Revitalizing Taylor Hardwick’s Masterpiece

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Taylor Hardwick never saw the completed restoration of this greatest work, Jacksonville’s Old Main Library, but he walked through the abandoned building with Sherry Magill, president of The Jessie Ball duPont Fund, just before the work began. The Jessie is one of the greatest Mid-Century Modern designs in Florida and its salvation one of our greatest preservation stories.

One response to “Revitalizing Taylor Hardwick’s Masterpiece

  1. Sherry Magill

    Tim Gilmore has masterfully captured the spirit of Taylor Hardwick’s architectural masterpiece, past and present. In restoring the building to a broad public purpose, we tried to retain Hardwick’s use of open space, color, and light and create a place the public would continue to love.

    With Gilmore’s daughters, we should all cry when our city’s decision makers continue to “monetize” and “privatize” public space with an absolute disregard for what makes for healthy community and healthy gathering places. The images of Hardwick’s original Friendship Fountain compared to its current state are heartbreaking.

    A note about Mrs. duPont: she was an ardent segregationist born in 1884. However, she was not a bigot. Her charitable giving included African-American churches, colleges, and social service organizations, including Clara White Mission and Edward Waters and Bethune-Cookman Colleges.

    Thank you Tim Gilmore.

    Sherry Magill

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