This building was designed by Steven Fulgham and built in 1932 for Guy Spearman and his Crystal Ice Company. It is still located today at 2024 North Davis Street in Pensacola and still has the stucco "icicles" and a polar bear sculpture on the roof. Spearman would later found the Spearman Brewing Company located on Barrancas Avenue. The ice company used it to sell ice to travelers that were passing through Pensacola. Its construction resembles a huge block of Arctic ice and is the only one of three vernacular roadside buildings in Pensacola that has survived (others were at 501 East Gadsden Street and 638 North "O" Street). The passing motorists would stop under the canopy and indicate to an attendant (using hand signals that are still visible in relief on the building's exterior wall) how much ice they wanted.
According to the US National Historic Register, "By the 1920s, refrigerators began to appear in affluent households, reducing the need for manufactured ice. Refrigerators remained expensive, however, and in many middle and lower income areas the 'ice box' (non-electrical) was a common appliance through the 1930's and 1940's. Spearman oriented his marketing toward these lower income neighborhoods, and established three dealerships in black neighborhoods. The Crystal Ice dealership was a fanciful, but efficient building.
The impact of the automobile on society is readily apparent in Crystal Ice Company's emphasis on drive through service. The building's stucco icicles and polar bear instantly conveyed the purpose of the building to passing motorists. Customers could drive up nearly to the door of the building, flash one of the convenient hand signals carved, and be quickly and efficiently served. The Crystal Ice Company continued to operate until 1970. With the death of Guy Spearman, the company was purchased by the Connohio Corporation and the dealerships closed. The other two dealerships have since been demolished."
Pensacola Crystal Ice Company 1932
Pensacola Crystal Ice Company 1930's
Hand signals used by motorist buying ice from Crystal Ice Company
Crystal Ice Company station as it appears in 2019
Guy Maxwell Spearman Sr. (1884-1966)