US 23/Kings Road
US 23/Kings Road is the oldest street and main highway through Durkeeville. Serving as the border between Durkeeville and New Town, it features a commercial district that has been negatively impacted with the four-laning of the street decades ago. Prior to its widening, businesses along the thoroughfare had the benefit of on-street parking.
A row of abandoned storefronts near the intersection of Myrtle Avenue and Kings Road at 1289 Kings Road. This row of commercial shops are representative of a number of similar structures that were built in the neighborhood during the 1950s.
A row of commercial and mixed use properties in the 1300 block of Kings Road that lack off and on-street parking.
The Church of Christ Written in Heaven building at 1430 Kings Road was completed in 1947. The mixed use building next door was built in 1922. Developed during an era when Kings Road was pedestrian friendly with on-street parking, to accommodate the automobile, adjacent properties have been acquired and demolished for parking lots. This is an example of transportation infrastructure incrementally destroying the character, history and context when it does not align with the land uses it serves.
A strip of retail shops dating back to 1947 at 1492 Kings Road. Given the number of largely underutilized retail properties with limited front set-backs, a road diet should seriously be considered as a part of any economic revitalization plan for the commercial corridor.
A retail building at 1595 Kings Road lacking the necessary room for ADA compliant sidewalks. Since the building dates back to 1930, a widening of the street has largely robbed the property of its commercial potential.
Anchoring Mid-Westside, Edward Waters College was founded in 1866 to educate freed former slaves and is the oldest black college in Florida. Originally located in downtown, EWC relocated to its present site in 1904 after the initial campus was destroyed during the Great Fire of 1901.
Richard Lewis Brown is credited with building Centennial Hall on the campus of Edward Waters College. Born into slavery in 1854, Brown is believed to be Jacksonville’s first known African-American architect. Brown was also elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1881, serving two consecutive terms. Centennial Hall is also the home of the Obi-Scott-Umunna Collection of African Art. This collection consists of masks, musical instruments, bronze statuettes, carved ivory and many other artifacts represent artistic traditions that have thrived in Central and West Africa.
1665 Pearce Street was completed in 1919. The house was the home for Susie E. Tolbert until her death in 1942. Tolbert taught music and applied social etiquette at EWC. Since 2012, it has housed an African American artifacts museum with more than 100 artifacts of African American history.
This apartment building was 1251 Kings Road was once an African-American motel. Built in 1961, the Fiesta Motel was owned and operated by Peter Clayton.
Looking northwest along Kings Road. Kings Road serves as the border between Durkeeville and New Town.
This tire shop at 1491 Kings Road was originally a gas station built in 1927. 1475 King Street is a two-story mixed use structure that was completed in 1928.
Durkeeville South of 8th Street
Durkeeville North of 8th Street
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