9,487
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
no edit summary
{{wikipedia}}
[[Image:Ttwentworthmuseum.jpg|thumb|right|250px|T.T. Wentworth Jr. Florida State Museum]]
The '''T.T. Wentworth Jr. Florida State Museum''' is the museum of history in Pensacola. It is located on [[Jefferson Street]] adjacent to [[Plaza Ferdinand VII]]. The building is part of the [[Historic Pensacola Village]] museum complex.
The building, reminiscent of the Alamo mission style, was originally erected in [[1908]] to serve as [[Pensacola City Hall (disambiguation)|Pensacola's city hall ]] (which is now located at [[Pensacola City Hall|180 Governmental Center]]).
The original museum was in fact a roadside stand owned by [[T.T. Wentworth, Jr.|Wentworth]], which opened in the suburb of [[Ensley]] in [[1957]]. Wentworth was paraphrased as saying, in the [[1980s]], that he would donate everything in his collection if he could earn a permanent spot to house his collection in Pensacola. A state grant was signed by Governor [[Bob Martinez]] to allow the city to renovate the old city hall, and the museum was officially opened in [[1988]].
Only one floor is dedicated to Wentworth's eccentric collections — which includes a mummified cat, among other things. The other two floors illustrate life in the Florida Panhandle over the centuries, some of the more mainstream artifacts coming from Wentworth's collection. The other floors house a science interactive museum that is wonderful for children.
From September [[2004]] to March [[2005]], the museum was closed for renovations after [[Hurricane Ivan]] caused considerable damage to the property. When the museum opened again, a new exhibit was added, comparing and contrasting the effects of the 2004 hurricane to the [[Great Miami Hurricane|hurricane of 1926 hurricane]] that also damaged the building.
==External links==
[[Category:Historic Pensacola Village]]
[[Category:Education]][[Category:Culture]][[Category:HistoryMuseums]]
