“A closeup of Hemming Park with the St. James Building (Cohen Brothers) in upper center. They were just building the Woolworth Store. About 1953.” LS
Looking down on the heart of downtown Jacksonville with Hemming Park in one of it’s earlier incarnations with paver paths, grass and a bandshell. The St. James Building was still a department store. The cleared lot to the left was the early phase of construction for the downtown Woolworth’s building which opened in 1955. Many of the buildings in this photograph still exist but have been repurposed over the years such as the St. James Building which after years of sitting empty was renovated into Jacksonville’s City Hall building. The Woolworth’s was demolished and became the site of the current Federal Courthouse.
