It covers 82 acres (33 ha), roughly including the formerly walled portion of the Pensacola Navy Yard.

The district includes buildings dating to the post-Civil War period of the navy yard, as well as early structures related to the training of naval aviators on seaplanes.

The original navy yard commander's house is in the district, as are residential barracks, an 1865 chapel, and a variety of service buildings that have seen different uses throughout their history.

[4] Pensacola Navy Yard was established in the 1820s, not long after Florida became a territory of the United States.

In 1913, Pensacola was chosen as the site of the Navy's formal training program for sea-based aviators, resulting in the construction of facilities specific to that use.