Downtown Jacksonville
Downtown Jacksonville is the historic core and central business district (CBD) of Jacksonville, Florida USA. It comprises the earliest area of the city to be developed and is located in its geographic center along the narrowing point of the St. ...
, Florida, currently housing Jacksonville City Hall. It was designed by architect
Henry John Klutho
Henry John Klutho (1873–1964) was an American architect known for his work in the "Prairie School" style. He helped in the reconstruction of Jacksonville, Florida after the Great Fire of 1901—the largest-ever urban fire in the Southeast—by ...
and opened in 1912. One of many structures in downtown Jacksonville designed by Klutho after the
Great Fire of 1901
The Great Fire of 1901 was a conflagration that occurred in Jacksonville, Florida on May 3, 1901. It was one of the worst disasters in Florida history and the third largest urban fire in the U.S., next to the Great Chicago Fire, and the 1906 Sa ...
, it is considered his Prairie School masterpiece.
The building is located at 117 West Duval Street, on the former site of the St. James Hotel. It was designed as a mixed-use building containing the Cohen Bros. Department Store (later May Cohens). The department store closed in 1987, leaving the building empty. In 1993 it was purchased by the City of Jacksonville under the
River City Renaissance River City Renaissance was a $235 million bond issue in 1993 by the city of Jacksonville, Florida which funded urban renewal in some of downtown's most rundown sections.
Plan
Ed Austin's most lasting contribution as Jacksonville mayor was his Riv ...
plan, with the intention of remodeling it as the new City Hall. It reopened in 1997. On April 18, 2012, the
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...
's Florida Chapter placed the building on its list of ''Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places''.
History
St. James Hotel
The original St. James Building was a
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...
constructed and owned by investors from Connecticut following the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
. In addition to lodging for 500 guests, it boasted a passenger elevator and a restaurant with excellent cuisine. The facility included a laundry, barbershop, wine room, telegraph office and reading rooms. Touring orchestras performed concerts for the guests, who included society people, celebrities and the rich. At the peak of Jacksonville's popularity, 65,000 people spent the winter in north Florida. The hotel was so prominent that the public square across the street, known as "City Park", was changed to "St. James Park".
Jacksonville's
Great Fire of 1901
The Great Fire of 1901 was a conflagration that occurred in Jacksonville, Florida on May 3, 1901. It was one of the worst disasters in Florida history and the third largest urban fire in the U.S., next to the Great Chicago Fire, and the 1906 Sa ...
destroyed most of the city, including the original St. James. The owner of the St. James property, J. R. Campbell, wanted to rebuild, but did not have the resources. The Windsor Hotel, located adjacent to the St. James, quickly rebuilt and was able to purchase the St. James land from the cash-strapped Campbell to prevent a competing hotel from being built downtown. Jacob and Morris Cohen purchased the St. James property from the Windsor after agreeing not to build a hotel.
Cohen Brothers' Department Store
In March 1910, Klutho agreed to design a building commissioned by Jacob Elias Cohen for the Cohen Brothers' department store. Among the proposals sent to the Cohens was a striking design for a building with four floors, twice what had been requested. Klutho proposed a "mixed use" design that would contain small shops on the first floor exterior with the department store in the interior and on the second floor. The third and fourth floors would contain offices for rent. He convinced the brothers that their structure would become the center of commerce for Jacksonville and they embraced his idea.Wood, Wayne. St. James Building . Jacksonville's Architectural Heritage. Retrieved on July 27, 2010.
Klutho not only designed the building, but acted as construction manager using the fast-track method, whereby work begins prior to design completion. The project was finished in less than a year and a half, using 200 skilled tradesmen. The structure was named the St. James Building, and it was Klutho's crowning achievement. When dedicated on October 21, 1912, it was the largest structure in Jacksonville, occupying an entire city block. The St. James Building was the featured article in ''The Western Architect'' and Klutho's work was highlighted throughout the magazine in June 1914.
The most striking interior feature was a 75 ft octagonal glass dome, which served as a skylight. The elevators were open "cages", giving passengers a view of the store. The building exterior was decorated with large abstract terra-cotta ornaments.
The Cohen brothers operated their store until
The May Department Stores Company
The May Department Stores Company was an American department store holding company, formerly headquartered in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. It was founded in Leadville, Colorado, by David May in 1877, moving to St. Louis in 1905. After many ...
purchased it in 1958, renaming it May Cohens. Four other May Cohen stores were opened at shopping centers around town and the downtown store in the St. James Building was closed in July 1987.
City Hall
The city of Jacksonville purchased the building in 1993 as part of the
River City Renaissance River City Renaissance was a $235 million bond issue in 1993 by the city of Jacksonville, Florida which funded urban renewal in some of downtown's most rundown sections.
Plan
Ed Austin's most lasting contribution as Jacksonville mayor was his Riv ...
, a plan put forward by Mayor Ed Austin that included $24 million to purchase and restore the St. James as the new city hall. The goal was to relocate government offices to the center of downtown, all around
Hemming Plaza
James Weldon Johnson Park is a public park in Downtown Jacksonville, Florida. Originally a village green, it was the first and is the oldest park in the city.
History Beginnings
The area was established as a public square in 1857 by Isaiah Har ...
.City Hall at St. James Building . City of Jacksonville, Central Operations. Retrieved on July 27, 2010.
Saxelbye, Powell, Roberts & Ponder Architects were chosen for what was more of a restoration than renovation. Demolition of all interior walls and partitions was required to remove the effects of prior renovations. A 75 ft octagonal glass dome was reconstructed after it was removed in early 1927 to build more rentable space, much to the disgust of Klutho, who commented that "a showplace was killed" and moved his offices out of the building in protest. In the 1990s restoration, the major change from the original design was the dome, which was mounted on the roof of the fourth floor, instead of between the second and third floors. An infrastructure upgrade was required to meet current building codes, handicap-accessibility requirements and be energy efficient. The new City Hall in the St. James Building opened on December 12, 1997. The
Jacksonville Historical Society
Jacksonville Historical Society (JHS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in Jacksonville, Florida, begun by 231 charter members on May 3, 1929 at the Carling Hotel.
Gallery
File:StJamesHotel1893.jpg, St. James Hotel ca. 1893
File:St. James Building.JPG, City Hall, 2012
File:StJamesDome.jpg, Octagonal, 75 ft glass dome ca. 1912
File:StJamesBuildingJax.jpg, St. James Building postcard ca. 1915
File:Detail of pilaster capital - St. James Building, 117 West Duval Street, Jacksonville, Duval County, FL HABS FLA,16-JACK,14-3.tif, Detail of pilaster capital
File:Elevation view, detail of entrance - St. James Building, 117 West Duval Street, Jacksonville, Duval County, FL HABS FLA,16-JACK,14-1.tif, Entrance of May Cohan
File:Perspective view - St. James Building, 117 West Duval Street, Jacksonville, Duval County, FL HABS FLA,16-JACK,14-2.tif
File:Perspective view of pilaster capital - St. James Building, 117 West Duval Street, Jacksonville, Duval County, FL HABS FLA,16-JACK,14-4.tif
See also
*
Architecture of Jacksonville
The architecture of Jacksonville is a combination of historic and modern styles reflecting the city's early position as a regional center of business. According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, there are more buildings built before ...
References
Further reading
* Broward, Robert C. ''A Prairie School Masterpiece: The History of the St. James Building''. Jacksonville Historical Society, 1997.
* Broward, Robert C. ''The Architecture of Henry John Klutho''. University of North Florida Press, 1983.