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St. Augustine Road was the main street through Philips during the early 20th century. Despite being replaced by Philips Highway, which was then surpassed by Interstate 95, St. Augustine Road still retains a small working class community environment.
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Located at the intersection of St. Augustine Road and River Oaks Road, this warehouse was once occupied by the Jacksonville Miscellaneous Iron Works Company. It is representative of small industrial uses that operated in Philips in an area bounded by River Oaks Road, St. Augustine Road and the Florida East Coast railroad corridor.
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Originally intended to serve as a short cut between Jacksonville and Bayard, Philips Highway was constructed in 1934. Prior to Jacksonville’s consolidation with Duval County, it was classified as Kings Avenue within Jacksonville’s city limits. It quickly replaced St. Augustine Road as the major thoroughfare through Philips, first becoming a hot spot for motor lodges like Holiday Inn, Howard Johnson and Mount Vernon after World War II. The November 1960 opening of Phillips Plaza, near Emerson Street, eventually transformed this corridor into an area known as “Miracle Mile”.
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Similar to Jacksonville’s Northside neighborhoods, several small religious institutions still stand along the back streets of the Philips community.
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This building was constructed by the Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church in 1964 to replace the structure, demolished near the cemetery, for Interstate 95.
Neighborhood photography tour by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com