4. Hotel Row on Julia Street

The Mayflower was located at Julia and Bay Streets. The EverBank Tower (then Southern Bell) replaced it during the early 1980s. Courtesy of the Jacksonville Public Library Special Collections Department.

The heart of Florida’s first major city was simultaneously home to one of the largest theater districts in the South and an African-American cultural district in LaVilla, whose vibrancy provided the genesis for the Harlem Renaissance. Visitors and tourist came from all over the world to visit Jacksonville’s beautiful and unforgettable charm. This created an environment for several grand hotels that defined the urban Jacksonville experience. Most of the city’s largest hotels, like Hotel Mayflower, George Washington Hotel, Robert Meyer Hotel, Ambassador Hotel, Hotel Aragon, Hotel Rollings, and the Park Hotel where either on or within a two block walk of Julia Street. Partially due to a decline in nearby industry, employment, aging facilities and the closure of the Jacksonville Terminal, most of downtown’s major early 20th century hotels ceased operations by the end of the 1970s.

The George Washington Hotel at Julia and Adams. This building was replaced with a surface parking lot, shortly after the hotel closed in the 1970s. Courtesy of the State Archives of Florida.

Hotel Aragon was located at Julia and Forsyth Streets. This site is now a surface parking lot for the BB&T Tower. Courtesy of the State Archives of Florida.

The Robert Meyer Hotel was located at the intersection of Julia and Church Streets. Courtesy of the State Archives of Florida.

The Park Hotel was located at Julia and Forsyth Streets. Courtesy of the State Archives of Florida.

5. The Great White Way

A postcard of Forsyth Street’s theatre district. Courtesy of the Jacksonville Public Library Special Collections Department.

During the first half of the 20th Century, Forsyth Street developed into Jacksonville’s version of Manhattan’s “Great White Way”. Nicknamed after New York City’s show district, this downtown entertainment area was a brightly-lit portion of Forsyth Street between Main and Newnan streets, once home to as many as twelve theaters. Theaters included the Florida, Palace, Imperial, Rialto, Savoy, Grand, Roxy, Arcade, and the Majestic. By the 1970s, many of the district’s surviving theaters kept their doors open by showing porn and kung fu movies. Today, the Florida Theater is all that remains of this theater district.

The Palace Theatre at Forsyth and Ocean Streets. Courtesy of the State Archives of Florida.

The Arcade Theatre’s box office was located in an arcade filled with shops that ran between Forsyth and Adams Streets. The arcade’s Forsyth Street entrance was the first floor of the Bisbee Building (Laura Trio). Courtesy of the State Archives of Florida.

The Imperial Theatre was located on Forsyth Street between Main and Ocean Streets. Courtesy of the State Archives of Florida.

Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com