“This is the Teen Town Club Building on the corner of State and Liberty Streets. It was a very active place in the late 40’s. Later it was torn down to make way for the Jacksonville Recreation Department parking lot which it still is today.” LS
Information about this art deco inspired building was not easy to come by. It appears to have been initially built as an annex for the 1916 Duval County Armory building which faces North Market Street and the corner of that building can be seen in the left side of the photograph. Over the doorway of this building that was located at the corner of State Street East and Liberty Street it says Duval County Armory. In 1973 the old Armory building was turned over to the city’s Recreation and Public Affairs Department. The sign in front of the building says This Is Teen Town, A City Within A City, Operated By Youth For Youth. I reached out to Brian Burket, the Natural Resources Recreation Specialist with JaxParks and he shared what he could find. “ I scanned through our files and only see a few references to “Teen Town” that state during the 1940’s and 50’s, the Woman’s Club of Jacksonville opened Teen Town in the old armory which sponsored dances and other activities for the city’s youth. However, it seems clear from your photo that this was a separate building immediately east of the Armory but I can’t find any information about another building on this site.”
The old Armory Building is still standing but at some point this structure was demolished and the property remains vacant. I welcome any additional information that anyone can share to help fill in the gaps in this building’s history.
Tags: 001644, architecture, Armory, Art Deco, building, Duval County Armory, historic photograph, JaxParks, Liberty Street, State Street, Teen Town, vintage photography
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Good morning,
As a child around the 1960’s my mother Susie Gaines would take the family to an event where Ken Knight, the Jacksonville, Florida radio announcer sponsored a Grand Prize Show every year at the Duval County Armory Building. This was a yearly event where African Americans would win prizes and received gifts from sponsored businesses. Gifts as to; rulers, pencils, calendar, trinkets, small games, toys and win nice prizes in drawings.
Hello, I feel like I have met Mrs. Gains and heard this story. Has she ever lived at Allsaints?