East Hill Garage Apartment Narrative by Angela Salter, Kendra Crain, Zackery Cruze, Caitlin Bronston-Flynn Introduction and

Background Too often, many eclectic attributes of neighborhoods go unnoticed. When you live in a neighborhood that boast charming bungalows or the chic brownstones, these architectural wonders begin to fade into the background. However, what happens when we take the time to stop and wonder about that obscure, but unique house down the block. Suzanne Lewis, a member of the East Hill Neighborhood Association, stopped to ponder the purpose of garage apartments in East Hill. What inexactly is a garage apartment? Garage apartments are housing units unique to the East Hill neighborhood that are usually two stories, have living space above a garage (or a converted garage), and they can be on the same lot as another house or freestanding. Ms. Lewis wanted to know more about East Hill garage apartments, so she enlisted four University of West Florida public history graduate students to investigate these apartments further. Beginning in September of this year we conducted walking surveys of the East Hill neighborhood. Ultimately, 61 garage apartments were found in the East Hill neighborhood. The garage apartments were as far south as East Belmont street, as far west as 8th street, as far north as East Scott street, and as far east as Whaley Avenue. After researching census data, property appraiser records, and Pensacola/East Hill history books, trends began to emerge that explained the growth of garage apartments in East Hill. Research has demonstrated that the growth of East Hill garage apartments mirror the growth of Pensacolas timber industry, construction industry, population growth, and funding from groundbreaking social reforms in the New Deal. Research also reveals that East Hill garage apartments remained popular well into the 1940s. Most importantly, the growth of garage apartments reveal attempts to deal with local (industry/population) and national (New Deal) changes. The beginnings of East Hill garage apartments The growth of East Hill garage apartments mirrors the growth of the timber industry in the late nineteenth century. In the 1870s and 1880s Pensacola residents become aware of the potential uses of the vast piney woods in Pensacola.1 In fact, in the 1870s, the European demand for southern yellow lumber increased exponentially.2 Garage apartments appear to grow in conjunction with the growing timber industry. For instance, the oldest garage apartment in East Hill appears in 1896 (see chart one). Three other garage apartments follow this one in 1900, 1906, and 1908 (see chart one). Clearly the growth of the timber industry led to the growth in garage apartments because there were no garage apartments before the industry boom, in the 1870s and 1880s, but after the growth of the industry four appear by 1908 (see chart one).

Jesse Earl Bowden, Gordon Norman Simons, and Sandra L. Johnson, Pensacola: Floridas First Place City (Norfolk: The Donning Company/Publishers, 1989), 77. 2 Historical and Architectural Survey of the West -East Hill Neighborhood Pensacola, Florida, Historic Pensacola Preservation Board, (Historic Pensacola, Inc, Feb 1991-Sept 1992).

Yearly growth of garage apartments 1896-1939

16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 1896 1900 1906 1908 1923 1925 1928 1930 1931 1932 1933 1936 1937 1938 1939

*Chart one: Yearly growth of garage apartments 1896-1939 1920s boom and East Hill garage apartments The growth of the East Hill garage apartments, in the 1920s, further mirrors the growth of the timber and construction industry. By the 1920s, Pensacola was the main entry port for Central American mahogany and one of the primary processors and distributers of wood in the U.S.3 In addition, Pensacola launched a construction program in the 1920s.4 By 1921, there is a 70% increase in building permits.5 The investment in construction was likely due to the increase in population. For instance, the population of Pensacola increased from 22, 982, in 1910, to 31,035 in 1920.6 On another note, the growth in the construction and timber industries coincides with growth in the number of garage apartments. Five garage apartments are built in East Hill: one in 1923, two in 1925, and two more in 1928 (see chart one). Clearly, the further growth of the timber and construction industry is followed by faster growth in garage apartments because it took twelve years to construct four garage apartments, from 1896 and 1908, but in the 1920s five appear within five years (see chart one).

Pictorial history of Pensacola, University of Florida Digital Collections, http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AM00000164/00001/46j?search=Pensacola (accessed November 4, 2013). 4 James R. McGovern, The Emergence of a City in the Modern South: Pensacola:1900-1945 (Pensacola: The University of West Florida Foundation, 1976), 116. 5 Ibid, 82. 6 Ibid, 16

3 Great Depression and the garage apartment boom The growth of the construction industry and the passage of the New Deal spurns the largest growth in garage apartments. The 1930s can be called the golden age for garage apartment construction. In fact, 56% of the East Hill garage apartments were built in the 1930s (see chart two). In addition, 60% of the garage apartments built in the 1930s were constructed after the main house was assembled (see chart three). The decision to add on to several homes reveals that additional housing was needed. However, what could explain why construction continued despite the worst depression in American history? Arguably, the stock market crash of 1929, did not severely affect Pensacola as it did in other regions of the country. For instance, in 1927, the Pensacola Bridge corporation forms, but many construction projects continue into the 1930s like the Pensacola Bay Bridge.7 In 1930, a branch of the Armstrong Cork company, that provides sheathing for home construction, opens in Pensacola.8 In addition, the Weis-Fricker Mill calls for skilled craftsman to join their company in 1934.9 The continuous growth of the industry likely attracted more people from other regions, to Pensacola, that were suffering from the Great Depression. For instance, the population of Pensacola goes from 31,579 in 1930 to 37, 449 in 1940.10 Essentially, the continued growth of the timber industry, construction industry, and population mirrors the continued growth of garage apartments. Another interesting statistic points to the New Deals effects on Pensacola. For instance, 21 out of 35 of the garage apartments built in the 1930s were constructed after 1935 (see chart one). The WPA (1935-1943) was created, in conjunction with the New Deal, to fund the construction of bridges, roads, buildings, and public art/history.11 The Workers Progress Administration came to Pensacola in 1935 to set up a transient camp.12 The largest growth in garage apartments occurs after the Workers Progress Administration moves to the Pensacola area revealing the effects of the WPA

7 8

Ibid, 116. Pictorial history of Pensacola, 45. 9 Ibid, 46. 10 1930 Census of Population and Housing, U.S. Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html (accessed November 18, 2013). 1940 Census of Population and Housing, U.S. Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html (accessed November 18, 2013). 11 General Article: The Works Progress Administration (WPA),American Experience PBS, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/dustbowl-wpa/ (accessed November 4, 2013). 12 Works Progress Administration transient camp - Pensacola, Florida, Florida Memory: Division of Library and Information Science, http://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/146180 (accessed November 4, 2013).

Percentage of garage apartments by year

2% 5% 8% 20% 2% 2% 5.00%

56%

1890s

1900s

1920s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1990s

2000s

*Chart two: Percentage of garage apartments by year

1930s garage apartments

Unknown 8%

Built before the main house 8%

Built at the same time as the main house 24%

Built after the main house 60%

*Chart three: 1930s garage apartments

5 East Hill garage apartments during World War II Despite World War II, garage apartment construction remains popular in the 1940s. The WPA program officially ends in 1943.13 Nevertheless, the population goes from 37, 449 in 1940 to 43,479 in 1950.14 The population increase is not as impressive as it was between 1930 and 1940; however, it reveals that Pensacola continued to grow despite the end of WPA funding. On that same note, west Florida historian, Braden Lee Ball, recalls that there was a housing crisis, in 1943, but he was able to find a home in East Hill.15 Considering the growth of East Hill garage apartments, the possibility that Ball was able to find a home in East Hill is believable. In fact, 20% of the East Hill garage apartments were built in the 1940s (see chart four). The continued growth of garage apartment construction, despite the end of the New Deal, reveals that garage apartments remained a popular type of production well into the 1940s.

Yearly growth of garage apartments 1940-2009

3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 1940 1941 1942 1946 1947 1948 1950 1959 1990 2009

*Chart four: Yearly growth of garage apartments 1940-2009 Conclusion The close of the 1940s is also the end of the garage apartment era. In the second half of the twentieth century (1950 onward), only five garage apartments are constructed (see chart four). Compare that to the 55 garage apartments that were constructed in the first half of the twentieth century (see chart one and four). Clearly garage apartments are a rare form of construction in the
13 14

General Article, 1. 1940 Census of Population and Housing. 1950 Census of Population and Housing, U.S. Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html (accessed November 18, 2013). 15 Braden Lee Ball, Around West Florida in 80 years (Pensacola: University of West Florida Foundation, Inc., 1997), 137-138.

6 modern day. More importantly, the construction of garage apartments reveal how Pensacola attempted to deal with extraordinary times of growth like the construction boom, in the 1920s, and national policy changes like the New Deal in the 1930s. Points for further research Although this group learned a great deal about the context surrounding the growth of East Hill garage apartments, there are points for further study. First of all, researchers can explore East Hill garage apartments in the late twentieth century. This additional study could explore the reasons that garage apartment construction declined as well as the current uses of these structures. On another note, this study could be used to promote the permanence of East Hill garage apartments, in public memory, through obtaining formal recognition by the National Register of Historic Places. In the 1930s, Pensacola got funding from the Federal Writers Project (part of New Deal program) to record histories like Christ Tabaras who was the oldest Greek person in Pensacola at the time.16 As these FWP recordings are a window to the past, these garage apartments are also a key to unlocking secrets of the past. The garage apartments are important because they reveal how local Pensacolians dealt with population change, and it reveals how the New Deal affected Americans in a micro-historical sense. In essence, the garage apartments are key to finding out who we were (reasons for growth) and who we are now (reasons for decline). The third most pressing point of research is how to preserve East Hill garage apartments. 59 of the 61 properties are at least half a century old (see chart one and four). An Old House Journal writer claims that, floors in older homes that squeak or sag are not as bad as newer homes because older homes have stabilized over time; nevertheless, minor repairs can be executed to ensure the longevity of the structure.17 Considering the historical importance of these structures, it is necessary to find ways to preserve these 61 garage apartment homes for the next generation.

16

[Greek Study--Pensacola Florida], Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh000419 (accessed November 23, 2013). 17 Mary Ellen Polson, Fixing Wood Floors, Old House Journal http://www.oldhousejournal.com/fixing_wood_floors/magazine/1039 (accessed November 24, 2013).

7 Works Cited 1930 Census of Population and Housing. U.S. Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html (accessed November 18, 2013). 1940 Census of Population and Housing. U.S. Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html (accessed November 18, 2013). 1950 Census of Population and Housing. U.S. Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html (accessed November 18, 2013). Ball, Brandon Lee. Around West Florida in 80 years. Pensacola: University of West Florida Foundation, Inc., 1997. Bowden, Jesse E., Gordon Norman Simons, and Sandra L. Johnson. Pensacola: Floridas First Place City. Norfolk: The Donning Company/Publishers, 1989. General Article: The Works Progress Administration (WPA).American Experience PBS. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/dustbowl-wpa/ (accessed November 4, 2013). [Greek Study--Pensacola Florida]. Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/item/wpalh000419 (accessed November 23, 2013). Historical and Architectural Survey of the West-East Hill Neighborhood Pensacola, Florida. Historic Pensacola Preservation Board. Historic Pensacola, Inc, Feb 1991-Sept 1992. McGovern, James R. The Emergence of a City in the Modern South: Pensacola: 1900-1945. Pensacola: The University of West Florida Foundation, 1976. Pictorial history of Pensacola. University of Florida Digital Collections. http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AM00000164/00001/46j?search=Pensacola (accessed November 4, 2013). Polson, Mary E. Fixing Wood Floors. Old House Journal. http://www.oldhousejournal.com/fixing_wood_floors/magazine/1039 (accessed November 24, 2013). Works Progress Administration transient camp - Pensacola, Florida. Florida Memory: Division of Library and Information Science. http://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/146180 (accessed November 4, 2013).