- Location
- Palafox at Garden
- Years
- 1910-1993
- Now
- United States Courthouse
The San Carlos Hotel, known affectionately as the Gray Lady of Palafox, stood at the northwest corner of Palafox and Garden Streets for more than 80 years. It was the project of local businessmen James Muldon and F. F. Bingham, who wanted to replace the ancient Escambia (née Continental) Hotel a few blocks to the north and provide Pensacola with modern amenities.
The seven-story building was designed by New York architect William Lee Stoddart and built by C. H. Turner at a cost of $500,000. It opened just in time for Carnival season in 1910. In 1926, a $1 million expansion (conceived by architects W.D. Willis and Emile Weil) tripled the capacity with a total of 465 rooms.
The San Carlos remained Pensacola’s premier hotel into the 1950s, but was affected by the rise of motels. It ceased operations in 1982 and lay vacant for more than a decade. After a proposal by Baptist Health Care to convert it to retirement apartments failed to materialize, the hotel was demolished in 1993. A new United States Courthouse was built on the site in 1998.
