Crabtree Construction Company has reached a pivotal stage in the first phase of transforming the old Florida Casket Company building into the new Jacksonville History Center as phase one work nears completion with phase two ahead of schedule.
Work on this adaptive reuse of the 104-year-old building began last May with Lane Architecture, P.A. responsible for envisioning the project in alignment with the vision of the JHC board of directors.
Work in Progress
The historic three-story building at 314 Palmetto Street, between the Maxwell House plant and the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Historic Eastside, will house the Jacksonville Historic Center’s archives and serve as a research facility.
“Following a multi-year process of planning, fundraising and preparation, we are all gratified to come to work every day and see the renovations taking place in our 104-year-old building,” said JHC CEO Dr. Alan Bliss. “Establishing the new Jacksonville History Center in an old building is faithful to our mission in many ways.”
Phase I work includes stairwell additions on the east and west sides of the structure. The addition on the east elevation also includes public restrooms on the first and second floors, a catering kitchen and staff restroom on the third floor. Once completed, Phase II will include a full restoration and refurbishment of each of the building’s three floors as an exhibit space for public use.
JHC is currently engaged in fundraising for the project’s third phase, which will bring thematic curation and development for static and experiential exhibits, improvements to the campus grounds and furnishing for each floor.
In addition to presenting permanent and rotating exhibits on local history, the renovated Florida Casket Company building will allow JHC to consolidate its extensive but scattered archives and partner with the area’s premier genealogist society. It also plans to host history-focused programming, including an oral history program, facilitated by an on-site recording studio and classes on preserving family records. JHC will also have opportunities to work with colleges on internship programs in museum and archive management and serve as a reference center for other collections while interacting with local and private schools to teach local history or providing archival services and supplies to individuals and organizations.
JHC credits the City of Jacksonville and the city council for much of the funding for the first phase of the renovation project, along with early support from Preston Haskell, for whom it has renamed its collection (The Haskell Archive of Jacksonville History). Other major supporters to date include The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida and the Delores Barr Weaver Fund.
Old St. Luke’s Hospital
The Florida Casket Company building was constructed in 1924 and sits next to the former St. Luke’s Hospital, which was completed 46 years earlier. Despite their vicinity, however, the two buildings were never operated at the same time.
JHC also plans to renovate Old St. Luke’s Hospital, which opened in 1878 and now is overflowing with material that the historical society has carefully organized and recorded in a database. Once renovated, the hospital will be used to display Jacksonville’s medical history.
“It will likely take a year of fundraising, then another 18-24 months before opening the Florida Casket Company building as a museum,” Hallock said.
Hallock added that there is no timeline yet for the renovation of the hospital building, though JHC is currently working to replace more than 50 windows and establishing a plan to increase parking availability by replacing the current concrete ADA ramp with an “up-to-date modular ramp.”
Both the Florida Casket Company building and the Old St. Luke’s Hospital were purchased by the Jacksonville Historical Society in 2012 from the Florida Arthritis Foundation.
In his book, “Jacksonville’s Architectural Heritage,” Jacksonville historian Dr. Wayne Wood wrote that St. Luke’s Hospital played an important role in caring for residents stricken by the yellow fever epidemic in 1888, the typhoid epidemic in 1898 and following the Great Fire of 1901. In 1885 St. Luke’s established the first modern nursing school in Florida. In 1914, the hospital relocated to a larger complex in Springfield where UF Health is located today.
After that relocation, the property was bought by the Florida Casket Company, and in 1920 it built its three-story factory next to the vacant hospital. The coffins were built on the first floor, then sent up to the second floor to be finished, where elements like linings and hinges were installed by women who were mostly related to the carpenters. The finished product was stored on the third floor.
In subsequent years, the hospital served as a warehouse, before standing vacant for several years. In 1975 a nonprofit group, Old St. Luke’s Restoration, Inc., was able to purchase the property and preserve the central structure. Originally restored in 1976, Old St. Luke’s Hospital served as offices for Congress members Charles Bennett and Corrine Brown.
Though it will still be some time before the renovation of the Florida Casket Company building is complete, Hallock said there are still ways for people to get involved.
“We invite the community to share stories about their Jacksonville history so that we can build a catalog of items from which to draw inspiration and collections to exhibit,” Hallock said. “We have a form people can fill out, https://tinyurl.com/ManyStories, and we conduct oral history sessions,” she said. “Once we get close to opening the museum, we’ll have plenty of opportunities for history lovers to get involved as volunteers.”
Those interested in seeing the work completed thus far can do so at JHC’s third annual History Fair on Saturday, June 14 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The first and second floors will be open to the public and will feature displays and presentations by local history-focused organizations.
