Vintage Jacksonville

James R. Stockton Sr. in front of a portrait of his father Telfair Stockton, seated at his desk in the old Atlantic Bank Building in downtown Jacksonville in the early 1950’s.   Telfair Stockton founded Telfair Stockton and Co. in the late 1800’s and played a major role in establishing Jacksonville as a port city.  James Stockton acquired most of the property in Ponte Vedra from National Lead Company in the 1940’s and then merged his business with Whatley & Davin Co. to form Stockton, Whatley & Davin Co., which became one of the largest mortgage banking, real estate and insurance companies in the Southeast.

Tags: james Stockton Sr., man, office, portrait, Stockton, Stockton Whatley & Davin, Telfair Stockton

Here is an additional view of the riverfront City Hall building shortly before it was opened in 1960.  It gives you a peak around the right side of the building before the riverfront bulkhead was built and the area filled in.  It also gives you a look at the facade of the building with the relief rendering of the state of Florida and three sailing ships which are now obscured by the trees planted in front of the building.  You can see a previous post with a different view of the building here.

Tags: Bay Street, city hall, construction, downtown

Anyone out there remember what they had to drive in their drivers ed class?  I have dim memories of a 70’s vintage Vega with no AC and a standard transmission.  Students at Paxon H.S. in the early 1960’s apparently had access to a couple of new VW Beetles compliments of Jacksonville’s Brundage Motors.  Don’t know if the guys in the suits are from the dealership or the instructors but either way they don’t look like they should be driving a VW.

Tags: brundage, cars, Drivers Education, Paxon High School, volkswagen, VW

Happy couple with bolt action rifle taking aim at something across the St. Johns River.  How I wish Loyd left a note telling us the story behind this photo!  I guess we are free to let our imaginations run wild…

Tags: man, rifle, shooting, St. Johns River, woman

Looking straight down on the Eastern side of downtown Jacksonville with Main Street being the top street running from one side of the frame to the other and Duval Street dividing the frame in half top to bottom.  I’m guessing this is from the mid 1950’s although I can’t really see the cars to give me a more accurate clue.  The frame below is an enlargement of the six blocks around Main Street at the top of the frame in the area where the downtown library is now located.  Lots of changes there.

Tags: aerial, downtown, Main Street

“Carl Hubbell, one of the greatest pitchers of all time in the National League.  Here he is pictured at Hope Haven Hospital signing autographs.  This was in 1949.” LS

Carl Owen Hubbell, played 16 seasons (1928 to 1943) as a pitcher for the New York Giants.  He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947.  Hubbell died in 1988.

Tags: autographs, baseball, Carl Hubbell, Hope Haven Hospital, New York Giants, pitcher

A Volkswagen Beetle is offloaded to the pier along the Talleyrand docks, most likely headed to Brundage Motors’ dealership in Jacksonville, FL.  Brundage was the first importer of the German made autos to Jacksonville in the 1950’s.

Tags: Brundage Motors, freight, port, ship, Talleyrand, volkswagen, VW

Topping off the Independent Square building which was completed in 1974.  An earlier version of the building’s construction can be seen here.  The building just underwent it’s latest name change with the Wells Fargo logo added to the top of the building which is now named the Wells Fargo Center.

Tags: 001825, building, construction, downtown, Independent Square, skyline, Wells Fargo Center

“This is just one of the many strippers that I had the pleasure of taking pictures of.  This was taken in 1953 and she ordered many prints including 20 x 30’s and 30 x 40’s which I made in my darkroom.  It was taken in my studio on 22 E. Beaver St.  I must have taken at least 50 strippers because one liked my work and told all those on the circuit.  I liked it and it paid well.” LS

In addition to these notes left behind by Loyd Sandgren, in conversations I had with him he told me an additional perk to shooting strippers was (not what you are thinking!) that they paid cash.  This same image appears in the background of a self portrait Loyd shot in his studio.

Tags: leopard print, portrait, stripper, studio, women

“Here two sailors getting ready for a days supply of 50 calibers.  They would use 3 million rounds a day at the Yellow Water Gunnery School.  Jacksonville, Florida.  1945” LS

This was quite a complex in the 1940’s, one of three facilities in the United States used to train Navy gunners in all aspects of the job.  The facility was located North of what is now Normandy Blvd. on property between the Equestrian Canter and Cecil Commerce Center.  Some of the original structures and berm complexes are still there but have been reclaimed by the swampy woods surrounding the area.

Tags: ammo, bullets, men, navy, WW II, yellow water gunnary school