The Growth of a Modern City (1900-present)

23 Locations | Curated by Explore Historic Titusville FL

Distance: 21.4 miles

Driving Time: 50 minutes


What to expect: This tour will take us from Titusville’s downtown commercial district as it was rebuilt at the beginning of the twentieth century, to the elegant homes of the city’s civic leaders and prominent businessmen built along Indian River Avenue and Riverside Drive. It will then head to the northwestern suburbs of the city where Titusville’s links to the rest of the world were expanded with the advent of aviation and the increasingly industrialized harvesting of its rich citrus groves. The tour concludes with a museum and historical site that reflect on the struggle for civil rights in Brevard County and its advancement over the years.


You should figure on spending extra time exploring the shops in the historic commercial district and visiting the North Brevard Historical Museum. For those interested in hiking, the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary has extensive, well-marked trails and a visitor’s center, where you can easily spend several hours.


You should also plan some time for a visit to the museum at the Moore Center in Mims. You may want to plan a full day for this tour— or break it up into shorter segments to enjoy the wide range of historical and natural resources it covers. Restrooms and other visitor facilities are noted in the brief descriptions of the tour stops below.


Originally built in 1905 as a saloon and hotel, this structure was refurbished in the following decade and renamed the Magnolia Hotel and Theater, which presented silent films and vaudeville shows. In the 1930s and ‘40s, it showed feature films. After being renamed the Florida Theater in the 1950s,…
View Story | Show on Map

This masonry vernacular commercial building, showing the influence of the Spanish Revival style on the top of its façade, was built by George F. Duren who had resided in LaGrange. He operated a grocery in this building with his brother-in-law, Arthur Feaster, who was also from LaGrange and managed…
View Story | Show on Map

This brick vernacular commercial building was built in 1926 by George Scobie, founder of the Scobie Fishing Company, whose warehouses were located nearby at the city pie. It housed the post office, a law office and a drug store until it was taken over by the Scobie Supply Company after the…
View Story | Show on Map

Built in 1926 for Arthur Van Croix, a Melbourne silent movie theater owner and real estate investor, this multipurpose structure butted George Scobie's Old Post Office building. It contained a 1,000 seat theater, three retail stores on the first floor, and seven offices and 18 hotel rooms on…
View Story | Show on Map

This flat-roofed, brick vernacular store was built in 1913 on a busy section of Main Street leading to the Scobie fish warehouses and the city pier. A.A. Stewart also served for many years as Clerk of the Brevard County Court.
View Story | Show on Map

This rare Mission Revival structure was constructed in 1930 for Eugene B. Pirtle as the first Chevrolet dealership in Titusville. It closed a decade later when World War II put a halt to new car manufacturing and sales. In 1945, at the war's end, the Pirtle family renamed it “Central Garage,”…
View Story | Show on Map

This white Neo-Classical Revival building at the corner of Main St. and South Washington Ave. is one of the most striking architectural elements in the commercial district. Its style contrasts sharply with the dominant Spanish Revival style of the rest of the district. It features classical details…
View Story | Show on Map

This small building was also built in 1910 for E.L. Brady, who leased it to Western Union for many years. It was the site of an early telegraph relay station between Jacksonville and Miami. This building is now part of the North Brevard Historical Museum.
View Story | Show on Map

Built around 1913 for the Titusville Hardware Store, owned by H. P. Jepson, the interior of this building retains its original tin ceiling and heart pine floor. Before the 1895 fire, it had been the site of Oliver & Budge Hardware & Lumber. It now serves as the taproom for the Playalinda…
View Story | Show on Map

Since its construction around 1910, this brick mercantile building has been occupied by several retail stores including The Music Shop, Jepson Furniture, W.B. Knox Clothing & Men’s Furnishings Store, and, after World War II by O'Flannigan Furniture. It was equipped with Titusville’s first…
View Story | Show on Map

Built in 1912 for Dr. J. C. Spell, the first licensed pharmacist to operate in Titusville, this two-story masonry vernacular building was originally the location of the Banner Drug Store. Other rooms and second floor offices were leased to various other businesses, including Brevard Realty;…
View Story | Show on Map

Perhaps the most imposing building in the commercial district, this Spanish Colonial Revival structure was built in 1924-5 for George Walker, a Miami businessman. Designed by the architect Martin L. Hampton of the Miami-based firm of Hampton-Ehman, it has three stories with a one-story arcade…
View Story | Show on Map

This two-story masonry vernacular commercial building in the Spanish Revival style was constructed in 1910. In 1926, the first floor of the building was used by the Florida Power & Light Company for the sale of electrical supplies. The second floor was occupied by the Vernon Hotel and Café. In…
View Story | Show on Map

As one of the only commercial district buildings to survive the 1895 fire, undoubtedly due to its masonry construction, the Pritchard Building was extensively remodeled in 1926. The original brick exterior was stuccoed and the curvilinear parapet was added to give the building its Spanish Revival…
View Story | Show on Map

This frame vernacular house typifies an architectural style popular during the Florida Land Boom years. Construction began in 1895 and completed by 1920. This structure first appeared on municipal maps as a two-story house with a porch wrapping around the north, east, and south sides of the…
View Story | Show on Map

The home of retired army general and Titusville mayor Ellerbe W. Carter was built around 1915 It typifies the “Cracker” vernacular style of bungalow of which few examples remain. The house featured open porches extending the length of the east and west sides, covered by a wide overhang, allowing…
View Story | Show on Map

Titusville’s first aviation center, the Arthur Dunn Airpark, was established as a county airport in 1927. It was originally a 45-acre property leased to Brevard County by three local families to be used as an emergency landing strip for the US Airmail. During the initial term of the lease, Mr.…
View Story | Show on Map