North Palafox
Marker #17
St. Michael’s Basilica (Historic Marker)
First Methodist Church at 1 N Palafox before San Carlos (Historic Marker)
San Carlos (Historic Marker)
San Carlos Mural
Rex and ISIS theatres
St. Michael Catholic Parish traces its foundation to Don Tristán DeLuna’s landing on August 14, 1559. Accompanied by five priests of the Dominican Order and one lay brother, the first Catholic Mass in what is the United States was celebrated at the landing site of August 15, 1559, the feast of the Assumption of Mary. After a lapse of years, the Catholic Church’s presence was officially established on May 10, 1781 by Fr. Cyril de Barcelona, the chaplain to the Galvez armada. From the first church in an old warehouse on Pensacola’s waterfront, St. Michael has been a continuous Catholic presence. Three additional St. Michael churches were built along today’s Jefferson Street over the next 100 years. The last of those churches was destroyed by fire in September 1882. This current site had been purchased in May 1882, and church construction completed in March 1886 and dedicated on June 6, 1886. Pope Benedict XVI elevated St. Michael Church to the status of a Minor Basilica on December 28, 2011 thus honoring the architectural and historic significance of both church and parish in the history of northwest Florida. The Basilica of St. Michael stands as a witness to the honor and glory of God in the Heart of Pensacola.
![First Methodist Church, ca. 1900, UWF Historic Trust](https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-First-Methodist-Church-1-N-Palafox-1900s.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=de5e9e0986c50018b1fb899eac731fda 320w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-First-Methodist-Church-1-N-Palafox-1900s.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=26f974faaf4eb64aeb34da9911005eb1 540w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-First-Methodist-Church-1-N-Palafox-1900s.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=7034dec5ef079331ab8ee7ce468eff37 768w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-First-Methodist-Church-1-N-Palafox-1900s.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=bfc3e5d92e1c1ec13d8d5d2dfb2b2a56 1024w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-First-Methodist-Church-1-N-Palafox-1900s.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=0e394deb5e7e2ccac8ee9ad53d8fdd13 1200w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-First-Methodist-Church-1-N-Palafox-1900s.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1440&s=0aeeda2848f93ebb18f3559d8e2d59be 1440w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-First-Methodist-Church-1-N-Palafox-1900s.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1920&s=df6057e15ca730bf36529322c5d165ee 1920w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-First-Methodist-Church-1-N-Palafox-1900s.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=2560&s=44f86caf800b254f3363ddf462a0ad22 2560w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-First-Methodist-Church-1-N-Palafox-1900s.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=3840&s=4495392b68767aac06928f2e6cc63ef2 3803w)
Pensacola’s first Methodist congregation was established in 1821 by Alexander Talley, M. D. It met in a series of small, wood frame churches until 1881, when construction of a three-story, Romanesque Revival sanctuary was begun on this site. Service began here in 1884, but the building was not completed until 1890. The handsome red brick bell tower and gabled entrance portico of the church marked this corner of Palafox Street until 1909, when the property was sold and the congregation moved to a larger facilities on East Wright Street.
San Carlos Hotel
![](https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-San-Carlos-Hotel-1920s.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=240&q=80&w=320&s=ad9ba320c32e09949c8895e1eae43786 320w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-San-Carlos-Hotel-1920s.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=405&q=80&w=540&s=8884cb2e4fe6a67a906b82c7c987b572 540w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-San-Carlos-Hotel-1920s.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=576&q=80&w=768&s=b43f19b74c940a5c9e7c91fc461e961e 768w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-San-Carlos-Hotel-1920s.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=768&q=80&w=1024&s=ea6ce74b8b9505ebd8494d888f03d2a8 1024w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-San-Carlos-Hotel-1920s.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=900&q=80&w=1200&s=7927f10c80feb5c26e0539148930e829 1200w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-San-Carlos-Hotel-1920s.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1080&q=80&w=1440&s=bef54c83b59638770b5f33b40d903056 1440w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-San-Carlos-Hotel-1920s.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1440&q=80&w=1920&s=17dbcf7cc577da1dbefc1494e6a93efd 1920w)
The imposing, seven-story San Carlos Hotel opened on this site in 1910 as the city’s largest and most elegant hotel. Designed by the well known New York architect W. L . Stoddard, it was built by the local firm of C. H. Turner Construction Co. at a cost of $500,000. Its simple masonry design was embellished with Renaissance Revival exterior details. It was extensively “modernized” and expanded from 157 to 403 rooms in 1920s, and continued to dominate the Palafox streetscape for the next 50 years. Increasing competition and gradual deterioration led to its closing in 1982. It was demolished in 1993.
Pictured | San Carlos Hotel, 1920s, UWF Historic Trust
The San Carlos hotel, nicknamed “Gray Lady” due to its pearly-gray stucco exterior, sat at the corner of Palafox and Garden Streets. Built with over 150 rooms, she underwent an expansion in 1927 which brought the room total to over 500. Sadly, the Gray Lady closed in 1982, then was demolished in 1993 due to deterioration. Learn more about POP: Murals.
Isis Theatre and the Rex Theatre
![Rex Theater](https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/Stop-5-Rex-1937.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=240&q=80&w=320&s=37722504469cf28b18a4881cb94f2ae2 320w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/Stop-5-Rex-1937.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=405&q=80&w=540&s=cb09713264dba826b4a0adb602d97adb 540w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/Stop-5-Rex-1937.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=576&q=80&w=768&s=d0c0c273a211b45d58fd667a3bae90a9 768w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/Stop-5-Rex-1937.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=768&q=80&w=1024&s=fa97f6b61bdacd60dac39ec5d7846e4a 1024w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/Stop-5-Rex-1937.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=900&q=80&w=1200&s=2118be52b32556e8ecfa7ebc4eae2199 1200w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/Stop-5-Rex-1937.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1080&q=80&w=1440&s=542ab8a66058dd134fd175baae9ac23d 1440w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/Stop-5-Rex-1937.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1440&q=80&w=1920&s=21bed7d98b6c8494d65dad0547566e43 1920w)
Looking east across N Palafox Street, two early theatre buildings can be seen: the Isis Theatre (2 N Palafox) and the Rex Theatre (18 N Palafox). The Isis Theatre was built in 1913 and later acquired by the Saenger Amusement Company in 1935. This small theatre was the ‘sister theater’ to the Saenger, which sent overflow guests to this location. The building the Rex Theatre occupied was built in 1910 as the Rhodes-Collins Furniture Company. The building was converted to the Rex Theatre in 1937, by the Saenger Amusement Company, which used the building as a second-run movie theatre. In 2014, the Rex was renovated and the original Art Deco façade was preserved.
Pictured | Rex Theatre, 1937
![](https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-ISIS-1945.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=240&q=80&w=320&s=1d82413088efb0e6c5855a399fbdb8ba 320w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-ISIS-1945.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=405&q=80&w=540&s=0d749a34999218d8e7cbefc42f89da2c 540w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-ISIS-1945.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=576&q=80&w=768&s=83191358dc65093b5b30c263c258be61 768w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-ISIS-1945.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=768&q=80&w=1024&s=23a7678ea30b82b476c2edddc7963fcc 1024w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-ISIS-1945.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=900&q=80&w=1200&s=635b5d525187c0f262fd93db4ad2773e 1200w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-ISIS-1945.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1080&q=80&w=1440&s=004a07d39414cfc201e0ec537baf79a0 1440w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-5-ISIS-1945.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&crop=focalpoint&fit=min&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1440&q=80&w=1920&s=6c6773632ab803acfd0aee781a7cf8ca 1920w)
Pictured | ISIS Theatre, 1945