- Location
- Pensacola Beach
- Years
- 1959 - ca. 1979
- Now
- Santa Rosa Dunes / Santa Rosa Towers
In 1959, Pensacola celebrated the 400th anniversary of the 1559 Luna expedition, which established a short-lived Spanish colony on Pensacola Bay six years earlier than St. Augustine.
The main attraction of the Quadricentennial Celebration (or “Quadri”) was the Spanish Village on Pensacola Beach. It was not a recreation of the Luna settlement but rather the later Presidio Isla de Santa Rosa (1722-1752).
Based on a 1743 engraving, 15 buildings (including a faithfully furnished Governor’s Palace) were constructed and populated by costumed reenactors for a four-month duration. Spanish and Latino craftspeople created authentic costumes, furniture, and artwork for the Village. Many of these items are now housed in the UWF Historic Trust collection.
The state coordinator of the Quadri was a young John Appleyard, who founded his advertising agency the same year. This was the first local attempt at “living history” demonstrations. Three years later, amateur archaeologist Norman Simons discovered the original location on Santa Rosa Island near Fort Pickens.
Largely unused after the Quadri ended, the wooden structures languished in the sun until they were demolished around 1979.
