Print ArticleIn the first half of the 20th century, the area that is known as East Bay Street today, was almost wholly industrial- and maritime- related. With the railroad and wharves paralleling a block south, along the riverfront, many firms took advantage of Bay Street's easy access to the St. Johns River. The most important industry during this era was shipbuilding and repair. With the rise of free trade, deindustrialization, and a movement to clean up the downtown waterfront, many industries began to leave the area in the mid-20th century. Although a number of historic warehouses, factories and wharves were left and available for other uses, the majority have been demolished in the later half of the 20th century. With the push to cluster entertainment uses in this section of downtown and the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission's (JEDC) desire to brand the corridor "The E-Town zone," Metro Jacksonville takes a look into the district's past.
The new city hall building in 1960. Under the leadership of William Haydon Burns, East Bay Street's wharves were replaced with parking lots and public buildings.
The balcony of the modernist, 15-story city hall (now courthouse annex) in 1961. This building and site will be available for new uses, as functions housed in it are shifted to the new Duval County Courthouse in LaVilla.
The Covington Company Building (Churchwell Lofts) today.
In 1900 Robert V. Covington moved his wholesale and retail dry goods business from Waycross, Ga., to Jacksonville, and by 1905 he had constructed this four-story gray brick building. In the 1920's the brothers John H. and Augustus F. Churchwell also moved to Jacksonville from Georgia and purchased Covington's business. In 1930 John H. Churchwell bought out his brother. The firm has continued under his name and still owns this building today. The exterior of the building remains virtually unchanged, featuring cast-iron decoration on the lower facade, a pressed-metal cornice, and variously shaped windows. Its size and style make it an important example of Jacksonville's early commercial architecture.http://www.jaxhistory.com/Jax Arch Herit/D-19.htm
Inside the Churchwell Lofts building today.
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