(Source of image: American Memory Collection, Library of Congress)

CLICK HERE to look more closely at Cora's establishment

Suppose you were to float over Jax in a hot air balloon in 1893:  Here's how part of La Villa would appear.  The Hotel de Dreme stood on the southwest corner of Ashley and Jefferson (yesteryear's Hawk Street).  The red arrow points to the roof of the frame building that became the Hotel de Dreme a short time later.  It was situated one block from Stanton High School, indicated by the green arrow.  Stanton is a historic institution that was traditionally African American.  Like the Hotel de Dreme structure, Stanton burned down during the Great Fire of 1901.  The building now referred to as Old Stanton High School was erected on the school's site in 1917.  It still survives.  And operating today between Old Stanton and the Hotel de Dreme spot is the well known Clara White Mission, another place that was traditionally African American.

On the map above, the lines on Beaver Street represent trolley tracks.  A mule-drawn street car can barely be made out on them.  Notice the little shotgun houses above the red arrow.  These dwellings used to dot the neighborhood, but only three remain.  They will be preserved for posterity, as will too the facade of Genovar's Hall.  This structure was built on the southeast corner of Ashley and Jefferson in about 1895.  At first it contained a grocery store, probably frequented by Cora's girls from across the street.  Later, it accommodated a tavern and hotel, a favorite lodging place for such entertainers as Louis Armstrong.  When the Ashley Street area became an African American jazz mecca during the 1920s, many waiters & musicians would loll about Genovar's Hall, waiting for a job.  They hung around "the rail of hope," a couple of metal hitching posts formerly for tying horses in front of the building.  One of the unemployed men was the future musical legend Ray Charles, who briefly lived in La Villa during the 1940s. 

CLICK HERE for a snapshot of Genovar's Hall today  

The mid to late 1800s saw the drawing of many birds-eye view maps, such as the one pictured.  During their preparation, a publisher might send out an army of artists to sketch a town's structures.  These renderings would later be put together in a panoramic perspective.  The image above is just a small part of an 1893 Jax map.  When you compare the River City map to old photos, you can see how the map can prove quite accurate.  Sometimes, it even reveals toolsheds.

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