Richard Lewis Brown (1854-1948)

Born into slavery in 1854 in Abbeville, SC, Richard Lewis Brown may be Jacksonville’s most well known African-American architect and builder. Regarded as Jacksonville’s first known African-American architect, Brown was also elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1881, serving two consecutive terms. Residing in the Eastside at 1727 Milnor Street, Brown was hired by the Duval County School Board to build and repair schools following the Great Fire of 1901. A member of the African Methodist Episcopal church, Brown is also credited with building Centennial Hall on the campus of Edward Waters College. Brown died in 1948 at the ripe old age of 94.

Centennial Hall on the campus of Edward Waters College.

Brown was a member of Mount Olive African Methodist Episcopal Church when he designed and built this sanctuary for the congregation in 1921.

Public School Number 8 was one of several schools built by Brown for the Duval County School Board. Photograph courtesy of Bullet atAbandoned Florida

Brown constructed this small apartment building at 1208 Florida Avenue in 1909.

Sanford Augustus Brookings (1877-1968)

Born in Macon, GA in 1877, Sanford Augustus Brookings relocated to Jacksonville in 1904. Around 1916, Brookings founded his own contracting business specializing in residential construction. By 1925, the Sugar Hill resident had been credited with building over 150 residential structures. Many of Brooking’s residences were built in Durkee Gardens. Situated near the intersection of 8th and 13th Streets, the brick houses in Durkee Gardens were constructed between 1934 and 1940 and marketed to the city’s black middle class. Despite doing business in the era of Jim Crow, Brookings also built several residences in the white Riverside neighborhood for developer George P. Mason. After retiring in 1965, Brookings relocated to Compton, CA where he died in 1968.

Brookings designed and built several one-story brick homes in the Durkee Gardens section of Durkeeville.

Other Notable African-American Architects and Contractors

In 1958, Eartha White of the Clara White Mission published a comprehensive directory of all African-American owned businesses in Jacksonville. This list included architects and general contractors. Below are some of the residences and offices of individuals identified in White’s publication.

This single family residence was built in 1948 at 2108 Davis Street in Sugar Hill. In 1958, it was the home of general contractor Ed Ballard.

Completed in 1952, 1584 W 12th Street in Durkeeville was the residence of architect George Patterson in 1958.

This residence was completed in 1955 for Richard and Marion Wilson at 1056 Almeda Street in Robinson’s Addition. Richard Wilson was listed as a general contractor in Eartha White’s 1958 directory of African-American businesses in Jacksonville.

Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Davis is a certified senior planner and graduate of Florida A&M University. He is the author of the award winning books “Reclaiming Jacksonville,” “Cohen Brothers: The Big Store” and “Images of Modern America: Jacksonville.” Davis has served with various organizations committed to improving urban communities, including the American Planning Association and the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. A 2013 Next City Vanguard, Davis is the co-founder of Metro Jacksonville.com and ModernCities.com — two websites dedicated to promoting fiscally sustainable communities — and Transform Jax, a tactical urbanist group. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com

Sources:

Who is Who in Jacksonville: Business and Professions by Eartha Mary Magdalene White (Courtesy of the University of North Florida Digital Commons)

African American Architects: A Biographical Dictionary, 1865-1945, edited by Dreck Spurlock Wilson. Research on Blodgett, Brookins, Hutchins and Rosamond courtesy by the Joel McEachin, AICP and the Historic Preservation Section of the Jacksonville Planning and Development Department. Research on Brown courtesy of Dr. Wayne Wood.

Photographs courtesy of Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com