Today, the City of Pensacola broke ground at Bruce Beach—an historic Black beach and recreation area along the Pensacola waterfront—with $6.3 million in planned improvements. “We are in what I would consider a sacred place,” Councilwoman Teniadé Broughton said in her remarks. “Pensacola’s labor history and African American history are now being seen in a different light.”
The event kicked off the first phase of the project, which will include a central plaza leading to the beach, a shade structure, two public lawns, a learning garden and play area, and a pedestrian bridge over Washerwoman Creek, which will connect Bruce Beach to the adjacent Community Maritime Park.
Bruce Beach was identified as one of two ‘catalyst projects’ in the original Pensacola Waterfront Framework Plan in 2019. SCAPE and other partners (including James Lima Planning and Development, Angela Kyle, and the UWF Historic Trust) have continued to provide design consistency review and engagement support for the City of Pensacola and HDR, the local landscape architect lead, as the project advances.
Learn more:
- Read about the event in the Pensacola News Journal.
- Read Terry Horne’s opinion column “Bruce Beach revitalization is citizen advocacy at its best” in the Pensacola News Journal.