Central Hotel

The Central Hotel at 605 West Beaver Street. During the early 20th century, Charles “Charley” Jacob Hazouri owned and operated a market in the retail storefront located on the corner. | Ennis Davis, AICP

Erected at the northwest corner of Broad and West Beaver streets in 1912, the Central Hotel was designed by architect Mellen C. Greeley and built for the Ames Realty Co. Throughout its history, the building’s ground floor has been occupied by a variety of businesses that catered to the LaVilla community.

In one storefront, the Jacksonville Negro Welfare League provided counseling and referrals for African American veterans returning from World War II for employment, housing, education, and training benefits. The Negro Welfare League merged with a new Jacksonville branch of the National Urban League to create the Jacksonville Urban League in August 1947.

Another storefront was briefly leased to NAACP attorney Earl M. Johnson, Sr. during the 1960s. The first Black person to be elected to an at-large seat on the Jacksonville City Council, Johnson represented numerous civil rights activists during his tenure, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rutledge Pearson, and the St. Augustine Four, who were fighting to desegregate public places in Florida.

The building’s ground floor retail space was anchored by the Vandoria Waldorf Cafeteria, a popular restaurant and bakery operated by hotel owners Julius and Vandora Jackson. However, between 1912 and the 1920s, this storefront was the location of a grocery market owned and operated by members of LaVilla’s Arab American community. Previous grocery market owners included Charles “Charley” Jacob Hazouri (1897-1969). Hazouri, a Lebanese immigrant, originally settled in LaVilla with his father, Jacob Nadir Hazouri — the great, great-grandfather of Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan — in 1904. Charley Hazouri went on to establish the Quality Fuel Oil Co. a few blocks northwest, near the present day S-Line Urban Greenway Trail at 1125 Wilcox St. The Central Hotel was designated as a local historic landmark in 1995.

Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park

An April 2024 view of Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park. A large portion of the park ground located north of the recently relocated shotgun house, lies on land once owned by Johnson family neighbor David Abdullah-Bey. | Ennis Davis, AICP

In 2015, the Durkeeville Historical Society and city of Jacksonville collaborated to dedicate the birth site of two native sons, James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson, as Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park. The park is named after the song written by the Johnson brothers, which has become known as the Black National Anthem. Expected to open this summer, the $4 million park lies on a block of land that silently includes a piece of history related to Jacksonville’s early Arab-American community.

While the Johnson family resided on the south side of the block, David Abdullah-Bey was their immediate nextdoor neighbor to the north, in the house fronting the southwest corner of Lee and West Adams streets. David Abdullah-Bey was born in Trupoli, Syria, in 1885. His father, Abdullah Abdullah Bey, was killed by a new regime in Syria during the late 1890s. Following his death, David and his siblings immigrated to the U.S. with their mother, Nijimie Hazouri Abdullah-Bey.

A 1927 aerial of LaVilla showing the location of the Johnson and Abdullah-Bey family residences. | Ritz Theatre & Museum

Arriving in Jacksonville in 1900 to be close to relatives, by 1906 he was living and working as a fruit retailer at 207 Bridge St. (now Broad Street) in LaVilla. Soon afterward, he moved next door to the Johnson family, where he also operated a grocery and meat market at 1102 W. Adams St. During the late 1920s, both the Johnson and Abdullah-Bey family properties were demolished and replaced with a Firestone Tire Co. warehouse and retail store. Abdullah-Bey then relocated to Miami where he was employed as a butcher at a retail meat market.

Khoury Brothers Dry Goods Building

The Khoury Brothers Dry Goods building in LaVilla’s Railroad Row warehouse district. | Ennis Davis, AICP

The Khoury Brothers Dry Goods building is located at 827 W. Forsyth St.. Khoury Brothers was owned and operated by brothers William and Emmett Khoury for 45 years. Their parents, John and Catherine Khoury, immigrated to Jacksonville from Syria in the early 20th century. Constructed of brick, and built on the site of a former red light district bordello in 1953, the business primarily sold goods to firefighters, police officers and city officials. The business, which closed in the 1980s, offered a variety of dry goods, including winter coats and linens, at good prices. Stock was stored on the second floor of the two-story building. Today, it is one of a few surviving buildings associated with LaVilla’s early 20th century historic warehouse district, Railroad Row.

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