St. James Building Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
St. James Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places


Location in Central Jacksonville Show map of Central Jacksonville Location in Florida Show map of Florida
Location	117 West Duval Street Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Architect	Henry John Klutho
Architectural style	Chicago School Prairie School
NRHP reference No.	76000594
Added to NRHP	May 3, 1976

The St. James Building is a famous old building in Downtown Jacksonville, Florida. Today, it is home to the Jacksonville City Hall, where the city's government works. A talented architect named Henry John Klutho designed it, and it first opened its doors in 1912.

This building is special because it was one of many that Klutho designed after a huge event called the Great Fire of 1901 destroyed much of downtown Jacksonville. Many people consider the St. James Building to be his best work, showing off a style of architecture called the Prairie School.

You can find the building at 117 West Duval Street. It stands where the old St. James Hotel used to be. When it first opened, it was a "mixed-use" building. This means it had different types of businesses inside, including the large Cohen Bros. Department Store (which later became May Cohens).

The department store closed in 1987, leaving the building empty for a while. But in 1993, the City of Jacksonville bought it. They planned to turn it into the new City Hall as part of a big project called the River City Renaissance. After a lot of work, it reopened in 1997. In 2012, a group called the American Institute of Architects's Florida Chapter added the building to its list of "Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places."

A Look Back: The St. James Building's Past
Images for kids
See also

A Look Back: The St. James Building's Past

The Original St. James Hotel

Before the current building, there was a large hotel called the St. James Hotel. Investors from Connecticut built and owned it after the American Civil War. It was a very fancy place for its time.

The hotel could host 500 guests. It even had a passenger elevator, which was very modern back then! There was also a restaurant with delicious food, a laundry, a barbershop, and reading rooms. Famous orchestras would play music for the guests.

Many rich and famous people stayed there. At one point, Jacksonville was a very popular winter spot. About 65,000 people would come to north Florida for the colder months. The hotel was so well-known that the public park across the street, once called "City Park," was renamed "St. James Park."

The Great Fire and Rebuilding

In 1901, a terrible event called the Great Fire of 1901 swept through Jacksonville. It destroyed most of the city, including the original St. James Hotel. The owner, J. R. Campbell, wanted to rebuild but didn't have enough money.

The Windsor Hotel, which was next door, rebuilt quickly. They bought the St. James land from Campbell. This stopped another hotel from being built right next to them. Later, two brothers, Jacob and Morris Cohen, bought the land from the Windsor Hotel. They promised not to build another hotel there.

The Cohen Brothers' Department Store

In 1910, the Cohen brothers asked architect Henry John Klutho to design a building for their department store. Klutho had a big idea: he suggested a building with four floors, even though they only asked for two!

He planned a "mixed-use" building. This meant small shops would be on the first floor, with the department store inside and on the second floor. The third and fourth floors would have offices for rent. Klutho convinced the brothers that their building would become the most important business spot in Jacksonville. They loved his idea!

Klutho didn't just design the building; he also managed the construction. He used a fast method where work starts before all the designs are finished. Because of this, the project was done in less than a year and a half. About 200 skilled workers helped build it.

The new building was named the St. James Building. It was Klutho's greatest success. When it opened on October 21, 1912, it was the largest building in Jacksonville. It took up a whole city block! A magazine called The Western Architect even featured the St. James Building and Klutho's work in 1914.

Inside, one of the most amazing features was a 75-foot-wide octagonal (eight-sided) glass dome. This dome acted as a huge skylight, letting in lots of natural light. The elevators were open "cages," so people could see the store as they went up and down. The outside of the building was decorated with large, artistic clay ornaments.

The Cohen brothers ran their store until 1958. Then, a company called The May Department Stores Company bought it and renamed it May Cohens. Over time, other May Cohen stores opened in shopping centers. The downtown store in the St. James Building closed its doors in July 1987.

The St. James Building Becomes City Hall

In 1993, the city of Jacksonville bought the empty St. James Building. This was part of the River City Renaissance plan, led by Mayor Ed Austin. The plan included spending $24 million to buy and fix up the St. James Building to make it the new city hall. The goal was to move government offices to the center of downtown, around Hemming Plaza.

Architects from Saxelbye, Powell, Roberts & Ponder were chosen for the project. It was more about bringing the building back to its original look than just changing it. They had to tear down all the inside walls from past renovations.

A big part of the restoration was rebuilding the 75-foot octagonal glass dome. The original dome had been removed in 1927 to create more office space. Architect Klutho was very upset about this, saying "a showplace was killed." He even moved his own offices out of the building in protest.

In the 1990s restoration, the new dome was placed on the roof of the fourth floor. The original dome was between the second and third floors. The building also needed modern updates to meet safety rules, be accessible for people with disabilities, and save energy.

The new City Hall in the St. James Building officially opened on December 12, 1997. The Jacksonville Historical Society called the St. James Building "one of Jacksonville's most monumental works of art" and "one of the most beautiful city halls in America."