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Haunted Pensacola Series: Box 3 - Pensacola Little LbNA #50366

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Sep 13, 2009
Location:
City:Pensacola
County:Escambia
State:Florida
Boxes:1
Planted by:Moo Poo
Found by: Moo Poo
Last found:Apr 2, 2013
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFO
Last edited:Sep 13, 2009
HAUNTED PENSACOLA SERIES: BOX 3 - PENSACOLA LITTLE THEATRE’S LITTLE GIRL Letterbox

Created by: Moo Poo
Placed by: Moo Poo and The Real Truth
Stamp: Hand-carved
Note: I am rating this series PG-13!! I fear that some children may find ghosts and haunted places scary. Please don’t attempt these boxes if you think your child(ren) may be afraid of the idea of ghosts.
Series Note: The first 4 boxes of this series (Seville Quarter, Cat Ghost, Pensacola Little Theatre’s Little Girl, Mr. Manatee’s and Mattie) are in walking distance of one another. I’ve listed the clues in the order with which it would be most convenient for you to walk to all 4. In fact, the clues for boxes 2-4 are simply continuations from the clues for boxes 1-3!

In his book Florida’s Ghostly Legends and Haunted Folklore: The Gulf Coast and Pensacola, Greg Jenkins stated, “With a rich history, Pensacola has much to offer for visitors and natives alike...When exploring the city and historic sights – such as Historic Pensacola Village, the Pensacola Historical Museum, Ft. Pickens, Ft. Barrancas, and of course the festive Seville Historic District – you’ll glimpse Florida at its best. From historical forts that protected our shores during the Civil War to the modern bases that had trained sailors and pilots during every war and conflict since, it’s simple to see Pensacola’s importance to the United States and to Florida’s unique history.” Whether or not one believes in ghosts, it can’t be ignored that there is fascinating history behind many of Pensacola’s notable places. This series is meant to highlight some of the stories behind a few of Pensacola’s most famous spots and encourage others to explore what this historic city has to offer.

Pensacola Little Theatre’s Little Girl
During the Great Depression, money issues made it almost impossible for the average person to afford this type of culture. Toward the end of the Depression, an organization called the Works Progress Administration began creating numerous theater companies throughout the country in order to ease the many unfortunate realities of the day. Pensacola’s local civic drama troupe recognized this rare opportunity, which would offer work for actors and artists, and quickly organized their group to benefit their township. In less than a year, the Pensacola Little Theatre opened its doors to the public. The Pensacola Little Theatre opened with their first performance in the old Chamber of Commerce auditorium before relocating to the nearby Pensacola High School. Things at the theatre were fine until the late 1940s, when a portion of the building collapsed after a heavy storm, crushing most of the rehearsal area and storage rooms. Since this put a heavy damper on their future plans, they devised a plan to raise money to find lodging elsewhere. By 1952, a new auditorium named the Quonset was constructed and they were back in business. Sadly, by the 1970s the Quonset auditorium began to deteriorate to the point of being hazardous. When the Fire Commission demanded the installation of new and expensive equipment, along with other major improvements, the need for up-to-date lodging was once again a necessity. By 1977, the beloved Quonset was sold, and the Pensacola Little Theatre packed up and moved to the recently renovated Florida Movie House, located at 186 North Palafox Street. As the Pensacola Little Theatre was seeking assistance once again, they found that there were many other nonprofit arts organizations with similar needs, so all of the organizations met with the Escambia County Office of Commissioners to make plans to correct the problem. The small group of artists and entertainers was deeded the old Escambia County Court of Records Building, as well as the old jail house, for a combined juncture of arts and entertainment. And so, this rather spooky, abandoned, early-1900s landmark was to become the Pensacola Culture Center, home to the Pensacola Little Theatre. Here, after extensive renovations, Pensacola’s new cultural center seems to have it all, even though it took many years to get to where it is today.
As with any location that’s ripe with history and legend, we can expect to find at least a few ghosts, and the Pensacola Cultural Center boasts many. Evidently, a few of the early actors and entertainers have chosen to remain – or in this case, transplant themselves – with the modern troupe, for all time. There have been a few reports over the years of shadowy people on the stage, as if rehearsing for a big show that will never be seen. There may also be a ghostly spirit of a little girl roaming the grounds, but who she was in life is a mystery. This youthful specter was that of a girl around the age of ten or eleven. She is said to wear either a blue or green summertime dress similar to those popular in the 1920s and 1930s. Though there have been several variations of this little spirit’s wardrobe, her physical appearance has been reported as whimsical and nonthreatening. She is said to be neither sad nor angry, just a curious child. Indeed, many have reported the feeling of being watched, but in a playful manner, as with a child playing hide-and-seek. For those who have actually seen this spirit, most say they have seen a little girl running or skipping out of sight, whether behind a book shelf or beyond the wall in a corridor. Often giggling can be heard ever so lightly, and her presence is always playful and never scary or unpleasant.
Borrowed from Florida’s Ghostly Legends and Haunted Folklore: The Gulf Coast and Pensacola by Greg Jenkins
To find out more about the Pensacola Little Theatre, go here: http://www.pensacolalittletheatre.com

Directions:
You can find the directions on the clues for “Pensacola Haunted Series: Box 1 – Seville Quarter”.

Clues:
1) Start from Box 2 – Cat Ghost.
2) With your back to the tree and power pole, and your right side up against the tall pink-ish building, you should observe a water fountain across Government Street. This water fountain is in Ferdinand Plaza. Head to the fountain.
3) Once you’re at the fountain, you should observe a monument at the center of Ferdinand Plaza. Go to this monument.
4) At the monument, with your back to the fountain, take the sidewalk on your left that goes between 2 black trash cans.
5) When you come to a “T” in the sidewalk, take a Right.
6) As you’re walking, observe the building on your left (it has a large set of stairs out front). This building is the T. T. Wentworth, Jr. Museum. Keep walking past it until you come to the intersection of Jefferson St and Zarragoza St (On Google, Zarragoza is pronounced Zaragossa).
7) The corner diagonally across from you is where you should observe a large white building with a green awning. This is home to the Pensacola Little Theatre. Cross Zarragoza St, but stay on the other side of Jefferson St from the Pensacola Little Theatre.
8) You’ll past the Quayside Art Gallery (the pink building on the corner), and then you should observe an alley on your right. The alley is in-between Quayside Art Gallery and the Pensacola Museum of Art (the yellow building).
9) Go down this alley. On your left, is a black stair-case. Observe the four support posts for stairs.
10) Go to the support post closest to the gutter at the corner of the building. At the base of this post, the side closest to the gutter is a gray magnetic key box.
11) This box is cheap, so in order to insure that it closes properly, I have constructed a small “latch” system consisting of black duct-tape and Velcro. To undo the “latch” find the side opposite of the magnet. Carefully pull the Velcro apart (it’s at the end of the black duct-tape strip). The box opens from where the duct-tape strip is taped. You might have to mess around at this spot, but the box should open, away from the duct-tape strip. There is no Logbook in this box.
12) When you’re finished with stamping, please re-seal all the bags and make sure the “latch” is secure. Re-hide better than how you found it. Now, you can go on to find Mr. Manatee’s and Mattie!
Note: If you’re tired of walking, you can walk back to your car and then drive to the Mr. Manatee’s and Mattie letterbox. Face the green awning of the Pensacola Little Theatre, turn left and walk on Jefferson St until you come to Government St. Take a Right at Government St, walking past Seville Quarter and your car should be in the parking area on your right.
13) Don’t forget to log your find in to either AtlasQuest.com or Letterboxing.org!