Tag Archives: J.E.T. Bowden

New Story: St. Elmo “Chic” Acosta House

Posted on December 28, 2020 | Leave a comment

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When the old man fired his gun over the boy’s head for stealing oranges, the future city commissioner said one day Armstrong’s house would be his. He bought it in 1911. St. Elmo “Chic” Acosta was arrested in 1924 on “false charges” of keeping a “disorderly house” and indicted in 1933 for giving away the city’s “sack of potatoes” and a mule. He made enemies easily, but always fought for urban “beautification.” After the Acostas donated the house in 1966, it became the artistic heart of Episcopal School of Jacksonville.

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Tagged Acosta Bridge, Acosta House, Anna Van Valkenburgh, Barbara Stevenson, Charles Cummings, Chic Acosta, Cohen Brothers, El Modelo, El Modelo Cigar Factory, Elmo Acosta, Elmo Chic Acosta, Elmo W. Acosta, Episcopal Boys Home, Episcopal High School, Episcopal School of Jacksonville, Ernest Anders, Ernest E. Anders, Federal Writers Project, Florida history, J.E.T. Bowden, Jacksonville history, jax psycho geo, Jean Ribault, John Alsop, John T. Alsop, John W. Martin, Keystone Bluff, L.H. Armstrong, Mark Zimmerman, Munnerlyn Campus, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Pedro Menendez, Robert Bruce Van Valkenburgh, Rose Shepherd, Satsumas, Sean Bean, Second Seminole Indian War, St. Elmo Acosta, Tim Gilmore, Unshu Mikan, Van Valkenburgh, Van Valkenburgh House

Story #509: Riverdale Inn / Brazile House / Kelly House

Posted on February 7, 2020 | Leave a comment

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Walter Brazile founded B & B Exterminating Co. in his rambling old boarding house. He nurtured the business and nurtured people, including Rufus King, Jr., brother of Virginia, author of that 8,448-page book about Jax. William Kelly, turpentine magnate, built the house 115 years ago. Albert O’Neall, though a Quaker, took a job here building bombing ranges. Now the former HQ of B & B has been restored as a bed-and-breakfast. One of my favorite writers stayed here just last week.

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Tagged Albert Ellis O'Neall, Albert O'Neall, Arden Herrin, B & B Exterminating, Barnett Mansion Springfield, Benvenuto, Bret Burmeister, Charlie Towers, Claude L'Engle, Consolidated Naval Stores, Elizabeth Brazile, Eric Waln, Florida history, Gum Bunch, Haydon Burns Library, Henry John Klutho, Irma O'Neall, J.E.T. Bowden, Jacksonville Florida, jax psycho geo, Jessica Miner-Killian, Jonathan Greeley, Larry James Bana, LaVilla, Malcolm Gladwell Jacksonville, Marjorie Ann O'Neall, Mary Mychael Waln, McCoys Creek, Mellen Greeley, Memorial Park, Napier Apartments, naval stores, Orren McJunkins, Ortega Jacksonville, Palms Boarding House, Palms Hotel, Riverdale Inn, Riverside Avondale, Riverside Hospital, Rocco Morabito, Rogers Towers, Rufus King Jr., Slappey Building, The Mad Atlas of Virginia King, The Row, Tim Gilmore, Tim Gilmore Florida, Tom Gilmore, Virginia King, Walter Brazile, Walter P. Brazile, William Kelly, William O'Neall

The Adams Building: from the Vice Wars to “Rehumanizing the Broken Man”

Posted on January 18, 2020 | Leave a comment

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The old upstairs hotel has never, in 125 years, closed its doors. Now dedicated to “deinstitutionalizing the human being and rehumanizing the broken man,” the hotel was built in the bloody years of LaVilla’s vice wars. It sheltered refugees from the Great Fire of 1901. Half a century later, it served as a brothel with “peep holes” in the walls.

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Tagged Adams Building, Adams Building Hotel, Bettelini's, Bettelini's Hotel, Blue Bird Bar and Grill, Ed Austin, Florida history, Fox Jewelry and Loan, Great Fire of 1901, Hamilton Jay, Hank Smith, Hotel Moncrief, J.E.T. Bowden, James Inn, jax psycho geo, LaVilla, Lesnick, Pete Lesnick, Pete's Jewelry and Loan, Prospect House, Richard Lesnick, Richard Martin, River City Renaissance, Robert Starrett, Sam Houston, Sam Russ, St. James Recovery Center, T.J. Underhill, The Store, Tim Gilmore