Tag Archives: Roy Benjamin

By Request: The Leon Cheek House

Posted on September 25, 2021 | Leave a comment

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Since a few people have asked me about this one lately, here’s the story of the Leon Cheek “Castle,” one of the most distinctive houses in Riverside. Cheek-Neal Coffee eventually became Maxwell House. In all its years, this old mansion has belonged only to two families.

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Tagged Cheek Castle, Cheek House, Cheek Neal Coffee, Joel Cheek, Leon Cheek, Leon Cheek House, Maxwell House Jacksonville, Roy Benjamin

The Autobiography of the San Juline

Posted on September 3, 2021 | Leave a comment

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The story of the San Juline Apartments includes artists, historians and Congressmen; social introductions, deaths and secret loves. A great old building has a dense life story. The speaking tubes are still in the walls and on certain nights, perhaps the spectral tour buses from a century ago still make stops from the grand downtown hotels.

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Tagged C. Adrian Pillars, Carita Corse, Carita Doggett Corse, Cay Mansion Riverside Jacksonville, Cecil Vignutti’s Studio for Hair, Charlie Bennett, Cheek Castle, Colonel Raymond Cay, Congressman Charles Bennett, Daisy Hart Smith, Debbie Akins, Emily Gilmore, Emmet Ferguson, Fenimore Apartments, Floral Anthology, Francis Fleming, H.F. McAden, Hartmore Apartments, Isaiah Hart, jax psycho geo, Jerry Ferguson, Jessie Fritot, John Montgomery, Julian Prewitte, Leon Cheek House, Lynn and Mary Jarrett, Lynn Jarrett, Mary Jarrett, Mellen Greeley, Memorial Park Jacksonville, Mole Hole, Nancy Purcell, Park Lane Building, Riverside Avondale history, Riverside Hospital, Riverside Theater, Roy Benjamin, Rutledge Holmes, San Juline, San Juline Apartments, San Juline Apartments Riverside Jacksonville, San Marco Theater, speaking tubes, Taylor Hardwick, Tim Gilmore, Tom Gallacher, Wayne Wood

New Story: The Park Lane Apartment Building

Posted on December 13, 2019 | 2 comments

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When Hurricane Irma assailed the building, all they could see from the 10th floor was the water. It had been a long time since Tim first decided, at 10 years old, he’d one day call the Park Lane home. It had been a long time since the president of Barnett Bank petitioned the church to “unclaim” his “daughter” so he could marry her, since the future author of “A Wrinkle in Time,” Madeleine L’Engle called the Park Lane home. Not so long since Ivey jetted to Newport with Brownie to meet Foxy and Mary. Nor since Evelyn Nehl, who called the penthouse suite home, brought the AIDS Quilt to Jacksonville.

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Tagged A Wrinkle in Time, Amanda Toman, Anna Barnett, Barnett Bank, Bill Ectric, Bion Barnett, Brownie McClean, Carolina Barnett, Duncan Sawyer, Evelyn Nehl, Flora Hyman, Florida history, Florida Land Boom, George Benjamin, Hurricane Irma, Ivey Prescott, Ivey Wisenbaker Prescott, Jack Spottswood, Jacksonville history, Jacksonville Jewish Temple, Jacksonville Park Lane, Jake Godbold, jax psycho geo, Jeff Martin, John Steven Hughes, KBJ, Kemp Bunch and Jackson, Leonard Marcus, Madeleine L'Engle, Mary Freels Rosborough, Mary L'Engle Avent, Memorial Park, Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Park Lane, Park Lane Apartments, Park Lane Apartments Jacksonville, Park Lane Building, Park Lane Building Jacksonville, Park Lane Jacksonville, Roy Benjamin, Simon Benjamin, St Johns River, Summer of the Great-Grandmother, Tim Gilmore, Tim Toman, Wadsworth Camp, William Barnett, Wind in the Door, Year of the Skyscraper