05:20 AM EST Share Since taking over in 1976, Gunnel Humphreys transformed Edge City into a store where you can buy items you won’t find anywhere else in Jacksonville.
The Legend | 2020 Revenue: $250,000
For more than 50 years, the Edge City retail store has been a landmark in the Five Points shopping and entertainment district at 1017 Park St. between Riverside and Brooklyn.
A lot has changed in that time, but an icon remains after 45 years: Gunnel Humphreys, owner of Edge City.
The Swedish-born Humphreys and her business and life partner, the late Tom McCleery, bought the store from the original owners in 1975 for $3,000 – his severance pay from the office job that disenchanted him at Bethlehem Steel Corp.
The barber was Frank Crowd, prominent Black barber who later owned theaters in LaVilla neighborhood
A couple of weeks ago, Mitch Hemann was rummaging through the abandoned offices of a long-closed casket factory when he found an old framed photo, leaning against a wall with some other pictures. Instantly, he knew this was something special.
The large print, through a layer of dust that had worked its way under the glass in a busted frame, showed two men one older, one middle-aged and a younger male, probably a teenager, on the porch of a simple wood-framed building. Another man leans slightly out of a side window frame.
Weekend run commemorates Jacksonville’s Great Fire of 1901
Historian recalls devastation that sparked rejuvenation
Lena Pringle, Anchor/traffic and general assignment reporter
Published:
Updated:
Tags:
120 Year Anniversary of The Great Fire
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Monday will mark 120 years since downtown Jacksonville burned to the ground in what is known as The Great Fire.
Within eight hours, 146 city blocks were destroyed, more than 2,368 buildings were turned to ashes and 10,000 residents were left homeless. It is considered remarkable that only seven people died in the fire.
“The Great Fire of 1901 was the largest most significant event in our city’s history,” said Dr. Wayne Wood, historian-at-large for the Jacksonville Historical Society. “In one afternoon, 90% of the downtown area of Jacksonville was destroyed in this Great Fire. The flames could be seen glowing in the sky all the way to Savannah, Georgia. The smoke could be seen in the sky in Raleigh,
Historic landmark The Pink Castle to host charity event May 1
Special to The Record
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Network Realty s listing at 16 May St., known as The Pink Castle, will be showcased in a special charitable event next month highlighting the home’s historical significance. The Mysteries of the Pink Castle takes place from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, May 1, and includes a tour, lecture, concert and book signing.
Built in 1922, The Pink Castle was designed by sculptor C. Adrian Pillars as his own home and studio. Pillars lived in St. Augustine from about 1919 to 1932 before teaching at the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota. Pillar’s most famous work is the statue of Winged Victory in Jacksonville’s Memorial Park. The sculpture of a bronze winged youth rising above a globe is entitled Life, which is also the name of a new biography by historian and author, Dr. Wayne Wood.