The Panama City Publishing Company Museum has been closed for floor repairs since November. The original floors were damaged beyond repair after getting wet during Hurricane Michael. Now that those repairs are nearly finished, the public is invited to attend the museum’s grand re-opening. Plan to join them at 4pm, Tuesday, Feb. 18 to celebrate the reopening of this historic treasure. Located at 1134 Beck Avenue in Panama City, you can call them at 850-872-7208.
George Mortimer West is credited as the founding father of Panama City, developing it into an economically viable city and port on the shores of St. Andrews Bay. He built the Panama City Publishing Company building in 1920, in the heart of historic St. Andrews. The building served as the home of Panama City’s first newspapers, including the St. Andrews Buoy, the Panama City Pilot, the St. Andrews Bay News and Lynn Haven Free Press. West died in 1926, and his wife, “Miss Lillian,” continued to run the business. She was an outspoken and sharp businesswoman, and one of the first women registered to vote in Bay County. Miss Lillian sold the St. Andrews Bay News to John Perry, owner of the Panama City Herald in 1937, and he merged the two papers into the current Panama City News Herald. In addition to photos, newspapers, and documents, produced by Mr. West, the building houses more than 70 major historical items, including original printing presses and office furnishings, which were still in use by Mr. West’s great-great grandson Charles (Buddy) West, who operated the business until the City of Panama City purchased the building in October 2005, restored it, and opened it as a museum in 2008.
