Editing Pensacola Cultural Center

The '''Pensacola Cultural Center''' is a three-story building located at 400 South [[Jefferson Street]] in [[downtown Pensacola]]. It was formerly the Escambia County '''Court of Record Building''', which was built in [[1911]] and served until [[1978]]. The property was deeded to the [[Pensacola Little Theater]] in [[1988]] as a home for Pensacola's art organizations and was completely renovated in three phases between April [[1992]] and January [[1996]].

==Court of Record Building==
Pensacola's population was booming in the early twentieth century, forcing local government to expand its facilities. The City had recently occupied two new buildings adjacent to the Court of Record site: a [[T. T. Wentworth Jr. Florida State Museum|Spanish-style city hall]] across [[Zaragoza Street]] in [[1907]], and a [[City Jail|new jail]] across [[Jefferson Street]] in [[1908]]. The [[Escambia County Board of County Commissioners]], under chairman [[John I. Johnson]], selected the site of the [[Old Escambia County Jail|old County Jail]] and issued a $180,000 bond to pay for the project. Besides the jail and its rear courtyard, two other buildings on the block were purchased and razed to enable construction.

[[Mobile]] architect [[Rudolph Benz]] designed the neo-classical structure as two twin buildings connected by a courtyard. It called for brick and masonry over steel supports on a concrete foundation. The [[Keynton Construction Company]] was the original low bidder, but was absorbed into a company owned by [[Fernando Moreno Blount]], who engineered the seven-story [[Blount Building]] a few years earlier. Wiring was installed by [[Peake Electrical Contractors]], the ventilation system by [[George McGhan & Sons]], and lifts by the Cincinatti-based Warner Elevator Company. The [[Marston & Quina Company]] supplied interior furnishings.

The building was occupied in January [[1912]], although Benz cited 89 problems in the construction that he felt must be addressed before the job could be accepted. Much of these defects were blamed on the plumbing contractor, who was dismissed and ultimately sued for $33,000 by F. M. Blount, [[William Alexander Blount, Sr.|his father]] and attorney [[R. P. Reese]].

The new building had a built-in gallows on the third floor. The rope was held by an iron circle in the ceiling of judge's chambers, with a trapdoor in the floor of the execution room. The final hanging took place on [[July 31]], [[1920]], when [[Hosea Poole]] was executed for killing his brother.

The Court of Record Building was renovated in [[1946]] at a cost of $122,750. The building's jail cells were vacated and stripped after a [[Escambia County Jail|new jail]] was constructed on [[Leonard Street]] in [[1955]]. It was closed in [[1978]] and its functions transferred to the new [[M. C. Blanchard Judicial Building]] on [[Government Street]].

==Renovation==
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==Current tenants==
*[[Pensacola Little Theater]]
*[[Portabello Market]]
*[[Ballet Pensacola]]