Exploring the Sunshine State
Woolworth s Abandoned Florida History The old F. W. Woolworth Company store in downtown Miami had been a cornerstone of Miami’s commercial center since 1903, initially operating as a jewelry store before becoming the Glenn C. Frissell Building in 1911 to house the Miami Telephone Exchange Co. The masonry structure destroyed in the fire was erected in 1924, and [ ]
Judge Wimberly House Abandoned Florida History This beautiful home in Interlachen, Fla., was built in 1884 by Judge Jared Irvin Wimberly, a prominent justice of the peace and farmer. Wimberly was born in Augusta, Ga., on April 4, 1842, and moved to Orange Springs, Fla., sometime in the 1850s. Having sat vacant for several years, the property was put on [ ]
Boulware Springs Waterworks Abandoned Florida History Architecturally significant as an example of early 20th-century industrial design, the Boulware Springs Waterworks offers a unique, aesthetically pleasing intersection of technology and ecology. Built between 1891 and 1908, the plant was Gainesville s inaugural water utility until 1913, continuing to serve as an auxiliary supply until 1977.…
Barrancotto s Abandoned Florida Barrancotto s: A Vilano Beach Landmark The Gla-May Restaurant Located at 165 Vilano Road in Vilano Beach, Florida, this historic property was originally constructed in 1952. Architecturally, the single-story concrete block building is a rare surviving example of the post-World War II Streamline Moderne style, an evolution of Art Deco, characterized by strong…
Magic Beach Motel Abandoned Florida The Magic Beach Motel, located along Florida State Road A1A, was one of the most recognizable landmarks with its distinctive neon sign featuring rabbits jumping out of a top hat and Art Deco architecture. The motel was historically significant as it was one of the first motels built in Vilano Beach. Its history is a [ ]
The Shell Factory Abandoned Florida History of North Fort Myers Shell Factory The Shell Factory was an iconic North Fort Myers landmark, with its origins stretching back to the late 1930s in Bonita Springs. It was the heart of a bustling tourism hub that eventually claimed all four corners of its home intersection, cementing its legacy in Southwest Florida’s roadside [ ]
Barlow House Abandoned Florida History of the Barlow House R. H. Barlow, author, publisher, and anthropologist The Barlow House sits along a dry lakebed, once the home of author Robert Hayward Barlow, who spent his later years as an anthropologist and historian of early Mexico, and was an expert in the Nahuatl language. Born on May 18, 1918, in Leavenworth, Kansas, Barlow was [ ]
Oneida Bungalow Court Abandoned Florida West Lewisville History The historic Oneida Bungalow Court is the last remaining group of homes once part of the West Lewisville neighborhood in Jacksonville, Florida. The history of the area dates back to 1801 when a Spanish land grant of 800 acres was ceded to Phillip Dell, leading to the creation of the Dell’s Bluff [ ]
Woodlawn Baptist Church Abandoned Florida History of the Woodlawn Baptist Church A Grand Church for a Growing Congregation The former Woodlawn Baptist Church was erected in 1929 at the corner of Stockton and Roselle Streets in Riverside, Jacksonville, Florida. The edifice replaced a much smaller one located on Woodlawn Avenue, which was deemed inadequate for the growing congregation. Initially,…
Halcyon Hotel Abandoned Florida History of the Halcyon Hotel The Halcyon Hotel was constructed in the early 1900s by the Bunnell Development Company. The company arranged trips for potential buyers from northern cities, such as Chicago, to Bunnell. The hotel was built to accommodate the influx of visitors to the area. The story of the Halcyon Hotel coincides with [ ]
Playtime Drive-In Abandoned Florida Twin Hills Drive-In This is all that remains of the Playtime Drive-In on Blanding Boulevard in Jacksonville, Fla. It opened in 1948 as the Twin Hills Drive-In. Twin Hills operated until 1967, when Ray Accord and Fuhrman Burchfield acquired it. Twin Hills was the rural suburban platting designation for the area, so the name of [ ]
Central Academy Abandoned Florida Early Years of Central Academy Before the 1890s, Black students in Palatka attended classes in various city halls under the name Public School No. 2. Among the earliest educators was Peter Joseph, a graduate of Old Cookman (later Bethune-Cookman) in Daytona, who served as principal from 1888 to 1890. The city built two identical schools [ ]
Farris and Company Slaughterhouse Abandoned Florida History of Farris and Company Farris and Company was one of Jacksonville’s most significant early-20th-century meatpacking enterprises, a reminder that, unlike many Florida cities, Jacksonville’s rise was powered not only by tourism but by rail-served manufacturing and distribution. The firm was founded by Najeeb Easa Farris, a Syrian immigrant…
Bulow Plantation Ruins Abandoned Florida History of the Bulow Plantation Ruins Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park, located in Flagler Beach, Florida, is a Florida State Park that preserves the remnants of a once-thriving antebellum plantation. The site features the coquina-built ruins of a large sugar mill and other traces of the plantation complex. In its prime, Bulow was the [ ]
Suwannee River Junior College Abandoned Florida History of the Suwannee River Junior College in Madison, Florida Suwannee River Junior College opened in Madison, Florida, in 1959 as one of eleven Black junior colleges established across the state during the late 1950s. The Florida Legislature established these institutions to uphold the “separate but equal” doctrine in higher education, aiming to…
Dummett Plantation Mill Ruins Abandoned Florida History of the Old Dummett Plantation Mill Ruins The Dummett Plantation Mill ruins are the remains of an early-19th-century sugar mill and rum distillery once operated by the Dummett family on Florida’s Atlantic coast. They are among the most visible pieces of the state’s brief but dramatic “sugar boom” era that ended during the Second [ ]