Open main menu

T. T. Wentworth Jr. Florida State Museum

Revision as of 17:11, 27 March 2020 by 98.170.192.223 (talk) (Original museum)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

The T.T. Wentworth Jr. Florida State Museum is a museum of history in Pensacola, named for Theodore Thomas Wentworth, Jr.

T. T. Wentworth Jr. Florida State Museum
Ttwentworthmuseum.jpg
Building Information
Location 330 South Jefferson Street
Engineer Charles Hill Turner
Current Owner West Florida Historic Preservation, Inc.
Completion Date 1908
Style Spanish mission style
Size Three stories
<googlemap lat="30.408802" lon="-87.213517" zoom="17" width="288" height="200">

30.4087, -87.213142, T. T. Wentworth Jr. Florida State Museum </googlemap>

Located on Jefferson Street adjacent to Plaza Ferdinand VII, the building was originally erected in 1908 as Pensacola's city hall. When a new City Hall was built in 1985, the old building was renovated to house the massive collection of historical artifacts Wentworth had donated to the State of Florida two years earlier. The museum was dedicated on March 5, 1988 and is now owned and operated by West Florida Historic Preservation, Inc. as part of the Historic Pensacola Village.

Contents

Original museumEdit

The original museum was in fact a roadside stand owned by 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.

CollectionsEdit

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 hurricane of 1926 that also damaged the building.

Other imagesEdit

External linksEdit