In our “Story of a Building” series, we look at iconic landmarks in the Jacksonville area – their history, their usage, and what makes them important to the city.
Though it hasn’t been around for nearly as long as many of downtown Jacksonville’s most ornate buildings, the Main Library at 303 N. Laura Street already ranks among the area’s most iconic and integral buildings.
The building, which opened in November 2005, had big shoes to fill before its construction even began. Not only was it set to replace the beloved Haydon Burns library, its future site also had to be cleared of multiple historic structures, including the Rhodes-Futch-Collins building, the Buckman and Ulmer building, and the South Atlantic Investment Corporation building.
Those demolitions took place in 2002, but the project itself began in 2000 with the approval of the Better Jacksonville Plan by local…
