Jax Evolved

In our popular article series Jax Evolved, we discuss historic buildings in Jacksonville that have been repurposed into new uses and, as a result, are preserved and protected for the foreseeable future. But for each of those buildings that find new life, there’s at least one historic property that continues...

Located at the corner of Adams and Hogan streets in downtown Jacksonville, the historic Levy Building currently houses two local law firms, a dentistry practice, and an eye care center. But back in the day, it was home to one of downtown Jax’s most prestigious department stores. The Levy Building...

For a little over a decade, the Edward Ball Building has served as a main annex building for Jacksonville’s city hall. But the building actually has a history that dates back over fifty years. The Ed Ball Building was originally constructed in 1961 to house Florida National Bank. The bank...

Before the Jessie Ball duPont Fund took over the building at 40 East Adams Street and turned it into a center for nonprofit organizations, it first served for several decades as the city’s main public library. The building was commissioned in 1960 to replace the aging Carnegie Library. It was...

If you’ve ever driven past FSCJ’s Deerwood campus at the corner of Old Baymeadows Road and Southside Boulevard and thought, “Hey, that kinda looks like a tiny mall,” you’re not that far off. Longtime residents of the Deerwood area will remember that the building was, in fact, originally built as...

Few people are aware that international burger chain Burger King got its start right here in Jacksonville. Even fewer know where that first store was located, or that the building is still standing – though significantly modified from what it once was. The chain we now know as Burger King...

Jacksonville is on fire right now. The city is among the fastest-growing in the country, both population-wise and in terms of business and culture. People are flocking to Jax for new job opportunities, which are readily available in many industries – and many of those are young people looking to...

After years of neglect, what was once a depleted former bank building on a high-visibility downtown street corner is now the upscale, state-of-the-art Cowford Chophouse. The Bostwick Building, as it was previously known, was one of the first new structures to open after the Great Fire of 1901 ripped through...

When The Lofts San Marco’s building first opened, the neighborhood surrounding it looked quite different than it does today. For one, it wasn’t known as San Marco. The building, located at 1450 Flagler Ave., began its lifespan in 1916 as the South Jacksonville Grammar School. It was designed by Mark...

Back when the shopping mall craze was first hitting the nation, Philips Highway Plaza - or Philips Mall - won the race to become Jacksonville's first glimpse at the trend. The mall opened in 1960 and was fairly successful initially, with anchors such as Montgomery Ward and Woolworth's. It became...