Halloween Night Fire

The Palafox Street buildings destroyed by the fire. First United Methodist can be seen in the background.

The Halloween Night Fire, which actually occurred in the early morning hours of November 1, 1905, was a conflagration that destroyed the structures on the west side of Palafox Street between Garden and Romana Streets (what would later be dubbed the Brent Block). Damages were estimated at $250,000.

The fire is thought to have originated from the Osceola Club.

One of the buildings destroyed in the blaze was the Blount-Watson Building, owned by W. A. Blount, whose law firm Blount & Blount was housed on the second floor. Blount built the seven-story Blount Building — hailed as fire-proof at the time — on the same site between 1906-1907.

November 1 Pensacola Daily News listing of businesses damaged by the fire and their estimated losses