303 West 4th Street
Originally the parsonage for Bethel Baptist Church, the home was built circa 1897. The home has three stories of livable space, with an unusual canopy of decorative brackets, orate rafter ends, and a pair of Griffins on either side of the front steps. Features like large and plentiful windows, exceptionally tall ceilings, and impressive original stair case make this home a true treasure. The architectural style of Prarie-Craftsman, showing influences of both. The story of this home stands as an excellent example of the heroic efforts taken by Jacksonville preservationist to save our important historic structures from demolition. The house was originally located located at 1116 North Laura Street, several blocks away, at the current site of the Karpeles Manuscript Museum. It was first moved to the corner of Hogan and West 1st Street sometime between 1913 and 1921, then in 1958 it was moved again to 218 West 5th Street, finally in 1987 it was moved for the last time, by a local resident, to it’s current location at the intersection of Pearl and West 4th Street. That’s foure moves, which is an amazing effort to save the craftsmanship and history of the home, neighborhood and city. After the final move in 1987, the home was in disrepair. Since that time, the home has been lovingly and careful renovated, including repairing the custom plaster moldings, ornamental woodwork and vintage light fixtures.
421 East 6th Street
The home was built in 2003 by SRG, one of the first “high end” new construction homes built in Springfield’s revitalization. The house was built to complement with the neighborhood’s historic aesthetic standards, in pesudo-craftsman style . The home features a double front porches, a swimming pool and detached garage in the large back yard. In 2016, the interior was renovated to reflect the current owner’s aesthetic taste, enlisting the help of local Springfield professionals: Becky Morgan of BmorCreative interior design and craftsman John Hagedorn. It’s BOLD design, with large pops of color, and sleek, stylish furnishings and décor. The inspiration was South American-modern. Two showcase pieces within the home are the custom wood dining room table and coffee table created by artist Josh Gaston, who’s studio is in the Phoenix Arts District in Springfield.
1425 N. Laura Street
The house is new, built by TerraWise Homes in 2017 to reflect the classic architectural aesthetic of turn of the century homes, with modern design inside. The original house on the lot was built in 1905, the home of Rosa Katz, a widow who rented rooms. The home tas demolished by the city in 1992, the only remaining part of the home is the blue concrete retaining wall along the sidewalk. In the mid 2000s, the lot was used as the Springfield Community Garden and hosted several Sustainable Springfield and SPAR events, including gardening classes, bee keeping, farm to table dinners, art exhibitions, and rentable plots. The lot was eventually sold and sat vacant for three years before TerraWise began construction.
1333 Silver Street
he home was built in 1914 by developer H.F. McAden. This was one of his first duplex builds in Springfield, and he went on to build The Lauderdale, The Avondale, and The Plymouth apartment buildings along with several apartment buildings in Riverside. Many of the notable duplex and apartment homes in Springfield neighborhood are a product of H.F. McAden, in partnership with architect Roy A. Benjamin. The people connected to the building in its early years are extremely interesting. J. J. Beckham was a railroad conductor who went on to be elected as a municipal court judge in Duval County. However, Mr. Beckham never lived in the apartment building himself. His original tenant was Edgar Plank, a bookkeeper at Jacksonville Brewing Company. The brewing company was located on West 16th Street and did very well for itself, brewing Jax Beer (a German pilsner) until prohibition hit the city in 1920. Of note, this was actually the last known brewery in the US to open before prohibition. The brewery was also credited with being the first ever to sell beer in a “six pack”. The property was last renovated in 2011, where it went through a complete transformation from vacant and dilapidated, to the beautiful property you see today: a spacious 4 bed, 3 bath home, 3700 square feet, oak floors, double front porch, double french doors lead out to the 2nd story front porch, plantation shutters throughout the home, 3 fireplaces, claw foot tubs, checker board pavered porch make this home one of kind.
1412 Hubbard Street
Built in 1905, the home is a two-story frame vernacular that embodies the most common architectural qualities of the neighborhood through it’s period of construction. The original owner was Severinus C. Fiske, who lived there with his wife Frances. Severinus was a wrapper at a local dry goods store, and eventually became superintendent. He and his family moved to Avondale in 1930, and subsequent residents included an Army Corps Engineer and a clerk at the Carling Hotel in the 30’s, and a military nurse in the 40’s. The home was renovated about 10 years ago, and has an interior style all it’s own – Victorian-era furnishings, vintage movie posters, rare books and pulp magazines, antique radios and other echos of Americana.
1729 North Laura Street
The construction on the house began in 1911 by home builder J.E. Wonderly, headquartered in Riverside. Construction would be completed in 1914. The original owner of the house was Harry V. Stapleton, who was a well known contractor and decorator in the area, but he would not live in his brand new home long, though. According to the Times Union, Mr. Stapleton died very suddenly in the Bettes Drug Store on Laura Street in 1917. After Stapleton’s death, Thomas Hogarth and his wife Florence took up residence. Hogarth owned a saloon at 201 Broad Street (where the Downtown courthouse now stands). Hogarth often wrote for Mixer and Server, a Hotel and Restaurant publication for the Bartender’s International League of America. In the January 1907 volume, Hogarth reports that of the 47 counties in Florida, 37 of them do not allow alcohol sales (interesting, considering prohibition wouldn’t be in effect for another 15 or so years). The house then changed hands several times between 1920 and 1930, with the longest term residents being German immigrants, Herman and Ida Melzer, who eventually then moved a couple streets away in 1940, to Pearl Street. The home was converted into a duplex in the 1970s, and eventually turned back into a single family home, as it is today. The home is a frame vernacular architecture style, now 2600 sq feet, 4 bed, 3 bath, gabled roof, with 2 story double wrap around porch (and a small 2nd story rear porch accessible by the master bedroom) overlooking a spacious yard, pool and garden area. Random note: if you like Mickey Mouse, you’re in for a treat – the current owner has an entire room dedicated to the Disney character.
1352 North Pearl Street
The house was built in 1903 and originally owned by Mima A. Read, and later by Jacob & Ida Safer. The Safer’s were part of a large Orthodox Jewish family who resided in Springfield from about the 1890s to the 1950s. The family formed a new congregation called Knesas Israel, sometime in the 1920s. They held both services and classes inside the home. Long after The Safer;s left, the house was converted into a duplex. In 2008, the home was completely renovated, including converting it back into a single family home. Today, the home is decorated in a coastal, island style, showcasing the owner’s Caribbean heritage.