CELESTINE BED & BREAKFAST A House of History by Morgan Cole
C
ornelia Robinson Edwards and her brother, Gerald Robinson, take pride in the fact that their newly
opened Celestine Bed & Breakfast—situated in the heart of Pensacola’s historic North Hill district—elicits a certain reaction from guests. “We have curated an environment where people feel a sense of place and belonging just like they would at home. People tell us they feel connected to Celestine Bed & Breakfast,” Cornelia Robinson Edwards said.
There’s a good reason the place feels so inviting: family reinforces every wall inside the Celestine Bed & Breakfast—both literally and figuratively. Lovingly named after the owners’ great-grandmother and the matriarch of a family proud of its roots and heritage, each room inside the Celestine Bed & Breakfast honors a family legacy steeped in excellence, love and hospitality. To Cornelia, hospitality is far more than an industry, it’s a character trait. A trait that her great-grandmother, Celestine Tolliver Harrison, was known for lovingly embracing so well. Born in Pensacola in 1908, Celestine had a big heart and she loved opening her home to guests. Her home was always open with hot dinner on the table for anyone who wanted it. “Growing up as an only child, Celestine always knew she wanted to have a big family. She and our great-grandfather, Vandybilt Harrison, had five children. Their home was always filled with love and laughter. Celestine would welcome visitors from near and far. She loved to entertain friends, family and strangers. Food was plentiful and hospitality was extended to anyone lucky enough to walk through the front door. The front door was always unlocked and you never knew who would walk in. I guess you could say I was immersed in Southern hospitality from the time I was born,” Cornelia explained. When Cornelia, her brother, Gerald Robinson II, and her husband, Bronson Edwards, began renovating the 19th century home at 514 N. Baylen Street, there was no question as to what they would name the new B&B. “From the moment we decided to turn this home into a bed and breakfast, there was no other choice for a name,” Cornelia said. The B&B also pays tribute to Celestine’s husband, Vanderbilt, their five children–Jean, Lois, James, Mary and Horace–and every generation before and after, Cornelia’s husband Bronson, explained.
From the antique upright piano that immediately greets you at the front door to the black and white hand-sketched drawings on the custom wallpaper, each and every room in the B&B has a story to tell. Each of the bedrooms inside the B&B are named after Celestine’s children and personalized accordingly. The cursive signature that serves as the B&B’s logo depicts Celestine’s actual signature, which Cornelia creatively sourced from the back of an old school report card. One of the defining features inside the B&B (as well as everyone’s favorite) is the custom wallpaper along the stairwell, which was carefully curated by Cornelia over the course of nearly a year and a half. Serving as a storytelling aid to transport guests back to another time, each of the intricate black and white images depict personal milestones and old Pensacola landmarks that anyone who has lived in the area long enough is sure to remember. In addition to hand-drawn illustrations of family photos, the wallpaper also features an image of the current B&B, the clock that sits outside the current Artel Gallery (formerly the courthouse), old photographs of fish being caught off the bridge and clippings from the Pensacola News Journal reporting the Sacred Heart Hospital’s opening day and 1960s sit-ins opposing segregation. A few steps over into the eat-in kitchen, a vibrant flamingo wallpaper welcomes you into the cozy breakfast nook, where her greatgrandmother’s original dining room table is elegantly situated with her grandmother’s fine China teacups on top. Cornelia and Gerald birthed the concept for the B&B together and not a single detail was overlooked during the process of bringing the old home back to life. They purchased the property more than two-anda-half years ago, opened it for guests in December of 2022 and have spent every waking moment in between renovating what Cornelia described as a Victorian home that had been stripped of character. PENSACOLA MAGAZINE | 17