J Magazine Winter 2017

Built in 1915, the old Armory building at Market and State Streets features an auditorium (below) that hosted Eleanor Roosevelt in 1936. and Janis Joplin in 1970,
Claude Nolan himself died in 1943, and he must have turned
over in his grave when his fabulous dealership was “remodeled”
in 1945. The inept architect responsible ripped out the building’s
windows and stuccoed the delicately appointed exterior.
The dealership moved in 1985, and the building served for a period
of time as a warehouse for a food company.
It’s remained largely vacant since then, its intact Klutho-designed
facade hidden behind beige stucco.
Owner: 937 Main Street LLC. The building is not for sale.
Barriers: The city’s failure to move forward with the
needed remediation on the contamination in Hogans Creek.
Old Armory building
The final building on our list is a grand castle-like structure that
once hosted an array of luminaries ranging from then-First Lady
Eleanor Roosevelt to Janis Joplin, who
visited just months before she died.
The old Armory at Market and State
streets was a focus for Downtown activity,
both in the military and social
spheres.
Certainly it served the military, but
its large auditorium and stage also was
a focal point for any number of public
events, from the speech delivered by
Roosevelt in 1936 to Joplin’s appearance
in 1970.
Here were also mounted teen dances,
wrestling and boxing matches, high
school graduations, basketball games
and various other private functions.
Jacksonville’s Parks and Recreation
Department was housed here for 35
years, but it’s now been vacant since
2010, despite an unfulfilled plan by the Sons of the Confederate
Veterans to turn it into a military museum.
What a shame! This is a phenomenal building with loads of potential.
Owner: The City of Jacksonville
Barriers: This is another property whose restoration
has been stymied by the failure of the city to clean up the
toxic waste in Hogans Creek. In addition, the creek has
caused significant flood damage in some portions of the building.
Paula Horvath is an editorial writer and editorial board member at The Florida
Times-Union and teaches multimedia journalism at the University of North Florida.
Ron Littlepage has been with The Florida Times-Union since 1978. He started
writing an opinion column in 1989. He lives in Avondale.