Berney’s Restaurant Bar and Mirror Cocktail Lounge

Berney’s Restaurant Bar and Mirror Cocktail Lounge was known as the “South’s Most Talked Of Place to Dine” from 1927 to 1962. (State Archives of Florida/Spottswood)</i>

Cohen Brothers

A July 15, 1946 postcard of Cohen Brothers. At the time, The Big Store was the largest department store in the State of Florida. (State Archives of Florida/Spottswood)</i>

The opening of the Jacksonville Landing proved to be the final nail in the coffin of downtown’s May Cohen’s flagship department store. During the 1990s, the former downtown store was converted into City Hall. In 2005, the remaining stores in the May chain were converted into Macy’s.

The Lynch Building

The Darling Shop, a women’s apparel store, at the corner of Forsyth and Main on June 11, 1941. (State Archives of Florida)</i>

Today, the Lynch Building is known as 11 East and the portion of the Darling Shop space is occupied by Super Food.

F.W. Woolworth Company

F.W. Woolworth Company at Main and Forsyth Street. (State Archives of Florida)</i>

F.W. Woolworth grew to become the world’s largest department chain store by 1979. Today, F.W. Woolworth’s former Main and Forsyth location is occupied by Perdue Office Interiors and CoWork Jax.

Furchgott’s Department Store

Women waiting outside Furchgott’s retail store in 1949. Furchgott’s Inc. was established by Leo Furchgott in 1868. During the company’s early years, it was known as Kohn-Furchgotts and was located at the intersection of Bay & Main Streets. (State Archives of Florida/Spottswood)</i>

Furchgott’s flagship store was a 60,000 square foot, six level Art Deco department store known for its designer departments. The Furchgott’s chain fell into a financial downfall in the 1980s. As a result, the store at 130 Adams Street was permanently shut down in spring 1984, a few months before the entire chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early 1985. Other than a few spaces being occupied at street level, such as the De Real Ting Cafe, much of the building has sat vacant for three decades.