Tag Archives: Florida Life Building

Springfield’s Florence Court Apartments

Posted on June 26, 2020 | Leave a comment

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Cyara likes to imagine herself “Queen Florence.” More than a century before, the builder of the Florence Court named these apartments for his wife. On the sidewalk, you’d buy linen spats and a ham and beef tongue sandwich. So why was the architect’s name an open secret for 50 years? Mushrooms grow downward from ceilings. This building’s declined almost all its life. Who’s ready to step forward and save it?

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Tagged 1748 Bakehouse, Anthony Scott, Benjamin Tucker, Bernard Mitchell, Capitol Theatre, Crispy's Springfield, Cyara Williams, Florence Court, Florence Court Apartments, Florida Hotel, Florida Life Building, Frank Lloyd Wright, Frank M. Richardson, Harry Atlas Shoe Repair, Henry John Klutho, Hyperion Brewing, Ken Amaro, Kingsbury Norton, Klutho Apartments, Klutho House, Louis C. McCormick, Morocco Temple, Newell's Bakery, Paul's Luncheonette, Prairie Style Cross, Robert Broward, Slide Kelly Slide, Social Grounds Coffee, Springfield Court, Springfield Jacksonville, Syrup of Figs, The Architecture of Henry John Klutho: The Prairie School in Jacksonville, The Mad Atlas of Virginia King, The Yankee Clipper, Tim Gilmore, Tree of Life, Virginia King, W.H. Newell, William Hoff

The Barnett National Bank Building, Its Deep Roots and Tendrils through Time

Posted on March 8, 2019 | 1 comment

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It was “the Year of the Skyscraper.” The 10 story building next door began to tilt. Alfred duPont raised Florida from the Great Depression, merely from infusions of his personal wealth. When Barnett began the Bank of Jacksonville in 1877, he couldn’t have known it would grow into one of the largest banks in the South. After Herbert Hoover, Alfred’s wife, Jessie Ball duPont, changed direction. Her hair was graying, but her eyes still sparkled.

Barnett’s personification of its first Automatic Teller Machine frightened Southern working class families. Charles Rice said he’d never sell “Bion Barnett’s bank.” Then he checked into rehab. Then he sold. Then he drowned in his own swimming pool. Now UNF is making the Barnett “the front door to the startup community in Jacksonville.”

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Tagged Adrian Pillars, Aetna Insurance Building, Alfred duPont, Atlantic National Bank Building, Atlantic National Bank Building Annex, bank holiday, Bank of Jacksonville, Barnett Action, Barnett Bank, Barnett Center, Barnett Mansion, Barnett National Bank Building, Bion Barnett, Bisbee Building, Carling Hotel, Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Charles Adrian Pillars, Charles E. Rice, Chicago School, Cutler Mailing System, downtown Jacksonville, drive-through bank teller, Edward Ball, Epping Forest, FDR, First Union, Florida Life Building, Florida National Bank, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Great Depression, Greenleaf and Crosby, Helmut Jahn, Henry John Klutho, Herbert Hoover, Hoovervilles, Hotel Roosevelt, Jack in the Box, Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission, Jacksonville history, Jacksonville tunnels, Jacksonville's Big Three, Jacksonville's first skyscraper, jax psycho geo, jaxpsychogeo, Jessie Ball duPont, Jessie duPont, Judy Davis, Justin Maximo Uffinger, Karen Bowling, Lippincott's magazine, Louis Montayne Mowbray, Louis Sullivan, McCoys Creek, Memorial Park, Mowbray and Uffinger, Nationsbank, New Deal, Park Lane Apartments, Prudential Insurance Building, Robert E. Fisher, Sam the SuperTeller, Sarah Barnett, Savannah, Seth Thomas clock, skyscraper, Springfield, startup generator, Super Automatic Machine, tallest building in Jacksonville, The Carling, Tim Gilmore, UNF, University of North Florida, Wachovia, Wayne Wood, William Barnett, William Bion Barnett, William Boring, Winged Victory, Year of the Skyscraper

From the JaxPsychoGeo Archives: Dine with the Man in Green

Posted on September 20, 2018 | Leave a comment

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He lived in the tiny “cottage” on top of the Florida Life Building of the “Laura Street Trio.” For 35 years, he operated Berney’s Restaurant where Bark Downtown is now. As reported in Ripley’s Believe it or Not and Time magazine, Bernard Berney wore all green from head to toe. So did his Boston Terrier Peggy. In the restaurant, the chairs, booths, floor tiles, columns, menus and the bar itself were green. People called him a leprechaun. But he wasn’t Irish. He was Russian. In the 1990s, 30 years after closing, the bar, tables, chairs, and mirror were covered in dust like Miss Havisham’s Wedding.

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Tagged Andre Breton, Bark Downtown, Bernard Berney, Berney's Restaurant, Berney's Restaurant Jacksonville, Elks Club Building, Florida Life Building, Frances Berney, Glenn Emery, Henry John Klutho, J.B. Charles Jr., Jacksonville, jaxpsychogeo, John Beacham, Laura Street Trio, Leah Greenhut, Man in Green, Mason Hotel, Mayflower Hotel, Peggy Boston Terrier, Ripley's Believe it or Not, Robert Ripley, Roosevelt Hotel, Tim Gilmore, Victor Brauner, Walter Rose