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Courtesy Library of Congress, Roadside America John Margolies Collection

Blue Dahlia Storefront by John Margolies in Jacksonville

Forty years ago, downtown Jacksonville was losing its vitality. In 1960, a race riot in Hemming Park (now James Weldon Johnson Park) defined a time of fear, violence and anger that created white flight and left large portions of the downtown abandoned. The completion of I-95 through Jacksonville in 1959 and 1960 exacerbated the loss of vital traffic through the downtown. Photographer John Margolies recognized the beauty and the sadness of that time in this 1979 shot of a humble beauty and barber shop at 504 Broad Street, which is now an empty lot.

Peter Evans Apr 26, 2022 Jacksonville FL Abandoned Places Bypassing the Original 1 Signs Vernacular

Location: Jacksonville Florida

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