Print ArticlePart two of Metro Jacksonville's series that highlights the lost stories behind downtown Jacksonville's surface parking lots.
Charles Blum Beverages / Crane Supply Company
Charles Blum sketch courtesy of http://www.ca-yd.com/images/jaxcomp/employees/jaxco_emppic_blum.jpg
Charles, with his brother Jacob, established the Charles Blum Beverage Company in 1895. Between 1916 and 1918, the company operated at 738-742 West Bay Street. Blum's company was a wholesale wine, liquor and beer distributor that sold Pabst, Jung's Cincinnati and Wiedemann beers from its West Bay Street warehouse. A true businessman, Blum also owned the Home Telephone Company. In August 1914, his phone company was the first to introduce "dial" telephones in Jacksonville. With Prohibition on the way, Blum's beverage operation closed in 1918. After his death in 1920, Blum's wife, Margaret, became one of the first tenants to move into ritzy 310 West Church Apartments (Ambassador Hotel) in 1923.
Stories Behind the Concrete Slabs of Jax - Part 1
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