Jacksonville Architecture

St. John's Cathedral is one of the gems of Jacksonville's downtown architecture, rich not only in design but in history as well. The first Episcopal service was held in Jacksonville in 1829, led by a missionary from St. Augustine. Five years later, St. John's Parish was incorporated. In 1842 the church was given half of the square at the crest of "Billy Goat Hill," the highest point in the original city limits of Jacksonville. Construction was begun immediately, and some years later the rest of the square adjacent to the church was purchased. Union soldiers burned this church building in 1863. The congregation worshipped in temporary quarters until a new brick sanctuary designed by New York architect Edward Potter was completed on the site in 1877.

The church property was originally on the outskirts of town at the head of Market Street. As the town expanded and the residential area grew up around the church, special permission from the City Council had to be granted for the church property to remain in the centerline of the street, leaving a permanent quirk in the map of the city's grid system. The 1877 sanctuary was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1901, and the congregation again called on the architect Edward Potter, then with the firm of Snelling and Potter, to design a new church. Built on the foundation of the former church building and dramatically sited with an unbroken vista at the summit of Market Street, the new church was completed for Easter services in 1906. Its cost was $90,000. This building is cruciform in shape and Gothic Revival in style with a square bell tower reminiscent of an English parish church. But the tower is atypical in its location at the angle of the transept and the chancel, instead of at the crossing. The facade displays an interesting array of architectural and ecclesiastical ornamentation, including winged gargoyles, the eagles of St. John, Celtic crosses on the gables, Tudor and lancet arched windows with intricate tracery, buttresses, and whimsical frog gargoyles.

The exterior is faced with Indiana limestone, and the roof is made of slate from Pennsylvania. The interior is topped by a hammer-beam trussed ceiling faced with native cypress and is lit by numerous stained glass windows, including an authentic Tiffany. The original altar is made of French Caen stone, complemented by an Indiana limestone pulpit and octagonal baptismal font. In 1951 the church was elevated to the status of Cathedral of the Diocese of Florida. To commemorate the 150th anniversary of St. John's Parish, the cathedral underwent a $1,700,000 restoration in 1983-1984, under the supervision of the architectural firm of Gordon & Smith, thus enhancing the preservation of one of this city's important landmarks.