Name/Title
Florida Life BuildingEntry/Object ID
2016.019.008Description
Florida Life Building (in 1927, Florida National Bank Building)
117 Laura Street
Architects: H.J. Klutho
Completed in 1912. Was Jacksonville's tallest building for less than one year, it was and is (perhaps) Jacksonville's purest statement of a skyscraper. It gives the impression of being much taller than its actual eleven-story height. The base of the building is covered in glazed terra-cotta and originally featured a suspended glass canopy (much like the St. James Building) over the entrance. Broad plate glass Chicago-style windows accentuate Forsyth Streets facade that draw the eye upward to an ornate copper cornice and a parapet.
In 1914, a penthouse was added and the rooftop was landscaped with grass and shrubbery, built for C.E. Clark, secretary of the Peninsular Casualty Company, which had its offices below and which was the sister company of the Florida Life Insurance company, owner of the building.
The Florida Life Insurance Company went bankrupt in 1915.
Also located at this address (and most advertisements can be seen along the street level of the building):
Arcade Theatre
Penisular & Occidental Steamship Co.
Lawrence Haynes & Son insurance
Florida US Immigration Service
Weyman Mortgage Company
Also in this photo: the Florida National Bank and the Florida Life Building. These three buildings currently (2016) make up what is known as the "Laura Street Trio".Collection
Woodward Photo CollectionMade/Created
Studio
The Woodward Studio, Inc.Lexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Secondary Object Term
Photograph, Black-and-WhiteNomenclature Primary Object Term
PhotographNomenclature Sub-Class
Graphic DocumentsNomenclature Class
Documentary ObjectsNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication Objects