DR. WAYNE W. WOOD has been called “the undisputed godfather of preservation in Jacksonville.”  After getting a degree in English from Emory University and a Doctorate of Optometry from the University of Houston, he came to Jacksonville in 1971.  Three years later he founded Riverside Avondale Preservation, Inc., which has grown to be one of the largest neighborhood preservation groups in the South.  In 1975 he was appointed to the Jacksonville Historic Landmarks Commission.  He served consecutively on this Commission longer than any other member, including three years as chairman. 

Wayne has played a key role in saving many of the city's endangered landmarks, including the Union Terminal train station, Old St. Lukes Hospital, the St. James Building, the Florida Life Building and many buildings in Riverside & Avondale.  He helped draft the first version of the City's Historic Preservation Ordinance in 1976, and he continued to lobby for its passage until its final enactment fifteen years later.

He spent most of his free time for over twelve years writing a book, Jacksonville's  Architectural Heritage: Landmarks for the Future. This 424-page volume about the history of this city's architecture went on sale in December of 1989 and was sold out in ten days.  The book has won numerous awards.  Now in its fourth printing, it remains as Jacksonville’s all-time local best-selling book. 

In 2003 he co-produced another large book with architect Bob Broward, entitled Henry John Klutho and the Prairie Style in Jacksonville.  This lavishly illustrated volume tells the story of this city’s greatest architectural genius and how he dramatically changed Jacksonville.

Wayne has written three books that have had companion exhibits in the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens. In 1994 Wayne wrote the book,  The Living Heritage of Riverside & Avondale, as a companion piece to an exhibit in the Cummer.  Then in 2001, he wrote a book to commemorate the centennial of Jacksonville’s most significant historical event, The Great Fire of 1901. Also featured with an exhibit at the Cummer, the book is in its second printing and has won an award for graphic design.

His latest book, also featured with an exhibit at the Cummer, is his largest book to date. The Jacksonville Familty Album: 150 Years of the Art of Photography is an oversized coffee-table book with hundreds of photographs which reveal the history of Jacksonville while celebrating photography as a high art form. It had been called “the most beautiful book about Jacksonville ever published. The first edition sold out and is in its second printing.

Wayne’s last three books are published by the Jacksonville Historical Society, which receives all of the proceeds from his work.

Wayne is an optometrist in private practice, with offices in Riverside and Ponte Vedra.  He is nationally recognized for his innovative work in contact lenses.  He has written dozens of articles in optometric journals and is on the editorial boards of several national eyecare magazines.  He has published a book for optometrists that has become a best-seller.  Wayne has presented hundreds of lectures to optometrists throughout the U.S and in over twenty foreign countries.  For 15 years he was the chairman of Vision Expo, the largest educational conference for eyecare professionals in North America.



STEPHEN J. TOOL, JR., is a native of Jacksonville with a deep interest in the preservation of the city's historical and architectural heritage. In 1979 he was appointed as the first-ever director of the Jacksonville Historic Landmarks Commission, a position he held for more than five years. During this period he was the chief researcher of the material upon which this book is based, earning him the title of "Jacksonville's Super Sleuth of Old Buildings." After leaving the Landmarks Commission, Tool served as executive director of the Palm Beach Landmarks Preservation Commission. He returned to Jacksonville in 1985, establishing his own firm specializing in architectural surveys, research, and planning. A year later, he was recruited again to direct the Jacksonville Historic Landmarks Commission, allowing him to assist in the completion of Jacksonville's Architectural Heritage. Tool served as an aide to mayors Tommy Hazouri and Jake Godbold. He then worked for the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce and is curently a commercial real estate specialist.



JOEL W. McEACHIN grew up in Panama City, Florida, and later attended Florida State University and Florida A. & M. University, graduating with a Masters in Anthropology and Social Studies Education. For eight years he worked at the Tallahassee Junior Museum, a 52-acre nature center, zoo, and nature museum. McEachin served as the Museum's assistant director from 1980 to 1984. He was then hired as director of the Jacksonville Historic Landmarks Commission and helped with the completion of research for this book. In 1986 he left his position with the Landmarks Commission to become executive director of Riverside Avondale Preservation, Inc.  He returned to work for the City of Jacksonville in 1989 and became the city's first historic preservation planner. He now holds the title of Senior Planner with the Jacksonville Historic Preservation Commission.



JUDY DAVIS is an architectural photographer whose work has received recognition from architects and interior designers throughout the state of Florida. She is a former student of the noted American photographer Ansel Adams. Her commercial work has been featured in numerous books, as well as in local and national periodicals. Davis's award-winning photographs have appeared in distinguished exhibits in Washington, D.C., and in Florida.



DAVID VEDAS, free-lance photographer, began his career in 1981, assisting Judy Davis with the creation of illustrations for this book. Forming the Davis & Vedas Studio, the two photographers have produced a monumental collection of over 1,000 pictures of Jacksonville's historic buildings.