aviation), "Western Gate to the Sunshine State", "America's First Settlement", "Emerald Coast", "Redneck Riviera", "Red Snapper Capital of the World", and "P-Cola".

History


The original inhabitants of the Pensacola Bay area were Native American peoples. At the time of European contact, a Muskogean-speaking tribe known to the Spanish as the Pensacola lived in the region. This name is not recorded until 1677, but the tribe appear to be the source of the name "Pensacola" for the bay and thence the city. The area's recorded history begins in the 16th century, when the first European explorers arrived. Pensacola Bay was visited by the expeditions of Pánfilo de Narváez in 1528 and Hernando de Soto in 1539, at which time it was known as the Bay of Ochuse.



In 1559, Tristán de Luna y Arellano landed with over 1,400 people on 11 ships from VeraCruz, Mexico. A notable early attempt to settle in Florida, the purpose of the expedition was to establish an outpost, called by de Luna Ochuse, from which to launch further efforts to colonize Santa Elena (present-day Parris Island, South Carolina.) However, the colony was decimated by a hurricane on September 19, 1559, which killed hundreds, sank five ships, grounded a caravel, and ruined supplies. The 1,000 survivors divided to relocate/resupply the settlement, but due to famine and attacks, the effort was abandoned in 1561. About 240 people sailed to Santa Elena, but another storm hit there, so they sailed to Cuba and scattered. The remaining 50 at Pensacola were taken back to Mexico, and the Viceroy's advisers concluded northwest Florida was too dangerous to settle, a view which stood for 135 years.

In the late 17th century, however, the French began exploring the lower Mississippi River with the intention of colonizing the region as part of Louisiana. Fearful that these overtures would threaten Spanish territory in both Florida and Mexico, the Spanish determined to found a new settlement to check the French. In 1698 they finally established a fortified town near what is now Fort Barrancas, laying the foundation for the modern city of Pensacola. The Spanish built three presidios in Pensacola:
 * Presidio Santa Maria de Galve (1698–1719): the presidio included fort San Carlos de Austria (east of present Fort Barrancas) and a village with church;
 * Presidio Isla de Santa Rosa (1722–1752): this next presidio was on Santa Rosa Island near the site of present Fort Pickens, but hurricanes battered the island in 1741 and 1752, and the presidio was closed and moved to the mainland;
 * Presidio San Miguel de Panzacola (1754–1763): the final presidio was about five miles east of the first presidio, over in the present-day historic district of downtown Pensacola, named from "Panzacola".

The Spanish ceded Florida to the British in 1763 as a result of the French and Indian War, and Pensacola was made capital of the new British colony of West Florida. From 1763, the British went back to the mainland area of fort San Carlos de Barrancas, building the Royal Navy Redoubt. After Spain joined the American Revolution late, in 1779, the Spanish captured the city in the 1781 Battle of Pensacola, gaining control of West Florida. After the war the British officially ceded both West Florida and East Florida to Spain. In 1819 Spain and the United States negotiated the Adams-Onis Treaty, in which Spain sold the Floridas to the United States for US$5 million. In 1821, with Andrew Jackson as provisional governor, Pensacola became part of the United States.

St. Michael's Cemetery was established in the 18th century at a location which was located in a south central part of the city that would become the Downtown area. Initially owned by the Church of St. Michael, it is now owned and managed by St. Michael's Cemetery Foundation of Pensacola, Inc. Preliminary studies indicate that there are over 3200 marked burials as well as a large number unmarked.

Archaeologically, the best known Pensacola Culture site is the Bottle Creek site, a large site located on a low swampy island north of Mobile, Alabama. This site has at least 18 earthen mounds; 5 of which are arranged around a central plaza. Its main occupation was from 1250 to 1550 CE. It was a ceremonial center for the Pensacola people, and a gateway to their society. This site seems like an unlikely place to find a ceremonial center due to the fact that it is surrounded by swamps and is difficult to reach on foot. However, it would have been easy access by a dugout canoe, the main mode of transportation available to the people who built the Bottle Creek site. (Archaeology of Native North America, 2010, Dean R. Snow, Prentice-Hall, New York. pp. 248– 249)

Topography
Pensacola is located at 30.43694°N, -87.20917°W (30.436988, -87.209277). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 39.7 sqmi, consisting of 22.7 sqmi of land and 17.0 sqmi (42.77%) water.

Climate
The climate of Pensacola is humid subtropical (Köppen Cfa), with short, mild winters and hot, humid summers. Typical summer conditions have highs in the lower 90s °F (32-34 °C) and lows in the mid 70s (23-24 °C). Afternoon or evening thunderstorms are common during the summer months. Due partly to the coastal location, temperatures above 100 °F are rare, and last occurred in June 2011, when two of the first four days of the month recorded highs of over 100 °F. The hottest temperature ever recorded in the city was 106 °F on July 14, 1980.

The average high in January is 61.2 °F, and the low is 42.8 °F, though freezing temperatures occur on an average fifteen nights per season. Temperatures below 20 °F rarely occur, and last occurred in January 2003, when a low of 18 °F was seen. The coldest temperature ever recorded in the city was 5 °F on January 21, 1985.

Snow is rare in Pensacola, but does occasionally fall. The most recent snow event occurred on February 12, 2010. The city receives 64.28 in of precipitation per year, with a rainy season in the summer. The rainiest month is July, with 8.02 in, with April being the driest month at 3.89 in. In June 2012 over 12 inches of rain fell on Pensacola and adjacent areas, leading to widespread flooding.

Hurricanes
Pensacola's location on the Florida Panhandle makes it vulnerable to hurricanes. Major hurricanes which have made landfall at or near Pensacola include Eloise (1975), Frederic (1979), Juan (1985), Erin (1995), Opal (1995), Georges (1998), Ivan (2004), and Dennis (2005).

Pensacola and several surrounding areas were devastated by Hurricane Ivan. Pensacola found itself on the eastern side of the eyewall, which sent a large storm surge into Escambia Bay that eventually destroyed most of the I-10 Escambia Bay Bridge. The storm heavily damaged the bridge. It knocked 58 spans off of the eastbound and westbound bridges and misaligned another 66 spans causing the bridge to close to traffic in both directions. The surge also destroyed the fishing bridge that spanned Pensacola Bay alongside the Phillip Beale Memorial Bridge, locally known as the Three Mile Bridge.

Over six billion dollars in damage occurred in the metro area and more than 10,000 homes were destroyed, with another 27,000 heavily damaged. NASA created a comparison image to illustrate the massive damage. Hurricane Ivan drove up the cost of housing in the area, leading to a severe shortage of affordable housing. In July 2005, Hurricane Dennis made landfall just east of the city, sparing it the blow it had received from Ivan the year before. However, hurricane and near-hurricane force winds were recorded in downtown, causing moderate damage.

Although Pensacola only received a glancing blow from 2005's devastating Hurricane Katrina, light to moderate damage was reported in the area. Katrina also undermined a large percentage of Pensacola's tourist base from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

Statistics
Cantonment Clinch began providing meteorological observations in the 1830s. Observations from the Pensacola area continued intermittently over the next several decades. Weather statistics today originate at the airport.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 56,255 people, 24,524 households, and 14,665 families residing in the city, and 402,000 people in the Pensacola MSA. The population density was 2,478.7 people per square mile (956.8/km²). There were 26,995 housing units at an average density of 1,189.4 per square mile (459.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city is 64.91% White, 30.58% African American, 1.77% Asian, 0.52% Native American, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.54% from other races, and 1.61% from two or more races. 2.07% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 24,524 households out of which 24.6% had children living with them, 39.7% were married couples living together, 16.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.92.

Out of the total population in Pensacola, 45.9% identify with a religion, slightly lower than the national average of 48.34%. Over 48% of Pensacolians who practice a religion consider themselves Baptists (22.14% of all city residents). Other Christian denominations include Roman Catholics (9.22% of city residents), Pentecostal (3.82%), Methodist (3.77%), Episcopalian (1.11%), Presbyterian (1.08%), and Orthodox (0.30%).

Pensacola is home to a small (0.15% of city residents) but significant Jewish community, whose roots stretch back to the mid-to-late 19th century. The first Florida chapter of B'nai Brith was founded downtown in 1874, as well as the first temple, Beth-El, in 1876. Paula Ackerman, the first woman who performed rabbinical functions in the United States, was a Pensacola native and led services at Beth-El. Apart from the Reform Beth-El, Pensacola is also served by the Conservative B'nai Israel Synagogue.

Longtime opposition to annexation in the areas surrounding the city has held its 2000 Census population figure at 56,255.

Architecture
Pensacola does not have a prominent skyline, but it does have several low-rise buildings. The tallest is the 15 floor Crowne Plaza Grand Hotel, which stands at 146 feet. Other tall buildings include the Scenic Apartments (98 feet), SunTrust Tower (96 feet), Seville Tower (88 feet), and the AT&T Building (76 feet).

Historic buildings in Pensacola include the First National Bank Building.

Personal income
The median income for a household in the city was $34,779, and the median income for a family was $42,868. Males had a median income of $32,258 versus $23,582 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,438. About 12.7% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.2% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

Military
The city has been referred to as "The Cradle of Naval Aviation". Naval Air Station Pensacola (NASP) was the first Naval Air Station commissioned by the U.S. Navy in 1914. Tens of thousands Naval Aviators have received their training there including John H. Glenn, USMC who became the first American to orbit the earth in 1962 and Neil Armstrong who became the first man to set foot on the moon in 1969. The Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, is stationed there.

The National Museum of Naval Aviation is located on the Naval Air Station and is free to the public. The museum cares for and exhibits hundreds of vintage Naval Aviation aircraft and preserves the history of Naval Aviation through displays, symposiums, IMAX movies and tours.

Corry Station Naval Technical Training Center serves as an annex for the main base and the Center for Information Dominance. CW03 Gary R. Schuetz Memorial Health Clinic is at Corry Station, Naval Hospital Pensacola, as is the main Navy Exchange and Defense Commissary Agency commissary complex for both Corry Station and NAS Pensacola. The Army National Guard B Troop 1-153 Cavalry is stationed in Pensacola.

Hospitals

 * Baptist Health Care
 * Gulf Breeze Hospital − Baptist Health Care
 * Naval Hospital − United States Navy
 * Sacred Heart Hospital − Sacred Heart Health System
 * Santa Rosa Medical Center −
 * West Florida Hospital − West Florida Healthcare
 * Nemours Children's Clinic

Tourism
There are a number of annual festivals, events, historic tours, and landmarks. The Pensacola Seafood Festival and The Pensacola Crawfish Festival held in the heart of historic Downtown has been held for nearly 30 years with live music acts. The Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival is held annually in November in Seville Square often drawing more than 200 regional and international artists as well as The Children's Art Festival which is held in the same park featuring art by children from local area schools.

There are several walking tours of the historic 18th century era restored neighborhoods.

Pensacola is the site of The Vietnam Veteran's Wall South. There are a number of historical military installations from the Civil War including Fort Barrancas. Fort Pickens served as a temporary prison for Geronimo. There is the National Naval Aviation Museum and Pensacola Lighthouse at NAS Pensacola.

Law and government
The City of Pensacola is governed by an elected City Council with nine seats, two of which are considered "at large." The city government also has an elected mayor; Ashton Hayward. The current City Hall was opened in 2006.

Politics
Like other parts of the South during Reconstruction, Pensacola was solidly Republican for years after the Civil War. The Republican government had numerous African American politicians, including several county commissioners, city aldermen, constables, state representatives, and even one African American Mayor—Salvador Pons. However, with the 1884 election of native Pensacolan and former Confederate General Edward Perry, a dramatic shift occurred. Perry, a Democrat who actually lost the Escambia County vote during the state-wide election, acted to dissolve the Republican city government of Pensacola and in 1885 replaced this government with hand-picked successors, including railroad magnate William D. Chipley. The only African American to remain in city government was George Washington Witherspoon, a pastor with the African Methodist Episcopal Church who was previously a Republican and switched parties to the Democrats. Following Governor Perry's dissolution of the Republican government, the city remained Democratic for more than a century after the Civil War with no African Americans serving in an elected capacity for nearly a century.

As was the case in most of Florida, the Democratic primary was the real contest for most state and local elections until the 1970s. However, from the 1960s onward, the staunchly conservative military and Bible Belt city became increasingly Republican at the national level. Despite this, Democrats continued to win most elections at the state and local level well into the 1990s, though most of them were very conservative even by Southern Democratic standards.

This changed in 1994, when Republican attorney Joe Scarborough defeated Vince Whibbs, Jr. the son of popular former Democratic mayor Vince Whibbs, in a landslide to represent Florida's 1st congressional district, which is based in Pensacola. Republicans also swept all of the area's seats in the state legislature, the majority of which were held by Democrats. Since then, Republicans have dominated every level of government, although municipal elections are officially nonpartisan. In August 2005, registered Republicans outnumbered Democrats for the first time in the area's history. As of August 2005, in Escambia County, 44% of the residents are registered Republicans compared to 39.91% of the population having registered as Democrats with another 13.21% having no party affiliation.

In the 2004 presidential election, 65% of Escambia County residents voted for George W. Bush over John Kerry. The Pensacola area has not supported a Democrat for President since John Kennedy in 1960. In 1968, Pensacola and the rest of North Florida supported American Independent Party candidate George Wallace.

Chuck Baldwin, the 2008 presidential nominee of the Constitution Party, is the pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola.

Regional representatives
Pensacola is currently represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by Jeff Miller (R), in the state senate by Don Gaetz (R) and Durell Peaden (R), and in the state house by Clay Ford (R), Dave Murzin (R), and Greg Evers (R).

Libraries
The West Florida Regional Library is a system of libraries with five locations throughout the Pensacola area. They offer fiction and non-fiction books, magazines, books on cassette or CD, DVD and VHS films and music. Each library offers public access computers, children's materials, and a variety of reading materials.

Genealogy and local history resources are available at the geneaology branch near the Pensacola State College. Library staff and various volunteers from the West Florida Genealogy Society are available to help start the research process. The Friends of the Library hold periodic book sales where donated and discarded items are sold to the public. Donations of books or audio-video items in good condition are welcome at the main library on Gregory Street.

Sister cities
According to Sister City International, Pensacola has the following sister cities:
 * 🇵🇪 Chimbote, Peru
 * Escazu, Costa Rica
 * 🇯🇵 Gero, Japan
 * 🇺🇦 Horlivka, Ukraine
 * 🇵🇪 Miraflores, Peru
 * Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Transportation
Major air traffic in the Pensacola and greater northwest Florida area is handled by Pensacola International Airport. Airlines currently serving Pensacola International Airport are Air Tran Airways, American Eagle, ASA, Comair, Continental Airlines, Continental Express, Delta Air Lines, SkyWest Airlines, United Express, and US Airways.

From early 1993 through August 2005 Pensacola was served by the tri-weekly Amtrak Sunset Limited, but service east of New Orleans to Jacksonville and Orlando was suspended due to damage to the rail line of CSX during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Attempts are being made to have service restored. This was previously the route of the Gulf Wind operated by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.

Pensacola is served by Interstate 10 and the Interstate 110 spur connecting I-10 with downtown Pensacola.

Greyhound bus service is also available.

The local bus service is the Escambia County Rosa Parks Transit System. In December 2007, ECAT announced that it would cut many of its routes citing poor rider frequency. However in January 2008, ECAT announced that it would expand service to neighboring Gulf Breeze and change existing routes to more convenient locations.

Education
Public primary and secondary education schools in Pensacola are administered by the Escambia County School District. The current superintendent of schools for Escambia County is Malcolm Thomas. The University of West Florida, which resides north of the city, is the primary tertiary school in the area. UWF also has the largest library in the region, the John C. Pace Library.

Universities and colleges

 * University of West Florida
 * Pensacola State College
 * Troy University - Pensacola
 * Fortis College (private)
 * Pensacola Christian College (private)
 * Virginia College (private)
 * Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - NAS Pensacola



High schools in the City of Pensacola

 * Aletheia Christian Academy
 * East Hill Christian School
 * Escambia High School
 * Pensacola School Of Liberal Arts
 * Pensacola Catholic High School
 * Pensacola High School (Ranked as the 8th best high school in America by Newsweek magazine in 2004.)
 * Washington High School
 * Pine Forest High School
 * Pensacola Christian Academy
 * Tate High School
 * West Florida High School of Advanced Technology

Elementary schools

 * Allie Yniestra Elementary School
 * Bellview Elementary School
 * Beulah Elementary School
 * Blue Angels Elementary School[1]
 * Bratt Elementary School
 * Brownsville Elementary School
 * C.A. Weis Elementary School
 * Carver Century
 * Cordova Park Elementary School
 * Edgewater Elementary School
 * Ensley Elementary School
 * Ferry Pass Elementary School
 * George S. Hallmark Elementary School
 * Hellen Caro Elementary School
 * Holm Elementary School
 * Jim Allen Elementary School
 * Lincoln Park Elementary School
 * Longleaf Elementary School


 * McArthur Elementary School
 * Molino Park Elementary School
 * Montclair Elementary School
 * Myrtle Grove Elementary School
 * N.B. Cook Elementary School
 * Navy Point Elementary School
 * O.J. Semmes Elementary School
 * Oakcrest Elementary School
 * Pine Meadow Elementary School
 * Pleasant Grove Elementary School
 * R.C. Lipscomb Elementary School
 * Scenic Heights Elementary School
 * Sherwood Elementary School
 * Spencer Bibbs Elementary School
 * Warrington Elementary School
 * West Pensacola Elementary School
 * A.K. Suter Elementary School

Music scene and subculture

 * Jim White - singer, songwriter and guitarist
 * This Bike is a Pipe Bomb - a folk-punk band
 * Finite Automata - an industrial band.
 * Mark Gormley - Singer/songwriter who rose to internet fame.
 * Austin Carlile - lead vocalist for Of Mice & Men.
 * Mike McCready - lead guitar player for Pearl Jam.
 * Twothirtyeight - indie rock band
 * Paul Jackson - guitarist & vocalist for southern country rock band Blackberry Smoke

The arts and theatre
There are a number of different performance venues in the Pensacola Area, including the Pensacola Civic Center, often used for big ticket events, and the Saenger Theater, used for performances and mid level events. Other theatres used for live performances, plays and musicals include the Pensacola Little Theatre, Pensacola State College, University of West Florida and Loblolly Theatre. Pensacola is also home to the Pensacola Opera, Pensacola Children's Chorus, Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, and the Choral Society of Pensacola, as well as Ballet Pensacola. There is also the Palafox Place entertainment district.

Pensacola and Pensacola Beach are mentioned in the Jodi Foster movie "Contact", based on the book by Carl Sagan.

Parks and recreation

 * Big Lagoon State Park
 * Perdido Key State Park
 * Tarkiln Bayou Preserve
 * Pensacola Bayfront Stadium
 * Plaza Ferdinand VII

Sports
There are several semiprofessional sports teams, including the Pensacola Lightning NAFL team, the Pensacola Ice Flyers, and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos Double-A Southern League Baseball Team.

Media
The largest daily newspaper in the area is the Pensacola News Journal, with offices on Romana Street in downtown; the News Journal is owned by the Gannett Company. There is an alternative weekly newspaper, the Pensacola Independent News.

Pensacola is also home to WEAR-TV, the ABC affiliate for Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach, and Mobile, Alabama, and WSRE-TV, the local PBS member station, which is operated by Pensacola State College. Other television stations in the market include WALA-TV, the Fox affiliate; WKRG, the CBS affiliate; and WPMI, the NBC affiliate, which all are located in Mobile. Cable service in the city is provided by Cox Communications and AT&T U-Verse. WUWF is the area's NPR affiliate and is based at the University of West Florida.

Pensacola Magazine, the city's monthly glossy magazine, and Northwest Florida's Business Climate, the only business magazine devoted to the region, are published locally. The News Journal also publishes Home & Garden Weekly magazine as well as the monthly Bella, devoted to women.