One of the later downtown views found in the Loyd Sandgren collection showing the St. James building which housed the May-Cohens department store, behind that is the Ivey’s department store and the newly finished Cathedral Towers stand in the background. The Art Deco Western Union building was still a mixed use office building and palm trees were the predominant tree in Hemming Plaza. This was probably shot from the roof of the Robert Meyer Hotel which was located where the new Federal Courthouse now stands. Early 1970’s.
Tags: Cathedral Towers, downtown, Hemming Plaza, historic photo, Ivey's, May Cohens, Robert Meyer Hotel, skyline, St. James Building, vintage photography, Western Union
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My mom worked in Cathedral Towers in the early 70’s and how well I remember riding the bus to Hemming Park to buy bus tokens and going to the big Walgreen’s downtown. We really thought we were something back in those days.
I enjoy so much these old pics of Jax and th stories behind them .
I was born there in Dec of 1950 and went to school at IC on Duval St
from 1957-63.Lived many places in Springfield, but my Aunt had a house on E 3rd St between Walnut and Ionia St .
There I played ball there in the alleyways all summer.My sister worked at the drugstore at 3rd an Walnut.I used to peddled the Jax Journal on Forsyth St from west to east and ended at the Lynch building.My dad and mom decided to move to Alabama (Montgomery) in April of 63.My dad died and I was turning 1 e9 Zanda Keats be my mom decided to head back down here so I got married and ended up living here and working for the city for 40 years 2009. In 70,I brought my wife and six month old daughter here for vacation
She always lived it .I still have one sister left that lives in Atlantic Beach and I’m going to try to go see her soon. Haven’t been down
since 2005 I lost my wife in 2009 after 40 yrs of marriage.I’ll A
Didn’t finish but I still love Jacksonville and all my children and grandchildren love to come down there Im proud to tell any one that I’m from Jacksonville !