100 block N Palafox, east side

This site was once the location of the Escambia County Courthouse from 1885-1937. The courthouse and adjacent county offices were built in the Victorian Romanesque style, using brick and Vermont marble. In 1938, the building was demolished and replaced by the United States Post Office and Courthouse.

By the late 1930s, the Old Escambia County Courthouse that was located on this site had fallen into disrepair. Escambia County traded properties with the U. S. Customs House and the old courthouse was demolished in 1938. Architect Rudolph Stanley-Brown, designed the building to represent a mix of modern Art Deco with the Spanish Eclectic style. This is the only federal building in Pensacola to be authorized by the Public Buildings Act of 1926 and constructed as part of the Public Works Administration program. The building cost around $330,000 to build and was constructed using concrete and steel.

In 2010, the building was named in memory of Judge Winston E. Arnow, who served as a judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida. In 1969, he ordered the Escambia County School District desegregation. In 1979, ruled in favor of the establishment of single-member districts, resulting in African-Americans winning elections to the Pensacola City Council, Escambia County Commission, and Escambia County School Board.

Learn more about the African American Trail