Historic Panama City
Although it took us two days to see most of what we wanted to see in Historic Downtown Panama City, we didn’t mind the return trip with another brewery, a great meal, and some live music.
To start at the beginning of this series, visit Southeast to Sunshine
It Doesn’t Take Much to Keep us Entertained
Some people might have been discouraged by the things that weren’t exactly perfect on our first visit to Historic Downtown Panama City. There was a MAJOR street renovation taking place which wasn’t ideal. But a series of plywood walkways and some railings, and even a “bridge” to cross from one side to the other provided safe maneuvering.
The precautions really helped us visit the businesses that were open – even though a lot were not. Ya, it didn’t dawn on us retired folks that today was Monday, and typically if a business closes one day a week – it will be Monday. The space heater in front of the awesome brick painting outside History Class Brewery ruined my perfect picture above, and then they didn’t even open till 4 p.m.
When we reminded ourselves it was an absolutely perfect day in early February and it was a lot colder at home – we were all good!
9/11 Memorial
Near Panama City Marina, the waters of St. Andrews Bay were shimmering in the sunshine. We discovered a 9/11 Memorial with an eagle, the American Flag, and the Twin Towers still intact. Below the eagle were the words:
SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
WE WILL NOT WAVER; WE WILL NOT TIRE; WE WILL NOT FALTER; AND WE WILL NOT FAIL. PEACE AND FREEDOM WILL PREVAIL”
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH
OCTOBER 7, 2001
A Little History
The Mckenzie Home and Office. Robert Lee McKenzie was born and raised on a farm in Georgia. In 1904 he purchased waterfront property on St. Andrews Bay, and worked with other businessmen to develop Panama City. They had hoped it would become a port of entry for goods arriving via the planned Panama Canal. Panama City was incorporated in 1909 and McKenzie was elected its first mayor.
“He also served two terms (1909-1913) as a representative from Washington County in the Florida House of Representatives. In 1913, McKenzie succeeded in his efforts to have Panama City named the seat of Bay County, which he had also helped to create. During World War II, McKenzie served as Chairman of the Bay County Chapter of the Red Cross (1941–44) and as a member of the Selective Service Board (1940–47).” ~ READ MORE
Boring to Beautiful!
We continued our wandering past some wonderful marine-life murals. Murals have become quite a thing these days, and it’s always a great surprise to walk around a corner to see an amazing piece of art on an otherwise boring side of the building. The flowers and bees up above made a great first impression (after the road construction)!
In 2023 our previous hometown of Port Washington began a program called Paint on Port. The planners are “excited to use public art to add vibrancy to our downtown and our city while paying homage to its history and character.” I think on our next visit to Panama City we’ll have to see if we can find a few more!
The Panama City Center for the Arts has done a beautiful job painting monarchs near their entryway. You may wonder, “What’s a group of butterflies called?” According to the University of California, they can be called a kaleidoscope, a swarm, or a rabble. I’m going with a kaleidoscope, because “if you’ve ever looked through a kaleidoscope and admired the swirling colors and patterns, you know that’s an appropriate name.”
House of Henry
When we discovered that History Class didn’t open till 4 p.m., we opted for House of Henry, which turned out to be an excellent find. We enjoyed chatting with the bartender who told us about the live music coming up on Thursday. She took the awesome picture below, we had a couple of excellent Hooter Browns, and split a schnitzel which was amazing!
According to its Facebook page, this place is “situated in the freshly rejuvenated Historic Downtown Panama City” – which may mean the street renovation is complete! They also say that you can experience the Emerald Isle (Ireland) on the Emerald Coast! You can also experience 4-6 happy hour, game night and live music every week. On that same page, you can get a sample of the music of True Soul Duo – who played on Thursday – when we returned.
Moving on Tomorrow
After catching up on laundry and packing what we could, we headed out for one last evening in Panama City. With the brewery opening at 4 p.m. and the music starting at 7 p.m., dinner would be somewhere in between. Where we were going was a mystery – until a fellow traveler suggested Bayou Joe’s. Our plan was in place.
We parked by McKenzie Park again for a total walk-time of 18 minutes for the entire loop. We may have to keep this itinerary in mind, because this was a very fun (and delicious) evening!
I Never Really liked History Class…
… until we walked in the door at History Class Brewery! We enjoyed a couple of cold ones on the patio behind the brewery and decided this place was definitely worth the wait. By the looks of the menu it would have been good for dinner too, but Bayou Joe’s was right on Massalina Bayou and we wanted more seafood! Click on the Bayou link to see a History Class video about how it got its name.
We arrived at Bayou Joe’s Marina & Grill right around sunset. We were a little worried about being seated outside since the temp had dipped a bit and it was getting a little chilly. As it turned out, they had plastic up for draft-free dining, and our food was absolutely delicious! I had the Pecan Encrusted Grouper, and a beverage that was the color of the sunset, and we sipped and chatted about how much we enjoy this less-touristy part of the panhandle.
Music and Another Beer
Although Jim decided against it, I had one more beer. I hated to come to a bar and listen to their music without buying something! The music was very good, considering it was only a Duo (True Soul Duo). They had a great variety of music, which kept the lively crowd dancing and singing along. Since they play here about once a month, they must be a crowd favorite to have such a large crowd on a Thursday.
It would have been nice had this night been a day or two earlier, but it wasn’t. We packed it in and then packed some more for our eight-hour drive to Matlacha in the morning. Maybe I shouldn’t have had that last beer.
Oh, What a Night!
Next up: On the Waterfront
Happy trails,
Barb
