Old Images of Tallahassee, Florida

Glimpse history through old images of Tallahassee, Florida, USA.

Tallahassee became the state capital of the Florida Territory in 1824. Florida became the twenty-seventh state in the United States on March 3, 1845, and Tallahassee remained the state capital.

Today it’s the eight largest city in the state, with a population of almost 200,000 people.

Tallahassee in 1885

This beautiful, illustrated map of the city in 1885 also includes a key telling us about the buildings. You get a sense of how small the city was, and the terrain on which it was built. 

Tallahassee Florida History and Cartograph (1885): Bravura Media Company on YouTube

Tallahassee Colleges in 1947

Dudley Pictures Corporation released a series of films in the 1940s under the series title ‘This Land of Ours’. This episode visited a range of locations across Florida.

Tallahassee appears 3 minutes and 45 seconds into the film, just after the visit to Pensacola, home of the United States Naval Air Station.

We briefly see the Capitol building. Then it’s the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College, run entirely for students of colour. Three young men walk along a path in the school grounds.

Next we see the Florida State College for Women, which was one of the largest women’s colleges in the country. Three young women and what appears to be an older man are seen in front of the building.

Florida – This Land of Ours (1947): travelfilmarchive on YouTube

Tallahassee in the 1970s

In a minute and a half get a glimpse of the sunshine state’s capital city in the old days with footage produced by Peter Barton Productions and sponsored by the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce. Brought to you on YouTube thanks to the State Archives of Florida.

Includes lots of people, including some clear enough to be identified by those who know them.

Includes old images of:

• city streets
• Florida State University
• Florida A&M University
• Wakulla Springs
• Tallahassee Junior Museum
• Old Public Library
• St. Marks Lighthouse
• various state office buildings

Tallahassee: FloridaMemory on YouTube

1970s Tallahassee

In just one minute take a trip back to the city in the 1970s with this old aerial and street footage. Produced by WFSU-TV, it is brought to you on YouTube thanks to the State Archives of Florida.

Includes:

• Street scenes from a car
• Florida State University campus
• Doak Campbell Stadium
• Capitol building (before it was expanded)
• Northwood Mall
• Tallahassee Memorial Hospital facility

A View of Tallahassee (1970s): FloridaMemory on YouTube

Tallahassee Parade in 1978

Thanks to the State Archives of Florida, you can take a trip down memory lane with this short footage of the Springtime parade in 1978.

Hundreds of men, women and children appear in this excerpt. If you lived in the city that year, you’ll probably spot someone you know!

Springtime Tallahassee Parade (1978): FloridaMemory on YouTube

TV News Item 1981

Tom Roche was just 26 years old when he shot and edited this piece ready for the nightly eleven o’clock slot.

WECA TV Tallahassee Action News Open 1981: Tom Roche on YouTube

More about Florida

• 
  Old Images of Jacksonville, Florida
• 
  Old Images of Tallahassee, Florida