You have no idea of what was once located here!

2. Cunningham Furniture Company



Established as a small bicycle shop by John A. Cunningham in 1889, the Cunningham Furniture Company eventually grew to become Florida's oldest furniture company and one of the Southeast's largest home furnishing businesses. Up until 1957, Cunningham's store anchored downtown Jacksonville's furniture district in a beautiful 4.5-floor brick structure at the NE corner of West Forsyth and Broad Streets.


The demolition of the former Sears Roebuck and Company Department Store (later Cunningham Furniture) at Broad and Forsyth Streets in 1987. Courtesy of the City of Jacksonville.

When Sears, Roebuck & Company relocated from their department store across the street, Cunningham moved in, making it one of the largest furniture stores in the South. While many refer to the 1980s as the "Billion Dollar Decade" in downtown, that decade was more like the plague of death for longtime downtown retailers. After 95 years of operation, the plague found its way to Cunningham, with the furniture institution closing its doors for good in 1984.


Cunningham Furniture building being demolished. Courtesy of the Jacksonville Public Library Special Collections Department.

A walk to this corner today won't reveal much about its storied past. Both buildings Cunningham occupied were demolished decades ago. The original Cunningham site lives on as a foundation for a surface parking lot, while the the former Sears store building, was torn down and replaced by a parking garage. Completed in 1988, that garage still stands today.


What became Cunningham Furniture's first large location was originally a 19th century masonic lodge. Courtesy of the Jacksonville Public Library Special Collections Department.





Stories Behind the Concrete Slabs of Jax: Part I

Stories Behind the Concrete Slabs of Jax: Part II