200 Block S Palafox
Marker #20
The United States Government erected a new Customs House and Post Office at 223 S Palafox Street in 1887 after the previous building was lost in the December 1880 fire. This Renaissance Revival style building was designed by the Supervising Architect of the United States Treasury Department, Mifflin E. Bell and features a limestone exterior and marble interior. The building cost $200,000 and was one of the largest buildings on Palafox, until the construction of the Thiesen Building in 1901. This building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
![](https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-226-S-Palafox-American-National-Bank-1908.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=e265bef8a5a58d89bc052f16e20e0224 320w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-226-S-Palafox-American-National-Bank-1908.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=1535b043c105b48d2f27bdcf4f588abc 540w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-226-S-Palafox-American-National-Bank-1908.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=5bbe731c6356631b4dfd569930a6aae7 768w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-226-S-Palafox-American-National-Bank-1908.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=88a86e4187fb854dbb8daf724c332ed1 1024w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-226-S-Palafox-American-National-Bank-1908.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=e2a419f5a768e93cce4e37ac059334a9 1200w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-226-S-Palafox-American-National-Bank-1908.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1440&s=6c5ea93305d4c30dbeb8e8e8b1bfad16 1440w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-226-S-Palafox-American-National-Bank-1908.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1920&s=56d6cbdea005577a29be88fc4a81867a 1474w)
As the economy of Pensacola grew in the early 1890s from to the success of the lumber industry and the port, banking became an important part of commerce. Two of the most notable bank buildings are the First National Bank (1906) at 213 S Palafox in the Neo-Classical style and the American National Bank (1909) at 226 S Palafox in the Sullivanesque Style. The American National Bank, now Seville Tower, is eleven-stories and was once the tallest building in Florida. The large mural on Seville Tower is a watercolor painting by Herbert Rudeen commissioned by Mr. & Mrs. Burney M. Henderson. The ships in the painting are named after his wife and two daughters Elizabeth, Katherine, and Jane. The scene is at Pensacola Wharf, circa 1890.
Just off the A1S Trail: Stops along the African American Heritage Trail
![](https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-St-Josephs-Catholic-Church-1910.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=1aab367ea661542db1372f765bf9c87f 320w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-St-Josephs-Catholic-Church-1910.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=94ab436d5db2e7b58dbe30bf21da22f9 540w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-St-Josephs-Catholic-Church-1910.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=54ae884e4175e9d92f7dbefdeb910ecb 768w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-St-Josephs-Catholic-Church-1910.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=bff51d395a82d49bfaf14c824c455de5 1024w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-St-Josephs-Catholic-Church-1910.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=34e155b1d23182524815111406420c0a 1200w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-St-Josephs-Catholic-Church-1910.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1440&s=5a319e5adbc1a880799ad685ed70cbb4 1440w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-St-Josephs-Catholic-Church-1910.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1920&s=5029688fa26768f66876fd42850c0d7e 1920w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-St-Josephs-Catholic-Church-1910.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=2560&s=aae4c9101aa12dd6a2586f29e587117d 2560w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-St-Josephs-Catholic-Church-1910.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=3840&s=52b9e79fd62ff5c69c3f493046768fb3 2957w)
Located at 140 W Government Street, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church was built exclusively for the use of Creoles and African-Americans in Pensacola. Prior to 1892, black and white Catholics attended St. Michael’s Church. During the 1880s, a daughter of a freed slave, Mrs. Mercedes Sunday Ruby, organized the St. Joseph’s Society, which helped lobby and raise money for the construction of a new church. In 1894, a brick Gothic Revival church was built that had seating for 600 people. The brick exterior would later be covered in stucco and scored to resemble large stone blocks.
![](https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-The-Colored-Citizen.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=320&s=97ac29266bc7130ee8fb2cda6f40e39b 320w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-The-Colored-Citizen.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=540&s=d3b3beb5034d73d9998247ba11edf1ba 540w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-The-Colored-Citizen.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=768&s=f8605649f96c7b1400837ad16ba3da7f 768w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-The-Colored-Citizen.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1024&s=5a49ef6b047e00428a714feecea7d31d 1024w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-The-Colored-Citizen.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1200&s=a3b1b9fd6db968e3af3351006dc71e96 1200w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-The-Colored-Citizen.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1440&s=e0352aa0b23e4d398087c91cb8b47fe7 1440w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-The-Colored-Citizen.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=1920&s=adbb603ba569fec77b7032a997ef03c1 1920w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-The-Colored-Citizen.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=2560&s=4d5106ff4ffee549f8fd941d32e15b60 2560w, https://pensacola.imgix.net/images/a1s-trail/Stop-2-The-Colored-Citizen.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&position=50%2050&q=80&w=3840&s=64348ea183b67d75a505d8a68e5dfd5d 3840w)
203 S Baylen was built in 1898 by Christian Thiesen and was used as a cigar factory and oyster wholesale business. From 1916 – 1952, the building was the publishing office for “The Colored Citizen,” a prominent and respected newspaper for the African American community.