7. Kerr McGee Chemical Co.
1611 Talleyrand Ave.
An aerial of the 31-acre Kerr McGee Chemical Company during the 1960s | City of Jacksonville
Adjacent to the St. Johns River and Deer Creek, the site operated as a fertilizer formulating, packaging, and distributing facility dating back to 1893 when it opened as the Wilson and Toomer Co. Kerr McGee Chemical Co. operated the two plants at the site until it closed in 1978. Kerr McGee also produced sulfuric acid in an on-site plant for use in the fertilizer manufacturing process and for a time operated a steel drum reconditioning facility near the pesticide storage warehouse. After sulfuric acid production was discontinued in 1972 and superphosphate fertilizer production was discontinued in 1976, fertilizer-blending operations ceased in 1978. The site’s buildings were demolished in 1989, with the exception of three raised foundations, long abandoned and contaminated.
A Superfund site, the Talleyrand Avenue property is in the midst of a $60 million remediation. Once the site is cleaned up, building materials company CertainTeed Gypsum Product Group plans to redevelop the property as a terminal for moving material to its drywall plant in Palatka. Once operational, CertainTeed’s dock will be equipped with a bulkhead, a conveyor, an unloading ramp, truck staging areas and a small office. Approximately 32 new full-time jobs will be created at the facility by the end of 2024.
8. Commodores Point Terminal Co.
2029 E. Adams St.
The busy docks at Commodores Point during the 1950s. | City of Jacksonville
The Commodores Point Terminal Co. was incorporated in 1915, and warehousing and terminal operations started two years later. Its construction included the creation of a 1-mile bulkhead and reclamation of 135 acres of land. Then, sitting between the terminal tracks of the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line Railway companies, railroad tracks on the property created a connection between the ACL and SCL, allowing access to both competing railroads.
During the early 20th century, Jacksonville was a major turpentine production center. One particular kind that was prevalent in North Florida in particular was Oleoresin, better known to turpentiners as “pine resin.” This natural byproduct of certain types of pine trees would be extracted from the trees by laborers and then distilled to make what was known as “spirit turpentine.” The turpentine was originally used for sealing wooden ships to protect against leaks, which is why it eventually was given the nickname “naval stores.”
Much of the turpentine and rosin in the region was stored and exported at Commodores Point’s Jacksonville Naval Stores Yard. The shipping terminal was also designed for the handling of lumber and other forest products and home to many warehouses. Recently, Chesapeake, Virginia-based Fincantieri Marine Systems North America announced plans to establish a $39 million shipyard at Commodores Point. Fincantieri Marine intends to hire more than 300 employees for a federal contract to repair Navy ships.
9. Union Terminal Warehouse Co.
700 E. Union St.
A view of the Union Terminal Warehouse Co. in 1968. | University of Florida
Completed in 1913, the building was the brainchild of C.B. Gay. After his syrup manufacturing plant was destroyed by fire, Gay decided to organize the terminal company instead of rebuilding his plant. Intending to cater to wholesale grocery firms in town, Gay envisioned a facility that would save its tenants money by reducing their insurance rates, drayage bills, and transportation costs. Gay’s belief that the Union Terminal Warehouse Co. would be attractive to Jacksonville’s 32 wholesale grocery companies turned out to be true. Early food-based tenants in the building included AM Grocery Co., Loose-Wiles Biscuit Co., and Whiddon’s Cash Stores. James Laseter, president of the Jacksonville Wholesale Grocers Association, even called the Union Terminal Warehouse “the finest and most practical form of Christmas present any city could receive.”
In its glory days, the Union Terminal Warehouse Co. offered a plethora of amenities to railway users.For one, the Union Warehouse had a Pool Car Distribution system, allowing a “pool,” or like-group, of shippers to share cars. Furthermore, pool cars could be stored until needed, and any member of a “pool” could use them.
Atlanta-based Columbia Ventures is now in the process of renovating the property, which was recently listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is Florida’s first Historic Tax Credit project in a Federal Opportunity Zone. Intended to be a catalyst for economic development and revitalization in the Eastside, when complete, the $72 million adaptive reuse project will include 228 apartments, 20,233 square feet of community commercial space, 24,607 square feet of maker/artist studio space, and 4,205 square feet of restaurant and coffee shop space.
10. The intersection of Florida Avenue and East Union Street
700 block of A. Philip Randolph Blvd.
The intersection of Florida Avenue and Union streets in 1968. | University of Florida
By the 1920s Florida Land Boom, Florida Avenue had become known as “The Avenue,” the Eastside’s version of LaVilla’s Ashley Street. A center of segregation-era Black commerce for residents living east of Hogans Creek, The Avenue stretched several blocks between the Jacksonville Shipyards and East 8th Street and was the place to see and be seen, connected to Downtown with a streetcar line that ran down its center. A dense, pedestrian-friendly strip, its line of mixed-use buildings were occupied by mom-and-pop businesses, restaurants and clubs, including the Blue Ridge Inn, Charlie Joseph’s grocery store, Johns Furniture and Bill’s Clothing. Famed neighborhood residents who once frequented this strip include internationally known individuals like Philip Randolph and Zora Neale Hurston, A.L. Lewis and Bullet Bob Hayes. Florida Avenue, south of East First Street, was renamed A. Philip Randolph Boulevard in 1995.
11. Superior Iron & Metal Co.
In vicinity of present-day East First Street
A view of Palmetto Street near the Superior Iron & Metal Company’s scrapyard during the 1970s. | City of Jacksonville
During the Eastside’s formative years, Palmetto Street, between East First and Second streets was the site of S.S. Goffin’s Kaufman Metal Company and the McGrughey & Lovelace Co. planing mill. Goffin also developed commercial properties in Springfield and operated an oyster harvesting business in Nassau County’s Nassauville community. His Kaufman Metal Co. eventually expanded, consuming the planing mill property before becoming the Superior Iron & Metal Co. In 1969, the industrial site was redeveloped into the Robert F. Kennedy Community Center, gymnasium and park.
12. Mount Olive African Methodist Episcopal Church
841 Franklin St.
A view of the Mount Olive African Methodist Episcopal Church, at the northeast corner of Pippen and Franklin streets in 1968. | University of Florida
The Mount Olive A.M.E. Church was designed by Richard Lewis Brown and built in 1922. Born into slavery in 1854 in Abbeville, South Carolina, Brown was regarded as the city’s first known African American architect (and probably the most well-known African American architect and builder). Brown was also elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1881, serving two consecutive terms.
In addition to Mount Olive, Brown is also credited with building Centennial Hall on the campus of Edward Waters University. Brown resided in the Eastside on an estate he designed to have a similar layout to the plantation he was born on. Brown died in 1948 at the ripe old age of 94. Following his death, his Eastside property was donated to the Duval County School Board, becoming the present day site of R.L. Brown Gifted and Talented Academy.
13. The intersection of Florida Avenue and First Street
1000 Block of A. Philip Randolph Blvd.
The intersection of Florida Avenue and East First Street during the 1940s. | Ritz Theatre & Museum
This intersection was the central focal point of the neighborhood’s business district prior to desegregation. Lost to urban renewal, much of the property surrounding this intersection has since been redeveloped into the offices for the city’s Kids Hope Alliance and A. Philip Randolph Heritage Park.