During the early 1900s, few Jacksonville architecture firms were in higher demand than Marsh & Saxelbye.
The creative team of William M. Marsh, a Jax native, and Harold F. Saxelbye, a native of England who also worked in New York, designed a massive collection of buildings throughout Jacksonville over a span of more than twenty years. In some sense, they inherited the throne of great local architecture from Henry J. Klutho.
Their work was featured in both the urban core and the city’s suburbs, which at the time were mostly separate municipalities. They were critical in defining the residential styles of Riverside, Avondale, San Jose, and more. Many of their buildings still stand today, though some have evolved past their original purpose. Over three dozen Marsh & Saxelbye designs are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
There’s a good chance you’ve admired a Marsh & Saxelbye-designed building before without even realizing it. To highlight and honor their work, we’ve compiled a small collection of the best buildings designed by the firm – all of one of which are still standing.
The San Jose Hotel at 7400 San Jose Boulevard was one of several structures designed by Marsh & Saxelbye for San Jose Estates Co., an ill-fated development group that had grand plans for what’s now the San Jose neighborhood.
The building was constructed between 1925 and 1926 and was to serve as the riverfront focal point for the master-planned San Jose Estates development. Marsh & Saxelbye’s design was heavily influenced by Mediterranean Revival style.
The grand hotel featured over 100 rooms, a spacious lobby and courtyard complete with a fountain, and a scenic hilltop view of the St. Johns River.
Unfortunately, San Jose Estates Co. went bankrupt just a year after the hotel opened, which led it to close its doors after only a couple of years in operation.
The building was purchased by the estate of Richard J. Bolles, led by his longtime secretary Agnes Painter. Under Painter’s leadership, the building was first leased to Florida Military Academy. When the academy vacated, Painter and her husband opted to start a private school of its own.
Today, that school – The Bolles School – still occupies the grand Marsh & Saxelbye-designed San Jose Hotel, as well as multiple other structures designed by the firm which have since been incorporated into the school’s campus.
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