Help! Create a Murray Hill History Timeline with us!

[stephendare]

Please help us create a list of the people, places, businesses and things that have defined Murray Hill over the decades!

Im afraid my knowledge of the area isnt very deep at all, but I can start the List.

80s
Jones College

College Station- the quintessential gay disco owned by Monroe Midyette, one of the most famous club owners in Jacksonville history.  It became:
17 South, owned by Ken Kisch--the club which really launched the carreer of Robert Goodman from Planet Radio and the former owner of Now Hear This!
then it became
Shotz-  Another gay bar.  Many people blame Ken for introducing the highlevel tackiness factor of spelling club names with a 'z' instead of an 's'

The Crypt
Edgewood Bakery

90s.

the big club became "The Underground" and became the epicenter of house music and cheaply produced ecstacy knock offs known as 'groovers'.  Seminal to the Riverside experience because it marked an entire era where DJs were synonymous with drugdealers.

Murray Hill Theater became a Christian themed Nightclub.

2000s

Murray Hill Theater
Monarch/Fat Cat/ Edge 17
The Edgewood Bakery
Dave's
Wine Warehouse
Moon River Pizza


I know there are plenty more, please flesh out the list!

[Charles Hunter]

1960s and 70s
Murray Hill Theater - actually showed movies, mostly "B" or 2nd run, spent many a summer afternoon with my buddies watching horror triple features

Edgewood Theater - Jones College now occupies the building, until near the end, was a first run movie house, part of the Florida Theater chain; in the summer they had kiddie matinees, where, for 35 cents and 6 RC Cola bottle caps, you could spend most of a Saturday watching cartoons and movies, and get a soft drink (RC?) and small popcorn

Toytown - big toy store down the block (away from the RR) and across the street from the Edgewood Theater

Rexall (?) Drug Store - with a real soda fountain, next to Toytown, I think

Where Dave's diner is now, was another "comfort food" (or "greasy spoon" - your choice) place, but I can't remember the name

The JW Discount store, next to Dave's on Post, was a grocery store.  It seems like there was a drug store or news-stand somewhere nearby, too, that had an interesting collection of magazines.

And of course, about a block off of Edgewood, the other way on Post - the Dreamette (still there).  Another in the 'still there' category is the Curry Thomas Hardware - at least I think it has been there forever.

[TREE4309]

The Alibi
Perfect Rack Billiards
Tradewinds
The Office (RIP)
1171 (RIP)
Robin's Furniture
The Venue

[Ocklawaha]

'SIDE OF THE ROAD RUNNING' Try this with BRT! This btw was a common method of streetcar construction and use. Jacksonville Traction seems to have had a large proportion of its routes built this way. Plymouth Avenue, Ortega Blvd, New York Ave, Grand Avenue and San Jose (south of San Marco).

I believe the Murray Hill Theater was the first "ROCKING CHAIR THEATER" in the city. I recall it being a BEAUTIFUL place to see a movie. They might also have been the FIRST multi-screen theater. Another one at SR -21 and US-17. I recall seeing "The Jungle Book" as soon as Disney released it... I was pretty darn young, but I still find it a very funny movie.

The 'rocking chair' thing was a move to recapture market share from TV. For us local boys the thought of the 'rocking chairs' in the theater was just about the funniest thing they could have cooked up.

The streetcars defined Fairfax, Avondale, Murray Hill, Lackawanna, Riverside and "framed" Park and King, as well as 5-points. Go explore those old streetcar streets and you'll find plenty of 100 year old Transit Oriented Development.

[Julian]

not sure of the time periods on these but from what i remember:

wood's pharmacy (originally on first block, now in Bank of America building)
The Edge Restaurant (used to be where La Fiesta was , now farther down)
El Hassan Deli? (deli located where Wok n Roll is now, I went to elementary school with the owners son)
Hubbard House Thrift Store (where moon river is)

i know there's more, too early to think right now!

[gunasglass]

Murrey Hill had Thomas and Padgett Meats.  Also Hinson School of Ballet was upstairs where that art gallery is now. Those were both in the 60's.  I believe The Keg was on the corner of Edgewood and Post back in the 70's.

[Julian]

some more memories of Murray Hill:

four corners park (between Hamilton and Murray) I used to play there as a kid a lot

Somewhere on Edgewood I remember there being some type of theatre group, went there on field trips from school, we'd walk from Ruth Upson elementary.

at one point the Wood's Pharmacy had a latin type restaurant/lunch counter in it.

....hmm, ok that's all for now, i'm sure i'll remember more soon.

[riverside planner]

Very early 90s:
Rocky Horror at the Theatre before it's Christian conversion
A really awesome vintage clothing shop that I cannot for the life of me remember the name of

The classics:
Dreamette
Edgewood Bakery

The J&W was an A&P grocery store