Ghost of Jacksonville: Davis Street

L. Isaiah Blocker Junior High School


The Davis Street SAL Railroad crossing in 1942. Image courtesy of the Florida State Archives.

North of Moncrief Road, Davis Street transitioned into a lesser traveled residential street, making its way into Brentwood. Along that path, it crossed the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (now known as the S-Line Urban Greenway) near 12th Street.

In the 1942 image above, the Isaiah Blocker Junior High School can be seen in the background at the intersection of Davis Street and Lincoln Court (now 15th Street). Originally known as Public School No. 135, the school opened in 1917 and was one of 12 new schools funded by a $1 million bond issue that Duval County voters passed in 1915. Others included the Annie Lytle, Central Riverside, Fishweir, Murray Hill, Brentwood, and South Jacksonville Grammar Schools.  Continued high growth in the African-American community surrounding it resulted in a major expansion to school in 1923.

Rutledge Henry Pearson was an American History teacher at Isaiah Blocker when Rodney Hurst, Sr. transferred to the school in 1955. Pearson was the president of the local NAACP branch and advisor to the NAACP Youth Council. He then became present of the Florida State Conference of NAACP and a member of the Board of Directors for the national NAACP. Because of his activism for equal rights, Pearson was forced out of the Duval County school system in 1964. After his death in 1967, he became the first African-American buried at the formerly segregated Evergreen Cemetery.

Excluding the school's cafetorium which was built in 1952, the Isaiah Blocker School was demolished decades ago. However, the building with the tin roof in the 1942 image still exists today.


The Davis Street S-Line Urban Greenway crossing in 2013.



M. 20th Street Expressway


Construction of the 20th Street Expressway in the 1960s. Image courtesy of the Florida State Archives.

For the first half of the 20th Century, Davis Street provided a direct connection between LaVilla and the growing suburb of Brentwood. This connectivity and Davis Street's vitality would soon end with the creation of the Jacksonville Expressway Authority in 1955. As a result, what would become Interstate 95, one block west of Davis Street, opened in 1960.  It would be joined by the 20th Street Expressway, Jacksonville's first limited-access beltway a few years later. Now known as the MLK Parkway, the 20th Street Expressway's construction severed direct connectivity between Brentwood and the Davis Street neighborhoods to the south. Today, the dead end blocks of Davis and several surrounding streets have become pockets of forgotten decay as hundreds of thousands of cars and trucks travel overhead nearby.


The pedestrian overpass that can be seen in the 1960s image above is slightly east of where Davis Street was severed to make way for the 20th Street Expressway (now MLK Parkway).



N. Brentwood Lake Apartments


Brentwood Homes under construction in 1939. Image courtesy of the Florida State Archives.

Placed on the market in 1913 by the Brentwood Realty Investment Company under C.W. Bartleson, President, the original Brentwood Subdivision was roughly defined by West 26th Street on the south, West 35th Street on the north, and from North Pearl Street on the east to North Davis Street on the west.

In 1938, the newly created Jacksonville Housing Authority acquired 45-acres of old dairy land for the construction 230 white-only public housing units. The development became known as Brentwood homes. Two years later, 370 additional units where built at Brentwood. Brentwood became the second public housing project to open in Jacksonville behind Durkeeville public housing project, which was completed in 1936. They would be followed by another Davis Street public housing project, Blodgett Homes in 1942.

The crime ridden "barracks-style" public housing complex was demolished in 2004. It was replaced by 325 new apartments and 96 Habitat for Humanity homes for first time homebuyers in 2006. This project was funded by a $20 million federal grant to demolish and rebuild the development.


Inside a Brentwood Homes apartment unit in 1939. Image courtesy of the Florida State Archives.


Brentwood Lake Apartments in 2013.





O. Fairgrounds



Until the construction of a mid-20th century residential subdivision near Gateway shopping center, Davis Street terminated at a large tract of land along Golfair Boulevard. The Sands Hills Hospital was located on this property during the 19th century. It has been said that many residents who died during the 1888 yellow fever epidemic were buried in graves on this property. For many years, a portion of the property was utilized as the Florida State Fair Grounds.  During the 1921 fair, the American Motors Export Company, which had recently completed construction on a Northside automobile assembly plant, displayed their first six vehicles. Built by Henry L. Innes, American Motors Export Company's assembly plant still remains standing on Fairfax Street in Durkeeville.  However, the luxury auto manufacturing company did not last in Jacksonville long.  The same year the plant was completed, its founder, Henry L. Innes, fell ill and died at the age of 46.

The Florida State Fair Grounds and the old Brentwood Golf Course are the namesakes for Golfair Boulevard. Designed by Donald Ross, a famed Scottish golf architect, the City of Jacksonville opened the Brentwood Golf Course in 1923. The construction of what would become Interstate 95, not only sucked the life off Davis Street, it also cut the golf course into two sections. The course remained under city ownership until the 1960s when it was sold to private interest to avoid integration. By the late 1970s, the 18-hole course had closed and was sold to the Duval County School Board. Today, the western portion of the property is home to a 9-hole course and the A. Philip Randolph Academy of Technology.  The eastern portion of the track was developed into residential and commercial uses around the time Gateway Shopping Center opened in the late 1950s.


A race at the fairgrounds in 1922. Image courtesy of the Florida State Archives.


Article and graphics by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com