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Photograph of United States Customs House and Post Office
Photograph by Ebyabe, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

US Customs House and Post Office

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. 10 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1921.

From the record

“Customs House and Post Office, also known as the Escambia County Courthouse, is a historic site in Pensacola, Florida. Built in 1887, it is located at 223 Palafox Place.”

Wikipedia article United States Customs House and Post Office (Pensacola, Florida), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 38 National Register listings published here for Escambia County · listed in 1997 · category: Building.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 223 Palafox Pl., Pensacola, 32502
  • When was it listed? July 1997
  • Category. building
  • Census division. Pensacola
  • Architectural style. Renaissance Revival architecture
  • National Register reference number. 97000659 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1921 to 1994

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 73 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering US Customs House and Post Office, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet covering US Customs House and Post Office, surveyed 1921

Fires near this property

15 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 15 fires within 5 miles of US Customs House and Post Office between 1992 and 2016, burning about 35 acres in total. 1 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Misuse of fire by a minor6
Missing data/not specified/undetermined4
Smoking2
Equipment and vehicle use2
Natural1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
27 August 2000Misuse of fire by a minor6.0 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
7 June 2001Equipment and vehicle use2.5 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
30 June 2006Smokingunder an acreFlorida Forest ServicePLANTATION HILLS FIRE -1058
28 June 2016Misuse of fire by a minor1.0 acresFlorida Forest ServiceHAWTHORN DRIVE (17)
22 June 1995Smoking3.0 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
12 June 2007Natural3.2 acresGulf Island National SeashoreBAYCLIFF
11 June 2011Misuse of fire by a minor2.0 acresFlorida Forest ServiceGUILLEMARD ST (17)
8 May 2007Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreFlorida Forest Service17-SMOKING GOPHER FIRE

Every fire recorded in Escambia County

Mines and quarries near this property

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of US Customs House and Post Office: 4 unknowns, 3 producers, 1 past producer. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Phosphorus-Phosphates, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Agrico Pensacola PlantPhosphorus-PhosphatesUnknown
Alden Clay PitClayPast Producer
Bellview PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Clarks Sand Co. Pensacola MineSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Clark Sand and Gravel - Pensacola MineSandProducer
Edward M. Chadburn, Inc. - Boley MineSandUnknown
Edward M. Chadburn, Inc. - Hollywood MineSandUnknown
Edward M. Chadburn, Inc. - Hughes MineSandUnknown

Every working recorded in Escambia County

Storms near this property

60 of 84 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Pensacola, the town this property stands in, in 84 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 40 thunderstorm wind, 15 flash flood, 12 hail, 10 lightning. The reports record 3 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2004LightningPensacola1 hurtA male was indirectly struck by lightning in west Pensacola. He was a thirty year old male and was transported to the hospital where he was treated and released.
July 2002LightningPensacola1 hurtA male was indirectly struck by lightning near Pensacola. Little information was available about how he was struck. He was taken to a local hospital and was kept for a few days before being released.
July 2011LightningPensacola1 hurtno account filed
October 2001Tornado (F0)Pensacola$250,000An F0 tornado touched down in the Coral Creek Subdivision, along Coral Reef Road. Twenty five homes suffered some degree of roof damage, with three of the homes sustaining major roof damage. Many homes had some window damage, mainly resulting from flying debris. A few homes also had fence damage.
October 2001Thunderstorm WindPensacola$75,000Strong thunderstorm winds produced damage in the Car City area of Pensacola, south of Interstate 10. A garage was damaged in the area as was at least one automobile. In addition, a tree was also blown down, damaging a fence.
April 2015Thunderstorm WindPensacola$50,000Pensacola Regional Airport recorded a 61 mph wind gust at 405 pm.||The severe thunderstorm winds resulted in numerous trees being downed through the city of Pensacola. The downed trees also resulted in damage to some residential fences and a few homes.
July 2002LightningPensacola$50,000Lightning struck the roof of a church and started a fire. The fire burned for six hours before being put out. There was considerable damage to a roof over a sanctuary and smoke damaged most of the church. No one was in the building near where the strike occurred.
August 2001LightningPensacola$50,000A home was struck by lightning and caught on fire. The home was almost completely destroyed before the fire department could put the fire out.
July 2013Thunderstorm WindPensacola$35,000Trees and power lines blown down on Lloyd Street and Scenic Highway.
April 2014Thunderstorm WindPensacola$25,000Winds estimated at 60 mph downed a tree on a house and car.
February 2008Thunderstorm WindPensacola$25,000no account filed
March 2002Thunderstorm WindPensacola$20,000Trees and power lines were blown down and a couple of buildings suffered minor roof damage in Pensacola.
July 2000WildfireWest Pensacola$20,000Lightning started a woods fire in the west part of Pensacola. The fire started in a heavily wooded area and spread toward a sub-division. The fire threatened 150 homes but was brought under control before reaching the homes. No injuries were reported.
January 1999Thunderstorm WindPensacola$15,000An apartment complex sustained roof damage while a vehicle sitting in the parking lot of the same complex sustained damage.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindPensacola$10,000Winds estimated at 65 mph blew a tree down on to a house.
October 2008LightningPensacola$10,000A home was hit by lightning and a fire started. The home only suffered minor damage from the fire.
October 2001Thunderstorm WindPensacola$10,000Trees downed on the east side of Pensacola as thunderstorms moved through the area.
August 2012Thunderstorm WindPensacola$8,000Winds estimated at 60 mph downed a tree on house and downed powerlines.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindPensacola$7,000Thunderstorms produced wind gusts estimated to be 60 to 70 mph near the downtown area. Some powerlines were reported down.
December 2015Thunderstorm WindPensacola$5,000Thunderstorm wind gusts around 60 mph downed several large trees.
June 2012Flash FloodPensacola$5,000Heavy rains caused water to entering 1st floor of baptist hospital. Also numerous area roads were flooded.
August 2012Thunderstorm WindPensacola$5,000Winds estimated at 60 mph blew windows out of a bus at 9th and College Blvd.
August 2012Thunderstorm WindPensacola$5,000Winds estimated at 60 mph downed trees and powerlines.
August 2012Thunderstorm WindPensacola$5,000High winds damaged a Hobby Lobby store on N Davis Highway in Pensacola.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindPensacola$5,000Power lines were blown down in the community as a thunderstorm moved through.
August 2000Thunderstorm WindPensacola$5,000Trees were blown down near I-10 and Pine Forest Road as a thunderstorm move through the area.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindPensacola$5,000High winds blew trees down in Pensacola.
August 1999Thunderstorm WindPensacola$5,000Several trees and power lines were blown down.
October 1997Thunderstorm WindPensacola$5,000Several trees and power lines were blown down near downtown Pensacola. Two vehicles were damaged by falling trees. No injuries were reported.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindPensacola$5,000Thunderstorm winds blew down a few large trees which did minor damage to a house roof and a porch.
July 1996Thunderstorm WindPensacola$3,500no account filed
June 2016Thunderstorm WindPensacola$3,000Winds estimated at 60 mph downed a large tree on the 3700 Block of Cervantes.
October 2008LightningPensacola$3,000Lightning struck a tree and knocked it down. A male, in his middle 70s, was standing near the tree and the strike knocked him down. He was taken to a local hospital, treated and released.
March 2005HailPensacola$3,000Golfball size hail fell from a storm near Pensacola. Several vehicles were damaged by the large hail. The hail lasted for about ten minutes.
January 1998Thunderstorm WindPensacola$3,000A few trees were blown down near downtown Pensacola.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindPensacola$2,000Winds estimated at 60 mph produced damage at the Blue Wahoos Stadium. 200 ft of outfiled wall knocked down...15 porta-johns knocked over and two tents damaged.
September 2011Thunderstorm WindPensacola$2,000Winds estimated at 60 mph downed several large tree limbs across the county.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindPensacola$2,000Winds estimated at 60 mph snapped flag poles and broke trees limbs. Some garbage cans were also tossed around.
December 1995Thunderstorm WindPensacola$2,000Several trees and power lines were blown down in the southeast sections of Pensacola.
June 1996LightningPensacola$2,000no account filed
January 2017Thunderstorm WindPensacola$1,000An awning was blown off of a Pensacola restaurant.
March 2014Thunderstorm WindPensacola$1,000Winds estimated at 60 mph downed tree branches along Gregory street.
May 2012Tornado (EF0)Pensacola$1,000A waterspout moved onshore and caused minor damage to a fence...shed and house.
April 1997Thunderstorm WindPensacola$1,000Several large limbs were blown down in the coastal sections of downtown Pensacola.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindWest Pensacola$1,000Wind gust to 58 mph and dime-size hail was reported two miles east of Lillian, Alabama, on the west side of Pensacola just past the Lillian Bridge.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindPensacola$500Winds blew two to three small boats out of the water near the Bob Sikes Bridge. It could have been a possible waterspout but no one observed or thought they saw one.
April 1995Thunderstorm WindPensacola$500Several trees were blown down in the north sections of Pensacola.
May 2024Flash FloodPensacola-Law enforcement reported flooding at the intersection of L and Garden streets with vehicles stalled in the water.
June 2023Flash FloodPensacola-Heavy rain caused flooding of numerous structures and ongoing highwater rescues ongoing.
June 2023Tornado (EF2)West Pensacola-Damage survey found a very broad area roughly a mile and a half|wide of strong sporadic straight line winds beginning around|Fairfield drive and 52nd Ave in West Pensacola. No visual|convergence was noted until the area near N Old Corry Field Rd|and W Gregory St. Several large limbs were noted and few uproots|at this location in a loosely convergent pattern. This more|concentrated damage continued south-southeast across US 98 to|Barrancas Ave with a several mile wider swath of damaging winds.|The path at this point seems discontinuous with several weak areas|of convergence resulting in likely high end EF-0 damage embedded|within a broader damaging wind swath. A more concentrated area of|convergence appears around Fairway Drive on the north side of the|Pensacola County Club. Several hardwoods had large 2 foot in|diameter branches snapped and several softwood pines were snapped|as a more continuous path extended across the country club and|Bayshore Dr before moving out over Pensacola Bay. ||The tornado then likely continued as a waterspout traversing Pensacola Bay|dodging the western tip of Gulf Breeze before wrapping back|southeast towards Pensacola Beach. The tornado quickly|strengthened as it crossed Fort Pickens Rd near Galvez CT.|Significant damage to homes built to withstand significant|hurricanes was noted and thus damage estimates from this location leaned on|the higher side for given damage indicators. Several of the homes|across a quarter mile swath had damage to siding including|several sides beings completely removed. A few homes lost 20 to|60 percent of metal roofing material even with proper hurricane|code anchors. Several bottom floor garages were completely gutted|as garage doors were blown in and destroyed. Bottom exterior walls|blew out leading to complete exposure of the bottom floors.|Several palm trees across the area were snapped a few feet off the|ground. The most notable damage was right along Fort Pickens Rd|where a house under construction had the entire top floor and|roof removed. This damage was put on the lower end of estimates|as the house was under construction and an opening on the north|side may have helped the failure of the upper walls and floors.|However, a large dumpster likely weighing several hundred pounds|was thrown roughly 50-70 yards due east and was deposited between|two palm trees about 2 feet off the ground. The damage to the|home, dumpster combined with a garage door that failed being|wrapped around a concrete piling resulted in the peak wind|estimate of 120 mph. ||The tornado likely crossed over Fort Pickens Rd and into the |Gulf of Mexico where it likely dissipated. One other interesting |damage note was that at least two boats were tossed on the Pensacola |Bay side. One boat was found about 20-30 yards from the boat lift |upside down in the water. The other boat was thrown off the lift |and was reportedly found near Deer Point about a mile north across |the bay. This boat likely floated over there but still impressive. |There is no damage indicator for boats; however, the sheer |impressiveness helped support the higher rating given the surrounding |damage indicators.
April 2022Thunderstorm WindPensacola-Measured by a personal weather station near Brent Lane and I-10.
July 2022Flash FloodPensacola-A CoCoRaHS observer reported street flooding.
June 2022Flash FloodPensacola-Heavy rain flooded several roads and yards.
June 2021Flash FloodPensacola-Heavy rain caused flooding of several roadways in and around Pensacola.
June 2017Flash FloodWest Pensacola-Reports of knee deep water the the Forest Creek Apartments.
August 2017Flash FloodPensacola-Heavy rains caused flooding in the Pensacola area.
March 2014FloodPensacola-Heavy rain caused numerous reports of street flooding along Creighton Rd, Mobile highway, E and l St intersection, and Garden St.
June 2012Flash FloodPensacola-Heavy rain caused several roads to flood with water starting to get into houses.
July 2012Flash FloodPensacola-Heavy rain caused flooding which closed south-bound I-110 and Brent lane.
November 2010Flash FloodPensacola-Heavy rains flooded the road at North Spring Street.

Every storm recorded in Escambia County

Maps showing this location

10 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
American National Bank Buildingunder 500 feet1978
Plaza Ferdinand VIIunder 500 feet1966
Saenger Theatreunder 500 feet1976
St. Joseph's Church Buildings0.2 miles1979
Lavalle House0.2 miles1971
United States Post Office and Court House0.2 miles2014

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 97000659 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Escambia CountyAll 38 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.