Museum Exhibit Reception: “Prohibition on Palafox”
DATE:
Oct 11th, 2025
TIME: 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM CDT
URL: Click Here
LOCATION:
Destination Archaeology Resource Center
207 E Main St, Pensacola, FL 32502
TIME: 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM CDT
URL: Click Here
LOCATION:
Destination Archaeology Resource Center
207 E Main St, Pensacola, FL 32502
You’re invited!
From bottles to buried clues, see how archaeology reveals Pensacola’s secret bars of the 1920s at our opening reception! Join us for the opening reception of our newest temporary exhibit:
Prohibition on Palafox: The Archaeology of Speakeasies
Saturday, October 11
5:00 – 7:00 p.m.Destination Archaeology Resource Center
207 East Main Street, Downtown Pensacola
Step back into the Roaring Twenties and uncover Pensacola’s hidden nightlife. During Prohibition (1920–1933), alcohol was outlawed, yet demand fueled a thriving underground of secret bars known as speakeasies. Along Palafox Street alone, at least 27 were documented in local newspapers—while many more operated in the shadows, leaving little written trace.
This exhibit reveals how archaeology brings these lost establishments back to life through bottles, glass fragments, and other discarded clues. Visitors will also have the chance to explore artifacts from potential speakeasy sites and embark on a digital walking tour tracing Pensacola’s clandestine bars.
This free public event will include complimentary light refreshments.
The exhibit is based on the thesis work of UWF alumna Taylor Brown, now Artifacts Lab Manager with the Veterans Curation Lab. Taylor will join us during the evening and will be available for chatting and questions about her research and career in public archaeology since graduating from UWF.
This event is part of the UWF College of Arts and Social Sciences Gulf Coast Culture Series “Pensacola Noir.” Artifacts for the display provided by the UWF Department of Anthropology and Archaeology Institute.