The old Escambia County Courthouse was located on the northeast corner of Palafox and Chase Streets and stood there from 1883 until 1938. It had been built at the cost of $32,000 ($883K today) with the 1895 annex addition at $33,000 ($1.02M). By 1937, it was apparent that a new courthouse was needed to meet the community's needs. Eventually, a deal was made with the Federal government to swap the old vacant courthouse land for the land at 223 South Palafox. There, the county would renovate the former US Post Office building into a new courthouse. During the remodeling, the county officials would occupy into the sixth floor of the Blount building. In its place, the Federal government was to build the new US Post Office, courtroom, and custom house for the price of $485,000.
The old building was an icon for its day and time and had stood for 55 years as a symbol of law and order. According to T. D. Fillingim, after the Civil War there was no court house at all. The county was forced to rent space from citizens to make do. At one time they rented the 2nd story of George Pfeiffer's building at 132 E. Government from 1867-1881.. The circuit court clerk rented the 2nd floor of the Hyer Building on the SW corner of Palafox and Intendencia. In 1881, the county rented the Benjamin R. Pitt building at 215 S. Palafox. The site was later occupied by the C&P Bank Building. In or around 1883, they rented the Yniestra Building for the courtroom on the SW corner of Palafox and Romana Street, site later occupied by Walgreen's Drug Store.
On June 5, 1880, the county purchased lot #35 at the NE corner of Palafox and Chase from George O. Brosnaham for $3,250 ($82K today). By 1922, the courthouse and annex were remodeled and remained until it was sold to the Federal government on May 22, 1937. Meanwhile, the old courthouse was torn down in Augustus 1938 but amidst the destruction they found a tin box hidden within the walls placed there as a time capsule by Arthur Herbert D'Alemberte (1857-1926) in 1894. At the time he was the tax collector for Escambia County and it was his wish that future generations might want to know how it was "in those days." When addition was added on in 1894, he took the liberty to place the box inside. Sadly, D'Alemberte was killed in an auto accident in Biloxi in 1926. When news came that the old building was to be demolished, D'Alemberte's daughter Mrs. Lula Emma Bowes (1881-1943) of 30 E. Brainard Street provided a map to the box to Miss Carrie Elizabeth "Bessie" Lindenstruth, asking for its return. When opened the box was full of old newspaper articles, etc.
Another situation that arose was the fact that no one could bring themselves to destroy the old tower clock that had been visible to all from the steeple for over half a century. It was a McShane clock that had been purchased in 1883 and weighed 1,500 pounds. The clocks future and been challenged once before in 1925 when the clock was placed in danger by those that wished to replace it with an electric one. Again, Miss "Bessie" Lindenstruth (1881-1954) entered the picture for historical as well as familial reasons. She was the daughter of Peter Lindenstruth who had been the caretaker of the clock for many years until he was too old to climb the stairs. It was Bessie who wrote an article on December 6, 1925 seeking sympathy to stop the issue at hand. It worked and the clock stayed! Then in 1938, the clock was once more imperiled "by the razing of the old courthouse. One again, Bessie came to the rescue by appealing to President Franklin D. Roosevelt to have the clock turned over to the Pensacola Historical Society. The president acquiesced and the old clock was saved again! After storage in City Hall's basement until the 1960s it was encased in a glass shelter on the NW corner of Palafox and Government Street for all to enjoy.
Old City Hall, now the T. T. Wentworth Museum. Stored the old courthouse clock till discovered in 1960
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