Jacksonville Terminal
1000 Water Street
Ray Charles Robinson arrived in Jacksonville by train. His 126-mile train ride started in Greenville, Florida and ended at LaVilla’s Jacksonville Terminal. At the time, the Jacksonville Terminal was the largest passenger railroad station in the South. Millions of railroad passengers passed through the LaVilla station’s concourse or platforms each year, including the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in 1941 and every president between Warren G. Harding and Richard Nixon. Traffic at the train station peaked in 1944, a year before Charles’ arrival, when nearly 40,000 trains passed through the terminal, carrying nearly 10 million passengers. To support operations of such a large facility, the Jacksonville Terminal Company employed more than 2,000 two thousand people, making it the second-largest employer in the city at the time.
The Jacksonville Terminal’s segregated Black waiting room in 1921 | State Archives of Florida
Fred and Lena Mae Thompson Residence
752 West Church Street
Following the death of his mother, Charles made up his mind to quit school and move to the big city of Jacksonville because he thought he was ready for the world and the experiences that came with that. Fred and Lena Mae Thompson, friends of his family, gave him the perfect opportunity and excuse to move to town when they agreed to let him live with them.
The Thompsons lived in an upstairs apartment at 752 West Church Street in LaVilla. Charles slept in his own room near the kitchen. Fred showed Charles around LaVilla and soon he memorized his way around town without using a cane or guide dog by paying attention to little things like drainage pipes, sewers, and cracks in the sidewalk. At home, Charles and the Thompsons listened to radio shows like Grand Ole Opry, Inner Sanctum, Suspense, and The Shadow.
The Thompson residence was located at 752 West Church Street. Today, this is the location of the LaVilla School of the Arts. | 1961 Sanborn Map of LaVilla
St. Pius V Catholic Church
Southeast corner of West State and Lee Streets
During his time in Jacksonville, Ray Charles spent considerable time at St. Pius V Catholic Church in LaVilla. Originally the Black Catholics in town were a part of the Immaculate Conception Parish. Restricted to side doors, not being able to serve at the alter or sing in the choir due to racial discrimination, Black parishioners decided to establish their own parish for their community.
As one parishioner expressed it, “We’re sick and tired of being side door, back pew Catholics. If we are going to share equally in His Kingdom of Heaven, why can’t we share equally in His Kingdom on earth?”
On February 27, 1921, a new building for the St. Pius V Catholic Church was dedicated on the corner of State and Lee Streets. During his time in Jacksonville, Charles was known to visit this site. Much of the area in the vicinity of St. Pius V was razed for the construction of Interstate 95 during the late 1950s and early 1960s. As a result of the area’s deterioration, the parish relocated to a new site in Durkeeville in 1961.
St. Pius V Catholic Church was located on the southeast corner of West State and Lee Streets. The site is a vacant lot adjacent to the Ritz Pocket Park today. | 1961 Sanborn map of LaVilla.