Why is a permanent line being painted in downtown Pensacola? A heritage trail is underway

History is coming to life in downtown Pensacola as "America's 1st Settlement Trail" will be ready to walk this summer starting June 1.

Pensacola's trail, known as the A1S Trail, will mimic Boston's famous Freedom Trail, a 2.5-mile pedestrian trail outlining the nation's history through a series of planned stops.

Pensacola SVN Southland Realtor Michael Carro said he was inspired by a visit to Boston on a daddy-daughter trip with his 9-year-old, where he began thinking about the impact a historic walking tour would have in a city as rich in history as Pensacola.

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When proposing the idea years later, he found the city was completely on board with the project and began looking for ways to get other organizations involved.

Carro established the Pensacola trail as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, but is in partnership with the city of Pensacola, University of West Florida Historic Trust and Visit Pensacola that will all serve different functions.

"I remember thinking, 'Boy, this would be great for Pensacola … This is something Pensacola can and should have,'" Carro said. "Anything we have needed, they (the partners) have been so accommodating."

Initially, visitors will be guided along the 3-mile loop by a maroon, 6-inch line painted on the sidewalk that will direct the visitor through various regions of Pensacola. Like Boston's plan, the line of paint will eventually transition into a brick overlay to enhance the aesthetic once enough money is fundraised.

Carro said the paint is estimated to last three to five years before needing to be touched up.

The 3-mile loop will feature 20 different bronze plaques that have scannable QR codes on them, detailing 72 different points of interest that walkers can pull up on their phone.

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Sections of the trail will be divided up by different pieces of Pensacola's history, monopolizing on pre-existing resources from the African American Historical Trail, historical markers, colonial archaeological sites and building murals.

The self-guided tour will begin at the 300 block of South Palafox, hitting Plaza Ferdinand, with the last stop being the intersection of Zaragoza and Jefferson near the old city hall and jail. Once work on the trail is completed, the next goal would be to raise funds for an additional four trails, Carro said.

On the city's end, David Forte, the deputy city administrator for Pensacola, said the city committed to help maintain the sidewalks necessary for the trail.

"We actually walked the trail with Mr. Carro and his team," Forte said. "We outlined what we thought was best with the trail build-out."

In areas like South Florida Blanca Street, the city committed to building the sidewalk with the brick already installed to get ahead of the trail's goal of eventually transitioning all the paint to brick.

The improvements are based around different price benchmarks through family sponsorships of $1,000 each and business sponsorships of $2,500. Those interested in becoming a sponsor can email Carro at [email protected].

So far, the organization has raised $98,500, which will be enough to cover the construction needed for a soft opening June 1. The next goal would be to raise another $150,000 to covert the paint into brick in residential areas, another $300,000 to convert the line on Palafox to brick and then an additional $200,000 to convert the remainder of the trail from paint to brick.

Carro said not only would the trail be beneficial for residents to become aware of the city's history, but also would promote a level of historic tourism, which has been on the rise particularly with the millennial generation.

Visit Pensacola, for example, will be taking on the marketing for the trail, along with managing the website, according to Carro.

The included information for each stop has been written by the Historic Trust. Carro said the information was formatted to be able to be used as lesson plans in compliance with the Florida Next Generation Standard.

The trail will kick off with a founder's launch ribbon cutting by June 1 and followed by the major launch Aug. 14 on Pensacola's birthday. By the latter date, larger-scale improvements should all be made, such as benches spread out every quarter mile.

Forte said he believes the trail will be a positive asset to the city along with a providing a positive economic impact.

"The first and foremost (purpose) is to be able to recognize the significance Pensacola has not only in our community, but in our nation," Forte said. "We want to promote that; we want to highlight it."

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: 'America's 1st Settlement Trail' coming to downtown Pensacola in June