The remains of Jax's ragtime, blues and jazz age

Modern Cities takes a look at the remains of the South's most overlooked substantial African-American entertainment district during the formative years of ragtime, blues and jazz in the early 20th century.

300 North Broad Street Block

South of Duval Street, Broad Street transitioned into a business district filled with retailers catering to the local population. Through the years, the 300 block of Broad was home to several grocers and markets.

Located at the southwest corner of Broad and Duval, 328 Broad Street (pictured above) was occupied by the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) in the 1940s. At the time, A&P was the largest grocery retaier in the country. Prior to A&P, Horace Clark Meats operated in the storefront.

In 1910, the black owned National Mercantile Realty & Improvement Company was located at 324 Broad Street (center building in photo above). By 1930, a local market chain owned by Clarence Saunders operated a market on the ground floor. The building was acquired by the City of Jacksonville in 1994 for $34,000. Since that time, the building has fallen into great dispair.

Built around a frame house in 1909, 318 Broad Street is representative of the many buildings that once lined Broad between Bay and State streets, featuring hotel rooms or apartments upstairs and retail at street level. In 1910, Joseph Stone lived upstairs and operated a fish and meat market at street level. By 1913, the upper level had become the Will Hotel. Progress Furniture was the building’s tenant by 1940. For many years it served as the warehouse for Deloach Furniture. Today, the building is for sale.

Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Davis is a certified senior planner and graduate of Florida A&M University. He is the author of the award winning books “Reclaiming Jacksonville,” “Cohen Brothers: The Big Store” and “Images of Modern America: Jacksonville.” Davis has served with various organizations committed to improving urban communities, including the American Planning Association and the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. A 2013 Next City Vanguard, Davis is the co-founder of Metro Jacksonville.com and ModernCities.com — two websites dedicated to promoting fiscally sustainable communities — and Transform Jax, a tactical urbanist group. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com