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2 days ago | 
thejaxsonmag.com | Ennis Davis
Downtown’s Main StreetLooking north at the intersection of Main and Forsyth Streets during the 1950s. | National Archives CatalogOn February 24, 1893, Jacksonville’s Main Street made history as the site of Florida’s first electric streetcar line, connecting Downtown Jacksonville to the growing neighborhood of Springfield.
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1 week ago | 
thejaxsonmag.com | Ennis Davis
An early 20th century photograph of Duval Laundry. | Gary WatsonIn 1901, Thomas Hilditch founded the Hilditch Steam Laundry on Washington Street, near Jacksonville’s Old City Cemetery. By 1915, Hilditch had partnered with Thomas Burroughs to construct a large, modern laundry facility at 413 East 9th Street in Springfield. The newly built two-story brick plant stood adjacent to a prominent lumber mill operated by the J.C. Halsema Manufacturing Company.
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2 weeks ago | 
thejaxsonmag.com | Ennis Davis
April 2025 photographs of the redeveloped Union Terminal Warehouse. | Columbia Ventures2013 photographs of the Union Terminal Warehouse. | Metrojacksonville.comAlthough long associated with older industrial cities across the country, this approach is gaining traction locally as developers increasingly recognize the potential of early 20th-century industrial properties throughout Jacksonville’s urban core neighborhoods.
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3 weeks ago | 
thejaxsonmag.com | Ennis Davis
The roots of The Packing District trace back to 1920, when the Dr. P. Phillips Company was formed to consolidate Dr. Philip Phillips’ extensive citrus holdings. In the years that followed, the company constructed a citrus packing house at the northeast corner of Orange Blossom Trail and Princeton Street, then situated on the rural fringe of Orlando. By the 1930s, Dr. Phillips had become the world’s largest individual grower of oranges, grapefruits, and tangerines.
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3 weeks ago | 
thejaxsonmag.com | Ennis Davis
History of the S-Line Urban GreenwayIn 1886, the Jacksonville Belt Railroad was constructed between Springfield and the Jacksonville Terminal area in LaVilla to connect the Fernandina & Jacksonville Railroad to the Florida, Atlantic & Gulf Railroad. The railroad was acquired by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) system in 1902.
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4 weeks ago | 
jaxtoday.org | Ennis Davis
The recently completed Union Terminal Warehouse project stands as a compelling example of industrial adaptive reuse—a growing trend in urban revitalization. Industrial adaptive reuse involves repurposing old industrial buildings such as factories, warehouses, power plants, and mills for new functions that differ from their original use, all while preserving the structures’ historic character and architectural integrity.
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1 month ago | 
thejaxsonmag.com | Ennis Davis
American Motors Export Company801 West 15th StreetThe American Motors Export Company plant in Northwest Jacksonville. | Florida State ArchivesIn 1921, American Motors opened in Jacksonville with the goal of manufacturing the Innes automobile. The car was the brainchild of Henry L. Innes and was intended as a revival of the short-lived Simms automobile, which had been produced in Atlanta, Georgia, only a year earlier in 1920.
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1 month ago | 
newsbreak.com | Ennis Davis
During the late 19th century, Jacksonville experienced a major industrial boom. Factories, mills and shipyards were established along the St. Johns River and near key railroad lines. By 1960, the city was home to more than 500 manufacturing and processing firms, earning Jacksonville the nickname “Industrial Capital of Florida.” However, by the end of the 20th century, many of these original industrial sites had closed.
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1 month ago | 
jaxtoday.org | Ennis Davis
During the late 19th century, Jacksonville experienced a major industrial boom. Factories, mills and shipyards were established along the St. Johns River and near key railroad lines. By 1960, the city was home to more than 500 manufacturing and processing firms, earning Jacksonville the nickname “Industrial Capital of Florida.”However, by the end of the 20th century, many of these original industrial sites had closed.
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1 month ago | 
thejaxsonmag.com | Ennis Davis
A coal locomotive engine at the shops in 1941. | State Archives of FloridaIn the late 19th century, the Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad (FC&P) established its West Jacksonville rail yard and maintenance shops on the city’s western edge. In 1903, the Seaboard Air Line Railway (SAL) acquired FC&P and expanded the site, making it one of Jacksonville’s largest employers by 1909, with over 1,000 workers.
