Historic Pensacola Guided Tour: Lavalle House, Dorr House, Old Christ Church
Channel: Fre Yourmind
Date: 2019-04-08

http://www.historicpensacola.org/plan-your-visit/tours-exhibits/

We offer guided tours of our historic homes and buildings Tuesday through Saturday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Guided tours are included in admission to Historic Pensacola. Tours last approximately 1 to 1.5 hours. Guests receive an in-depth tour of the 1805 French-Creole Lavalle House, the 1871 Dorr House, the 1832 Old Christ Church, and the 1890 Lear/Rocheblave House.  *Guided tour buildings are only available on the tour with a tour guide.

An example of French Creole colonial architecture, the Lavalle House was built in 1805 during Florida’s second Spanish period by Carlos Lavalle and Marianna Bonifay. The house, furnished with authentic 18th and 19th century artifacts, recreates the early 19th century frontier lifestyle in Pensacola. 

Charles Lavalle built this house, circa 1805. Lavalle built the house as a two-unit rental dwelling, or duplex, but he probably never lived there.  Some time after he sold the house in 1815, it was converted into a single family home.  

In 1968, the Historic Pensacola Preservation Board (HPPB) purchased the Lavalle House and relocated the building to its present site at 201 East Church Street from the original lot at 111 West Government Street.  HPPB began restoration on the house the following year.  The current interior restoration proceeded in 1985, by setting up a two-room living unit, as it might have appeared when a tenant first occupied the house.  Though a separate kitchen building once existed adjacent to the house, the Board did not have this building reconstructed.  Therefore, the south or “back” room exhibit became a combination kitchen/dining-living room.  The north or “front” room was restored as a bedroom-living room. 

This house is the oldest standing example of French Creole Cottage construction in Pensacola. This style, popular from about 1790 to 1850, may have originated in the West Indies and been introduced to the Gulf Coast by refugees from Santo Domingo. The Lavalle House represents frontier Pensacola during the last period of Spanish rule in Florida. This style, popular from about 1790 to 1850, may have originated in the West Indies and been introduced to the Gulf Coast by refugees from Santo Domingo.  

The Dorr house was built by Clara Barkley Dorr in 1871 during a time of economic prosperity in Pensacola. This prosperity was partly the result of a thriving lumbering industry. Currently interpreted as a Victorian era family home in Pensacola after the Civil War, the home is an example of Greek Revival architecture in west Florida.

The Clara Barkley Dorr House stands on its original location, facing historic Seville Square.  Located at 311 South Adams Street, Clara Barkley Dorr had the house built in 1871 for her and her five children. The architect and builder are unknown. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in October of 1974, the Historic Pensacola Preservation Board purchased the property in 1975.  As a post Civil War era home, the Clara Barkley Dorr House provides a contrast to the 1805 Lavalle House and the 1890 Lear/Rocheblave House.

The Dorr House is located on its original site and demonstrates Greek or Classical Revival features, a style out-of-date in other parts of the country by the 1870s. This is curious because by this time, builders were adopting Gothic Revival and Victorian styles. Classical Revival styles peaked decades earlier. The house also represents some of the area’s natural resources and industries, namely yellow pine lumber and bricks. It is the best preserved example of post Civil War Classical Revival architecture in the Pensacola Historic District.

Completed in 1832, Old Christ Church is one of the oldest surviving church buildings in Florida, serving the Pensacola community as an Episcopal Church, public library and museum. The building was also occupied by federal troops during the Civil War. Today, it is a popular stop on the guided tour and continues to serve the public as a museum, special events venue and meeting hall as well as hosting weddings. The church will accommodate up to 185 guests.

The University of West Florida Historic Trust and Apple Corps Foundation presents the Appleyard Storytelling Cottage, and exhibition featuring Pensacola's premier storyteller, John Appleyard. The exhibition features many of Appleyard's stories and celebrates his numerous contributions to community. He worked with Cox Communications to record 51 different stories, some featuring one 15-minute episode and some including multiple episodes and lasting as long as 90 minutes. Each story is available as a part of the exhibition.