(https://photos.moderncities.com/Other/Old-Jax-Federal-Courthouse-Linzee-Ott/i-pGRjZbs/0/16e2865a/L/IMG_7502-1-L.jpg)
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The Jaxson Magazine takes a before and after tour of Downtown Jacksonville's Ed Austin State Attorney's Office. Dating back to the 1930s, the massive structure served as Downtown Jacksonville's U.S. Post Office and Courthouse.
Read more: https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/before-after-the-old-us-post-office-and-courthouse/
What did they do refurbish, rebuild, and reconstruct the whole building or just parts and sections of it? I thought it was abandoned once the new court house was built. Where is the U.S. Post Office downtown now?
Downtown doesn't have a post office anymore. The UPS Store on Hogan Street provides those services now.
Other than the old post office lobby area itself, the entire building was refurbished and converted into an office for the State Attorney.
The closest USPS "Post Office" to downtown is on Kings Road, just west of I-95
As I recall:
The post office lobby in this building was beautiful with marble floors and walls (which meant you had to talk quietly as sound carried far and wide), high and ornate boxed ceilings, hundreds of finely detailed brass mail boxes, marble topped counters with the old fashion banker's brass lamps for customers to read/sort their mail or prepare it for the walk up windows where everyone new the P.O. employees behind them. At the Monroe lobby entrance was a snack/candy counter that was run by a fully or partially blind person (can't remember which).
I also recall the lobby was relatively dark and dimly lit and had a wonderful musty odor from all the mail being sorted behind the walls. Those beautiful front entry doors are heavy and take some push to open. And the eagles on the elevator doors bring back instant memories.
By the way, visiting the P.O. was a social event in the old days. Since most of Jax's major businesses where downtown then, you were sure to see as many movers and shakers getting their mail there as you would eating at the River Club or any other "mover & shaker" venue of the day.
For certain packages or to get mail faster, you went down to the Bay Street P.O. Being that much of the mail traveled by train then, they got first crack at sorting it being at the station. Criminal to see that building go down with the rest of La Villa.
Directly across Monroe was the George Washington Hotel.
Are there plans to restore the lobby at some point? It would be great to see this once again a cross-roads for downtown activity although I suppose the State Attorney's office would nix that degree of access. Glad they restored it but sad it limits its visibility to the general public.
Remember going in there from time to time with my Mom in the 60's, and when I joined the Navy I went in there quite a few times for stamps, packages, etc. I remember the marble floors, those heavy doors at the entrance, and yes that papery odor from the mail in the back. Awesome building for a young kid back then; my how times have changed. A large, supposedly major city without a post office building in the downtown and urban core. Tsk tsk tsk, I just don't know, I don't know, tsk tsk tsk.
Quote from: heights unknown on September 06, 2019, 11:35:42 PM
Remember going in there from time to time with my Mom in the 60's, and when I joined the Navy I went in there quite a few times for stamps, packages, etc. I remember the marble floors, those heavy doors at the entrance, and yes that papery odor from the mail in the back. Awesome building for a young kid back then; my how times have changed. A large, supposedly major city without a post office building in the downtown and urban core. Tsk tsk tsk, I just don't know, I don't know, tsk tsk tsk.
Maybe it's just me, but I can't really see how in 2019, a post office is somehow supposed to be a big deal in a modern downtown. Don't get me wrong, the building here is cool, and it's awesome that it's still around, but these days, most mail is either spam or something I could have been emailed about. There's a reason USPS is focusing on package deliveries these days.
Quote from: jaxlongtimer on September 06, 2019, 10:27:42 PM
As I recall:
The post office lobby in this building was beautiful with marble floors and walls (which meant you had to talk quietly as sound carried far and wide), high and ornate boxed ceilings, hundreds of finely detailed brass mail boxes, marble topped counters with the old fashion banker's brass lamps for customers to read/sort their mail or prepare it for the walk up windows where everyone new the P.O. employees behind them. At the Monroe lobby entrance was a snack/candy counter that was run by a fully or partially blind person (can't remember which).
I also recall the lobby was relatively dark and dimly lit and had a wonderful musty odor from all the mail being sorted behind the walls. Those beautiful front entry doors are heavy and take some push to open. And the eagles on the elevator doors bring back instant memories.
By the way, visiting the P.O. was a social event in the old days. Since most of Jax's major businesses where downtown then, you were sure to see as many movers and shakers getting their mail there as you would eating at the River Club or any other "mover & shaker" venue of the day.
For certain packages or to get mail faster, you went down to the Bay Street P.O. Being that much of the mail traveled by train then, they got first crack at sorting it being at the station. Criminal to see that building go down with the rest of La Villa.
Directly across Monroe was the George Washington Hotel.
Are there plans to restore the lobby at some point? It would be great to see this once again a cross-roads for downtown activity although I suppose the State Attorney's office would nix that degree of access. Glad they restored it but sad it limits its visibility to the general public.
What great memories! The State Attorney's Office (SAO) is actively seeking photographs of the former interior of the Post Office. Because it was a federal building, interior photos are proving difficult to find. If anyone comes across any, the SAO would be delighted to have copies. They are working on a mini history exhibit to eventually highlight the original building itself as well as notable names and cases that have passed through.
I could be wrong, but I believe that the COJ received some federal dollars for the preservation of the building, with the condition that the post office was restored someday. I don't know any other information other than that. I agree it would be a beautiful event or meeting space, but because it was dismantled during its years of abandonment and during the 2007 renovations, would be quite the pricey endeavor.
I know some of this because I have attended an event at the current SAO office. The building itself is owned by the City and the SAO welcomes tours, but yes, is a secure law enforcement office and therefore is restricted by security. The building is a gem and I'm so thankful it is in as (relatively) good shape as it is.