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 1967 in Jacksonville than any other city in Florida, [1] though few structures in the city center predate the Great Fire of 1901. [2] Numerous buildings in the city have held state height records, dating as far back as 1902, [3] and last holding a record in 1981. [4]
Contributing heavily during the reconstruction period following the Great Fire of 1901, a young New York architect named Henry John Klutho would come to influence generations of local designers. Klutho's works exhibit elements influenced by both the Chicago School, championed by Louis Sullivan, and the Prairie School of architecture, popularized by Frank Lloyd Wright. As a result, Jacksonville has one of the largest collections of Prairie Style buildings outside the Midwest. [5]
By the 1950s, modernist design principles would permeate throughout the United States, transforming the rapidly growing State of Florida. [6] During this period, local architects Robert C. Broward, Taylor Hardwick, and William Morgan adapted a range of design principles, including International style, Brutalism, Futurism and Organicism, all applied with an American interpretation generally referred to today as Mid-century modern design. [7] The architecture firms of Reynolds, Smith & Hills (RS&H) [8] and Kemp, Bunch & Jackson (KBJ) have also contributed a number of important works to the city's modern architectural movement. In particular, KBJ has designed more buildings in the contemporary skyline of Jacksonville than any other architectural firm. Of the 30 tallest buildings in the city, 17 are associated with KBJ. [9] With the notable exception of works by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, Welton Becket, Paul Rudolph, and Helmut Jahn, many of Jacksonville's modern landmarks were designed locally.
Few structures survive from the earliest period of Jacksonville's history, though there are a handful of notable exceptions. Built in 1797, Kingsley Plantation is the oldest surviving structure in the city and is currently maintained by the National Park Service as part of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. Located on Fort George Island, the plantation is a unique two-story house that resembles 17th century British gentry homes. The Red Bank Plantation House is a Georgian Revival style structure built in 1854. Marabanong Mansion is a Queen Anne style home built in 1876. Napoleon Bonaparte Broward House, built in 1878, and the Merrill House, built in 1886, are two examples of Victorian style homes in Jacksonville.
The Great Fire of 1901 consumed much of central Jacksonville, leaving thousands homeless, and simultaneously sparked a significant period of growth lasting up until the end of the Florida Land Boom. Springfield, Riverside, Avondale, Eastside, Oakland and Fairfield had been platted and annexed into the city prior to the fire, and experienced much of the related growth after the disaster. Architect Henry John Klutho would become a popular figure in the reconstruction of Jacksonville, contributing his designs to many of the new structures, including dwellings. Built in 1902, The Thomas V. Porter House is a Classical Revival and Colonial Revival style mansion designed by Klutho. He is better known for his works in the Prairie School style of architecture. His own home, Henry John Klutho House, is a prime example. The architecture firm of Marsh & Saxelbye would also establish itself during this period of growth. In 1925, the firm designed the Tudor Revival style Lane-Towers House. More famously, Epping Forest, completed in 1927, is a Spanish Colonial Revival style mansion designed by Marsh & Saxelbye.
Following World War II, suburbs rapidly developed throughout the United States, due in large part to the rise of personal automobile ownership. Following the opening of the Mathews Bridge, Arlington would become the most important of these developments locally. This period also coincided with the popularization of Modern design in architecture. Designed by Robert C. Broward, the Butterfly House was completed in 1957 in the Arlington neighborhood. Its design elements, including the butterfly wing shaped roof, are sometime more broadly categorized today as Mid-century modern design. [10] The Jacksonville Beaches also host a number of modern homes built during this period. Famed architect Paul Rudolph designed the iconic Milam House in 1961, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. William Morgan designed the Williamson House in 1966, and his own home, Morgan House, in 1974. Both are located on the beach. [11]
Jacksonville is home to a variety of museums of varied styles. Completed in 1921, the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum is a Classical Revival building originally constructed for the Church of Christian Scientist. It was designed by the local architecture firm Marsh & Saxelbye. Also designed by Marsh & Saxelbye, the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville was originally built in 1931 for the Western Union Telegraph Company, and stands as one of Jacksonville's best examples of Art Deco in architecture. [29] Another example of Art Deco is the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens. Completed in 1961, the fine arts museum was designed by Saxelby & Powell. Constructed in 1965, the Jacksonville Art Museum was predecessor of what is now the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville. Designed by Taylor Hardwick, the building is located in the Midtown Centre office complex. Originally built in 1969 as the Jacksonville Children's Museum, William Morgan's Brutalist designed museum currently houses the Museum of Science and History.
The city host a number of music and performance venues, most notably the Florida Theatre. Designed by local architect Roy A. Benjamin, the Mediterranean Revival style theater opened in 1927. Benjamin designed a number of other local venues, including the Renaissance Revival style Riverside Theatre in 1927 and the Art Deco style San Marco Theatre in 1939. Designed by Jefferson Davis Powell in 1929, the Ritz Theatre is another local example of Art Deco architecture in Jacksonville entertainment venues. The Mid-century modern Jacksonville Coliseum was built in 1960 and designed by A. Eugene Cellar and George Ryad Fisher. Demolished in 2003, the building exhibited what is now coined as Googie architecture. Built in the International Style in 1962, the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts is one of many examples of buildings designed locally by the firm of Kemp, Bunch & Jackson. The newest addition to the local entertainment venue stock is the Populous designed Daily's Place. Completed in 2017, the venue is attached to the southern edge of Everbank Field.
Jacksonville is home to several major sports venues, most notably EverBank Field, home stadium facility of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). Completed in 1995, it was designed by the architecture firm HOK Sport. Opening in 2003, the Postmodern styled Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville and Veterans Memorial Arena were both designed by the architecture firm Populous.
The 10 tallest standard structures:
Std. rank | Name | Year | Location (Downtown) | Floors | Standard height ft | Std. hgt m | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bank of America Tower | 1990 | North Laura Street & West Bay Street | 42 | 617 | 188 | |
2 | Wells Fargo Center | 1974 | Laura Street & Independent Drive | 37 | 535 | 163 | |
3 | EverBank Center | 1983 | West Bay Street & Pearl Street | 32 | 447 | 136 | |
4 | The Peninsula at St. Johns Center | 2006 | 1401 Riverplace Boulevard | 36 | 437 | 133 | |
5 | Riverplace Tower | 1967 | Riverplace Boulevard & Flagler Avenue | 28 | 432 | 132 | |
6 | SunTrust Tower | 1989 | Laura Street & Independent Drive | 24 | 357 | 109 | |
7 | The Strand at St. Johns Center | 2006 | 1401 Riverplace Boulevard | 28 | 328 | 100 | |
8 | Eight Forty One | 1954 | 841 Prudential Drive | 22 | 309 | 94 | |
9 | Two Prudential Plaza | 1985 | Museum Circle & San Marco Boulevard | 21 | 305 | 93 | |
10 | One Enterprise Center | 1986 | Water & Hogan Streets | 21 | 299 | 91 | |
Chronology of the tallest buildings in Jacksonville:
Years tallest (Florida) | Years tallest (city) | Name | Std. hgt ft/m | Floors | Year completed | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1902-1909 | 1902–1909 | Dyal-Upchurch Building | 82 / 25 | 6 | 1902 | |
1909-1912 | 1909–1912 | 121 Atlantic Place | 135 / 41 | 10 | 1909 | |
1912-1913 | 1912–1913 | Florida Life Building | 148 / 45 | 11 | 1912 | |
1913-1926 | 1913–1926 | Heard National Bank Building | 180 / 55 | 15 | 1913 | |
1926–1954 | Barnett National Bank Building | 224 / 68 | 18 | 1926 | ||
1954–1967 | Eight Forty One | 309 / 94 | 22 | 1955 | ||
1967-1972 | 1967–1974 | Riverplace Tower | 417 / 127 | 28 | 1967 | |
1974-1981 | 1974–1990 | Wells Fargo Center | 535 / 163 | 37 | 1974 | |
1990–present | Bank of America Tower | 617 / 188 | 42 | 1990 | ||
"Florida Architecture: 100 places, 100 years", compiled by the Florida chapter of the American Institute of Architects. [30]
Jacksonville architects used many design styles and belonged to a variety of architectural schools. Below is a list of those styles and schools.
Postmodern architecture is a style or movement which emerged in the 1960s as a reaction against the austerity, formality, and lack of variety of modern architecture, particularly in the international style advocated by Philip Johnson and Henry-Russell Hitchcock. The movement was formally introduced by the architect and urban planner Denise Scott Brown and architectural theorist Robert Venturi in their 1972 book Learning from Las Vegas. The style flourished from the 1980s through the 1990s, particularly in the work of Scott Brown & Venturi, Philip Johnson, Charles Moore and Michael Graves. In the late 1990s, it divided into a multitude of new tendencies, including high-tech architecture, neo-futurism, new classical architecture, and deconstructivism. However, some buildings built after this period are still considered postmodern.
Springfield is a historic neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida, United States, located to the north of downtown. Established in 1869, it experienced its greatest growth from the early 1880s through the 1920s. The Springfield Historic District is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and contains some of the city's best examples of 19th and early 20th century architecture.
Prairie School is a late 19th and early 20th-century architectural style, most common in the Midwestern United States. The style is usually marked by horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands, integration with the landscape, solid construction, craftsmanship, and discipline in the use of ornament. Horizontal lines were thought to evoke and relate to the wide, flat, treeless expanses of America's native prairie landscape.
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 San Francisco fire.
The architecture of Canada is, with the exception of that of Canadian First Nations, closely linked to the techniques and styles developed in Canada, Europe and the United States. However, design has long needed to be adapted to Canada's climate and geography, and at times has also reflected the uniqueness of Canadian culture.
The St. James Building is a historic building in Downtown Jacksonville, Florida, currently housing Jacksonville City Hall. It was designed by architect Henry John Klutho and opened in 1912. One of many structures in downtown Jacksonville designed by Klutho after the Great Fire of 1901, it is considered his Prairie School masterpiece.
The Morocco Temple is a historic Shriners International building in Jacksonville, Florida. It is located at 219 Newnan Street, and was designed by Jacksonville architect Henry John Klutho. On November 29, 1979, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The building is the oldest Shrine temple in Florida.
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 designing many of the new buildings built after the disaster. This period lasted until the beginning of World War I. Several Jacksonville architects began their careers in the offices of Klutho's firm.
The former, now permanently closed, Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum was a museum in Jacksonville, Florida, one of ten Karpeles Manuscript Library Museums in the United States, all housed in repurposed old buildings. Other locations of Karpeles Museums include Buffalo, NY; Duluth, MN; Santa Barbara, CA; Tacoma, WA; Alvin, TX; Rock Island, IL; Gloversville, NY; Lake Mary, FL; Pittsburgh, PA; and St. Augustine, FL. Karpeles Manuscript Library Museums display manuscripts and documents from the private collection of David and Marsha Karpeles, the world's largest privately owned collection.
The Laura Street Trio is a group of three historic buildings located on and near Laura Street in downtown Jacksonville, Florida. The Trio consists of two perpendicularly arranged skyscrapers, the Florida Life Building and the Bisbee Building, plus a third structure, the Old Florida National Bank, which is framed by the other two in a unique pattern. The three buildings, constructed in the wake of the Great Fire of 1901, are architecturally significant, but are currently endangered.
Howard Montalbert Reynolds, Sr. was an American architect practicing in Orlando, Florida in the 1920s. He designed gracefully proportioned, notable public buildings in the prevailing fashionable styles of the 1920s, including Mediterranean Revival, Colonial Revival, Spanish Colonial, Egyptian Revival, Art Deco and Art Moderne.
KBJ Architects, Inc. (KBJ) is an American architectural firm based in Jacksonville, Florida. The firm designed 17 of the city's 30 tallest buildings and "created Jacksonville's modern skyline", according to The Florida Times-Union newspaper. The firm designed the first high-rise in downtown Jacksonville, the 22-story Aetna Building, which opened in 1955. It took pride in "having the second-largest number of architects of any Florida firm", according to a 1997 article in The Florida Times-Union.
Riverside and Avondale are two adjacent and closely associated neighborhoods, alternatively considered one continuous neighborhood, of Jacksonville, Florida. The area is primarily residential, but includes some commercial districts, including Five Points, the King Street District, and the Shoppes of Avondale.
Wilbur B. Talley was an architect in Florida. He worked in Jacksonville until the death of his wife Nellie and daughter Sarah, who were riding in a car hit by a train on December 21, 1919. After the accident, he moved to Lakeland, Florida where he continued working as an architect.
Wilbur Bacon Camp (1860-1918) was one of a number of out-of-town architects and builders attracted to Jacksonville, FL by the construction opportunities created by the disastrous Great Fire of 1901.
Henry J. Klutho Park is an 18.34-acre (74,200 m2) public park, located between downtown Jacksonville, Florida and the historic neighborhood of Springfield. It is part of a network of parks that parallel Hogans Creek, Klutho Park being the largest. Klutho Park is home to an 18-hole disc golf course.
Steele, Sandham, and Steele is an Omaha based architecture firm whose work was effective at combining the popular Modern style with Historicism in many churches, federal buildings, and educational facilities located in Omaha, Nebraska and surrounding areas. The firm's most principal architect, William LaBarthe Steele, was a prominent member of the Prairie School and was essential in spreading the style to the Iowa/Nebraska region. Prior to joining this firm, he worked under Louis Sullivan, an important member of the Chicago School. Steele eventually moved to Sioux City, IA where he designed dozens of homes and small churches in the prairie style, four of which are now state or national historical monuments. He started Kimball and Steele in 1928 in Omaha, NE with Thomas R. Kimball.
The Art Deco style, which originated in France just before World War I, had an important impact on architecture and design in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. The most notable examples are the skyscrapers of New York City, including the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and Rockefeller Center. It combined modern aesthetics, fine craftsmanship, and expensive materials, and became the symbol of luxury and modernity. While rarely used in residences, it was frequently used for office buildings, government buildings, train stations, movie theaters, diners and department stores. It also was frequently used in furniture, and in the design of automobiles, ocean liners, and everyday objects such as toasters and radio sets.
The CSX Transportation Building is a 251 feet high-rise office building located in Jacksonville, Florida. Completed in 1960, the building currently serves as headquarters for CSX Corporation. The building is located in the Northbank area of Downtown Jacksonville, along the banks of the St. Johns River.
Laura Street is a north–south street in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, named for the daughter of the city's founder, Isaiah D. Hart. Historically, the downtown portion of Laura Street has been considered the financial district of Jacksonville.
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