The Barnett (originally known as the Barnett National Bank Building) is a skyscraper in the downtown area of Jacksonville , Florida , at the southwest corner of Adams and Laura streets.
24-607: The Laura Street Trio is a group of three historic buildings located on and near Laura Street in downtown Jacksonville, Florida . The Trio consists of two perpendicularly arranged skyscrapers, the Florida Life Building and the Bisbee Building , plus a third structure, the Old Florida National Bank (or Marble Bank ), which is framed by the other two in a unique pattern. The three buildings, constructed in
48-925: A five-block segment of Laura Street beginning at West Duval Street near Hemming Park, stretching to the Jacksonville Landing , and ending at East Independent Drive, was recognized by the American Planning Association as one of its "Great Places in America." From south to north: The Jacksonville Landing is at the southern terminus of Laura Street and offers access to the Jacksonville Water Taxi as well as other marine services. The Jacksonville Skyway serves two stations near Laura Street: 30°19′38″N 81°39′33″W / 30.32732°N 81.65922°W / 30.32732; -81.65922 Barnett National Bank Building The building
72-632: A high-rise offices. Though many portions of the plan never came to fruition, a few of Laura Street's features are a result of the 1971 Downtown Master Plan, the most striking of which was the Wells Fargo Center , designed by Kemp, Bunch & Jackson in 1974 for the Independent Life Insurance Company. In 2011, $ 2.3 million was spent to enhance the street by adding traffic calming features, more sidewalk space, trees with colorful uplighting and other hardscape features. In 2015,
96-508: Is a north–south street in Jacksonville, Florida , United States, named for the daughter of the city's founder, Isaiah D. Hart . Historically, the downtown portion of Laura Street has been considered the financial district of Jacksonville. The street's contiguous segment runs from 12th Street in the historic neighborhood of Springfield south through downtown, terminating at Independent Drive. South of State Street, Laura Street runs through
120-476: The Classical Revival style. In 1905 it was bought by Florida Bank & Trust, predecessors to the modern Florida National Bank , who renovated and expanded it. It was renovated again in 1916 to include a large banking room with a skylight, plaster detailing, and a coffered ceiling. Another refurbishing in the 1950s added dropped ceilings that covered the skylight and detail work; these were removed in 1976 by
144-508: The Jacksonville Landing , Main Public Library , the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville , and City Hall . Laura Street was named for the daughter of Jacksonville's founder, Isaiah D. Hart . In 1856, the city's oldest public park was designated along Laura Street, occupying the entire city block bordered by Monroe, Hogan and Duval Streets. The area attracted numerous hotels, most notably
168-555: The St. James Building in 1912. New York architecture firm Mowbray and Uffinger contributed two significant structures to the corridor during this period. In 1909, 121 Atlantic Place , originally Atlantic National Bank Building, opened as the tallest building in Florida. Barnett National Bank Building opened its doors in 1926, also breaking the state height record. Local architecture firm Marsh & Saxelbye also contributed multiple works along
192-721: The Tallahassee -based Capital City Partners, presented a new, $ 70 million plan to restore the Laura Street Trio and the Barnett National Bank Building, as well as construct a fifth building. In June 2011 Atkins Group requested $ 5 million in historic tax credits to move forward with Phase I of the project. The Trio is currently being renovated into a Courtyard Marriot Hotel. 30°19′39″N 81°39′32″W / 30.327637°N 81.658869°W / 30.327637; -81.658869 Laura Street Laura Street
216-492: The 1971 Downtown Master Plan drafted by the Downtown Development Authority. The plans called for creating a pedestrian mall , a one-way transportation loop and elevated walkways that would permitting safe movement from the retail core, centered on Hemming Park, to the riverfront. The plans further called for a riverfront park, convention center with attached hotel, an exhibition center, Sears Department Store, and
240-456: The City of Jacksonville purchased all three buildings to transfer them to a developer who could restore them. Orlando developer Cameron Kuhn purchased the Laura Street Trio, as well as the nearby Barnett National Bank Building , but went bankrupt in the 2008 housing market crash before restoring them. The project subsequently sat idle. In 2010 Jacksonville investment group Atkins Group, together with
264-694: The Jacksonville Historic Landmarks Commission writes that with its narrow and well-proportioned tower, the building "was and perhaps still is Jacksonville's purest statement of a 'skyscraper.'" Like the Bisbee Buildings, it is an example of Klutho's Chicago-influenced Prairie Style. On April 18, 2012, the AIA 's Florida Chapter placed the Florida Life Building on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places . The building
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#1732873255441288-587: The Marble Bank's back wall, and is the only one of the Trio that actually faces Laura Street. It was constructed at the same time as Klutho's St. James Building (now Jacksonville City Hall). Standing 45 meters and 11 floors high, it was Jacksonville's – and Florida's – tallest building when it was built, though it was superseded less than a year later by the Heard National Bank Building . Still, Wayne Wood of
312-501: The St. James Hotel, completed in 1869, and the Windsor Hotel, completed in 1875. The Great Fire of 1901 ravaged almost the entirety of today's modern downtown core, including much of Laura Street. The street did act as a fire line between the junctions of Adams Street through to the St. Johns River. Just as in the 1871 Great Chicago Fire, the massive level of destruction left in the wake of
336-415: The building were proposed throughout the 2000s, but ultimately fell through. A local group led by developer Steve Atkins purchased the property, along with the Laura Street Trio, with the help of a loan from Stache Investments. On May 22, 2015, Stache Investments filed a complaint to foreclose on the building, claiming it is owed almost $ 3.77 million as of December 5, 2014. Atkins' group, SouthEast Group,
360-531: The building's then owners, the Jacksonville National Bank, who undertook a substantial restoration to its original appearance. By the 1990s, however, the building had been sold, and its subsequent owners allowed it to deteriorate dramatically. The second of the three buildings to be built, the Bisbee Building was constructed between 1908 and 1909, adjacent to the Marble Bank on Forsyth Street. It
384-450: The core of downtown's Northbank , and is one of the busiest pedestrian streets in the city. Serving as an important corridor connecting a high concentration of office blocks, the area has historically functioned as a preeminent shopping and financial district, and has remained an important economic and cultural epicenter for the region. The street is also home to Jacksonville's oldest park, James Weldon Johnson Park (formerly Hemming Park),
408-539: The fire precipitated a robust period growth and a building boom that would last up until the Great Depression . The corridor between Adams Street, where a remaining portion of the business district still existed, and Hemming Park, was the center of much of the more notable commercial development. Originally the Mercantile Exchange Bank Building, one of the first buildings to be built after the fire
432-411: The route, including Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum (1921), Schultz Building (1926), Hotel George Washington (1926) and Greenleaf & Crosby Building (1928). RTKL Associates Inc. , a planning and consultant firm from Baltimore , was hired in 1970 to study the city's increasing urban blight related to suburbanization and the development of retail malls. The recommendations were included in
456-622: The wake of the Great Fire of 1901 , are architecturally significant, but are currently endangered. The oldest of the three, the Old Florida National Bank, also known as the Marble Bank, sits on the corner of Forsyth and Laura Streets. It was originally built as the Mercantile Exchange Bank in 1902, just after the Great Fire of 1901 had destroyed nearly all of downtown Jacksonville . Architect Edward H. Glidden designed it in
480-655: Was constructed for the Florida Life Insurance Company, but the firm folded in 1915, and the structure changed hands a number of times over the years. In 1994, its then owners, Nations Bank , removed the original capitals on the top floor, doing structural damage in the process. Like the other buildings, the Florida Life building fell into disrepair. In the 2000s the Laura Street Trio were recognized as some of Jacksonville's most significant – and endangered – historic buildings. In 2002, under Mayor John Delaney ,
504-473: Was designed by prominent Jacksonville architect Henry J. Klutho in a Chicago School -influenced Prairie Style . It was constructed amid a race against two other ten-story projects, 121 Atlantic Place and the Seminole Hotel, to build Jacksonville's first ever skyscraper. The Bisbee won the race, but 121 Atlantic Place was slightly taller, making it Florida's tallest building at the time. The Bisbee Building
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#1732873255441528-532: Was erected in 1926 and was Jacksonville's tallest building at the time, surpassing the Heard National Bank Building. It was designed by architecture firm Mowbray & Uffinger for Barnett Bank . It remained Jacksonville's tallest building until the construction of the building now known as the Aetna Building in 1954. By the late 1990s it had fallen into disrepair; plans to restore and redevelop
552-592: Was the Old Florida National Bank in 1902. It was designed by Edward H. Glidden in the Classical Revival style, and is now part of a group of buildings known as the Laura Street Trio . Architect Henry John Klutho designed the other two buildings: the Bisbee Building in 1908, and the Florida Life Building in 1911, both designed in the Chicago school of architecture. He also designed the YMCA Building in 1909, and
576-524: Was the first reinforced concrete highrise anywhere in the Southern United States, and was originally designed to be only 26 feet wide, about half its present width, but demand for office space in the trendy new edifice led the owner to have Klutho add on. As with the other buildings, the Bisbee Building was eventually left empty and rapidly deteriorated. The Florida Life Building was also designed by Klutho, between 1911 and 1912. It stands next to
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