Jacksonville Architecture

The story of this building is one of disaster and restoration. The 1901 Fire destroyed the former shop of the H. & W. B. Drew Company, a family business that traced itself back to Columbus Drew, Sr., a Virginia newspaper editor who came to Jacksonville in 1848. After leaving the newspaper business, Drew founded the Columbus Drew Stationery and Printing Company in 1855. Despite the brief closing of its Jacksonville facility in the 1970's, the Drew family's business has been in continuous operation in Florida for over 130 years, making it this city's oldest business.

The 1901 building was a two-story pressed brick structure, with storefront windows framed by cast-iron on the first floor facade and with arched windows on the second. The July, 1909, local newspapers reported that scaffolding had been erected in front of the Drew Building for the purpose of adding a third story, designed by architect H. J. Klutho. A November 8, 1910, news account, however, stated that the third-story was still under construction and that the architect was W. B. Camp. The discrepancy about the architect and the construction delay are made even more interesting by the report that the second-floor roof collapsed during construction, injuring five men. Architectural drawings by Klutho confirm that he was the actual designer for the third story.

After being vacant for many years, the building was slated for demolition in 1975. Architects James E. Clements and Peter Rumpel purchased the building to restore it, only to discover that the out-of- town wrecking company had not been notified of the plans and was beginning demolition. The new owners were alerted and rushed in to rescue the building from destruction. Four years after restoration was completed, a fire gutted the building and destroyed the third story. In an ironic twist of fate, the Drew Building has been recently restored again, reverting to its original two-story configuration.