J Magazine Winter 2019
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CASKET<br />
A storage room in the former Florida Casket Factory next door to the Jacksonville Historical Society’s headquarters in the former St. Luke’s Hospital building.<br />
Yes, the former Casket Factory is located next to the hospital, an<br />
eerie situation, but the original buildings were not in operation at<br />
the same time.<br />
St. Luke’s Hospital, constructed in 1878, was especially needed<br />
during yellow fever and typhoid epidemics and after the Great<br />
Fire of 1901. St. Luke’s also established the first modern nursing<br />
school in Florida. In 1914, the hospital moved to a larger complex in<br />
Springfield.<br />
The Florida Casket Company Building was constructed in 1924.<br />
Both buildings were purchased by the Jacksonville Historical<br />
Society in 2012 from the Florida Arthritis Foundation.<br />
At that time the new Duval County Courthouse was opening and<br />
a number of old record books were about to be thrown in the trash,<br />
JSO<br />
so the Jacksonville Historical Society stepped up, said Alan Bliss,<br />
executive director of the society.<br />
In the 1990s many archivists said there was no need to save hard<br />
copies, there even was no need for books. That is no longer the case.<br />
It’s common for citizens to ask to view some of the city’s old record<br />
books because the digital records are lost or illegible, Bliss said.<br />
Old books containing items like deed records are now stored in<br />
the Casket Factory. There are also hundreds of old photo negatives<br />
from The Florida Times-Union. When the newspaper staff moved<br />
N<br />
to its new location in the Wells Fargo Center, there was no longer<br />
80 J MAGAZINE | WINTER <strong>2019</strong><br />
NEW LIFE FOR OLD BUILDINGS<br />
DUVAL ST.<br />
Jail<br />
The former St.<br />
Luke’s Hospital<br />
MARSH ST.<br />
St. Johns River<br />
The former Florida<br />
Casket Factory<br />
Maxwell<br />
House<br />
Coffee Co.<br />
MONROE ST.<br />
Hogans Creek<br />
BAY ST.<br />
PALMETTO ST.<br />
HART BRIDGE EXPY<br />
VyStar<br />
Veterans<br />
Memorial<br />
Arena<br />
ADAMS ST.<br />
LAFAYETTE ST.<br />
A. PHILLIP RANDOLPH ST.<br />
JEFF DAVIS (MAP)