Pensacola, Florida: Crystal Ice House

In the 1930s it made sense to buy ice from a building that looked frozen. Too bad the old ways have been forgotten.

A historical plaque provides a brief history of the Pensacola Icehouse and its recognition as a National Landmark.

SE corner of Davis and Jordan, behind a hurricane fence. Built in 1932 (according to local resident who said that it used to have a large polar bear on the roof, but it was damaged and was replaced with the present small bear).

Resident also said location was known as the "Crystal Ice House."

Historic Pensacola, Inc. is restoring the Crystal Ice House, a drive-thru ice distribution house built in 1932. There used to be four of the icehouses in Pensacola, but this is the only one still around, and it's now on the National Register of Historic Places. The exterior of the building and all the icicles are concrete. The paint is mixed with mica, so the whole building sparkles in the sun. It's kind of hard to see in the photo, but there's a small polar bear standing in the center of the roof. On the front of the building, there's a slab illustrating the "Hand Signals for Service," i.e., how many fingers to hold up to indicate how much ice you wanted.