The architecture of Jacksonville is notably marked by the city's early predominant position as Florida's financial and insurance center. Numerous buildings in the city have held state height records, dating as far back as 1902, and last holding the record from 1974 to 1981. It is important to note that few structures in the city center predate the Great Fire of 1901.
Contributing heavily during the reconstruction period following the Great Fire of 1901, a young New York architect named Henry John Klutho would come to influence generations of local designers. Klutho's works exhibit elements influenced by both the Chicago School, championed by Louis Sullivan, and the Prairie School of architecture, popularized by Frank Lloyd Wright. As a result, Jacksonville has one of the largest collections of Prairie Style buildings outside the Midwest.
By the 1950s, modernist design principles would permeate throughout the United States, transforming the rapidly growing State of Florida. During this period, local architects Robert C. Broward, Taylor Hardwick, and William Morgan adapted a range design principles, including International style, Brutalism, Futurism and Organicism, all applied with an American interpretation generally referred to today as Mid-century modern design. The architecture firms of Reynolds, Smith & Hills (RS&H) and Kemp, Bunch & Jackson (KBJ) have also contributed a number of important works to the city's modern architectural movement. In particular, KBJ has designed more buildings in the contemporary skyline of Jacksonville than any other architectural firm. Of the 30 tallest buildings in the city, 17 are associated with KBJ. With the notable exception of works by architects Robert A. M. Stern, Welton Becket, Paul Rudolph, and Helmut Jahn, many of Jacksonville's modern landmarks were designed locally.
The 10 tallest standard structures:
Chronology of the tallest buildings in Jacksonville:
Before 1900:
1564 Fort Caroline
1797 Kingsley Plantation
1852 Old City Cemetery
1854 Red Bank Plantation House, Georgian Revival
1857 Hemming Park (originally City Park)
1869 St. James Hotel (destroyed in 1901)
1875 Windsor Hotel (destroyed in 1901)
1876 Marabanong Mansion, Queen Anne
1878 Napoleon Bonaparte Broward House, Victorian
1878 Old St. Luke's Hospital 314 North Palmetto
1886 Merrill House, Victorian/Eastlake
1886 County Courthouse (destroyed in 1901)
1887 St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Gothic Revival, Robert Sands Schuyler
1889 El Modelo Block
1895 Flagler Depot (partially demolished in 1918)
1899 Klutho Park (originally Springfield Park)
1900-1939:
1902 County Courthouse, Classical Revival, Rutledge Holmes
1902 Thomas V. Porter House, Classical Revival/Colonial Revival, Henry John Klutho
1902 Old Florida National Bank, Classical Revival, Edward H. Glidden (originally the Mercantile Exchange Bank Building)
1902 Dyal-Upchurch Building, Chicago school, Henry John Klutho
1905 Carnegie Library, Classical Revival, Henry John Klutho
1906 St. John's Cathedral, Gothic Revival, Snelling and Potter
1908 Bisbee Building, Chicago school/Prairie school, Henry John Klutho
1908 Seminole Hotel, Chicago school/Prairie school, Henry John Klutho (demolished in 1974)
1909 YMCA Building, Chicago school/Prairie school, Henry John Klutho
1909 121 Atlantic Place, Chicago school/Classical Revival, Mowbray and Uffinger (originally the Atlantic National Bank Building)
1910 Morocco Temple, Egyptian Revival/Prairie school, Henry John Klutho
1910 Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Late Gothic Revival, M. H. Hubbard
1911 Florida Life Building, Chicago school/Prairie school, Henry John Klutho
1912 Masonic Temple, Chicago school/Prairie school, Mark and Sheftall
1912 St. James Building, Chicago school/Prairie school, Henry John Klutho
1913 The Criminal Court Building, Prairie school, Henry John Klutho (demolished in 1968)
1916 Centennial Hall, Georgian Revival, Howells & Stokes
1919 Union Station, Beaux-arts, Kenneth M. Murchison and W.B.W. Howe
1919 Memorial Park, Olmsted Brothers and Roy A. Benjamin
1921 Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, Classical Revival, Marsh & Saxelbye (originally the First Church of Christian Scientist)
1924 Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Jacksonville Branch, Georgian Revival, Henrietta Cuttino Dozier and A. Ten Eyck Brown
1925 Groover-Stewart Drug Company Building, Marsh & Saxelbye
1925 The Carling, Renaissance Revival, Thompson, Holmes & Converse
1925 Bolles School, Mediterranean Revival, Marsh & Saxelbye
1926 11 East Forsyth, Chicago school/Art Deco, Pringle & Smith (originally the Lynch Building)
1926 Scottish Rite Masonic Center, Egyptian Revival/Art Deco, Roy A. Benjamin
1926 Schultz Building, Chicago school/Classical Revival, Marsh & Saxelbye
1926 Barnett National Bank Building, Chicago school, Mowbray and Uffinger
1926 Hotel George Washington, Renaissance Revival, Marsh & Saxelbye (demolished in 1973)
1926 Elks Club Building, Mediterranean Revival, Roy A. Benjamin
1927 Epping Forest, Spanish Colonial Revival, Marsh & Saxelbye
1927 Florida Theatre, Mediterranean Revival, Roy A. Benjamin
1927 Riverside Theatre, Renaissance Revival, Roy A. Benjamin
1928 Greenleaf & Crosby Building, Chicago school/Renaissance Revival, Marsh & Saxelbye
1928 Ribault Inn Club, Colonial Revival, Maurice Fatio and Mellen Clark Greeley
1929 Title & Trust Company of Florida Building, Classical Revival, Marsh & Saxelbye
1929 Ritz Theatre, Art Deco, Jefferson Davis Powell
1931 Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, Art Deco, Marsh & Saxelbye (originally the Western Union Telegraph Building)
1933 Ed Austin Building, PWA Moderne/Stripped Classicism, Marsh & Saxelbye (originally the United States Federal Courthouse)
1939 San Marco Theatre, Art Deco, Roy A. Benjamin
1940 to the present:
1941 First Federal Savings and Loan Building, Art Deco
1947 American Red Cross Volunteer Life Saving Corps Station, Art Moderne, Jefferson Davis Powell
1951 Jacksonville Transportation Authority Headquarters, Art Deco (originally the Atlantic National Bank Annex)
1952 Fire and Rescue Headquarters Building, Art Deco/Modernist, (originally the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Jacksonville Branch)
1953 Old Peninsular Life Insurance Building, International style, Kemp, Bunch & Jackson (occupied by Fidelity National Financial)
1955 Aetna Building, International Style, Kemp, Bunch & Jackson (originally the Prudential Building)
1955 Old Independent Life Building, International Style, Kemp, Bunch & Jackson
1957 Midtown Centre, International Style/Mid-century modern, Ira M. Koger (originally the Koger Center)
1958 Old Duval County Courthouse, International Style, Reynolds, Smith & Hills
1958 Skinner Dairy, Mid-century modern, Taylor Hardwick
1959 Hotel Robert Meyer, Mid-century modern (demolished in 1998)
1960 City Hall Annex, Mid-century modern, Reynolds, Smith & Hills (Former City Hall)
1960 Jacksonville Coliseum, Mid-century modern, A. Eugene Cellar and George Ryad Fisher (demolished in 2003)
1960 CSX Transportation Building, International Style/Mid-century modern, Kemp, Bunch & Jackson (originally the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Building)
1961 Ed Ball Building, International Style (originally the Florida National Bank Building)
1961 Milam House, Brutalist/Mid-century modern, Paul Rudolph
1962 Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts, International Style/Mid-century modern, Kemp, Bunch & Jackson
1963 JEA Tower, Mid-century modern, Ketchum & Sharp (originally the Universal-Marion Building)
1965 Jessie Ball duPont Center, Mid-century modern, Taylor Hardwick
1965 Friendship Fountain, Mid-century modern, Taylor Hardwick
1965 Jacksonville Art Museum
1966 Charles E. Bennett Federal Building, Brutalist/Mid-century modern, Reynolds, Smith & Hills
1967 St. Paul's by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, Mid-century modern, Blake Ellis
1967 Riverplace Tower, International Style/Mid-century modern, Welton Becket, in association with Kemp, Bunch & Jackson (originally the Gulf Life Building)
1967 Times-Union Building, International Style/Mid-century modern, Kemp, Bunch & Jackson
1969 Museum of Science and History, Brutalist/Mid-century modern, William Morgan (originally the Jacksonville Children's Museum)
1971 Blue Cross Blue Shield Building, Brutalist,
1974 Wells Fargo Center, Modernist, Kemp, Bunch & Jackson (originally the Independent Life Building)
1974 BB&T Building, Modernist, Kemp, Bunch & Jackson (originally the Atlantic National Bank Building)
1975 Hyatt Annex, Brutalist/Modernist, William Morgan (originally the Davis State Building)
1977 Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Headquarters, Brutalist/Modernist, William Morgan
1982 Chart House, Organic/Modernist , Kendrick Bangs Kellogg
1983 EverBank Center, Modernist, Kemp, Bunch & Jackson (originally the Southern Bell Tower)
1985 Two Prudential Plaza, Modernist, Kemp, Bunch & Jackson
1985 Stein Mart Building, Modernist, Kemp, Bunch & Jackson
1986 One Enterprise Center, Postmodern, Clark Tribble Harris & Li Architects (originally the Florida National Bank Building)
1986 Baptist Medical Pavilion, Brutalist,
1987 Jacksonville Landing, Postmodern. Ben Thompson
1989 SunTrust Tower, Postmodern, Kemp, Bunch & Jackson (originally the American Heritage Life Building)
1990 Bank of America Tower, Postmodern, Helmut Jahn (originally the Barnett Center)
1995 EverBank Field
2002 Bryan Simpson United States Courthouse, Postmodern, Kemp, Bunch & Jackson
2003 Raymond James Building, Postmodern, Jess Walker of Morris Adjmi Architects
2003 Veterans Memorial Arena, Postmodern, Populous
2003 Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, Postmodern, Populous
2005 Main Library Building, Postmodern, Robert A. M. Stern
2008 EverBank Plaza, Postmodern
2009 University of North Florida Student Union, Green/Modernist, Rink Design
2012 Duval County Courthouse, Kemp, Bunch & Jackson
"Florida Architecture: 100 places, 100 years", compiled by the Florida chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
Styles and schools
Jacksonville architects used many design styles and belonged to a variety of architectural schools. Below is a list of those styles and schools.
