1960's Architecture in Jacksonville-The Universal Marion Building, Charter & Raymond Mason, Ivey's

Downtown ‪Jacksonville, Jacksonville history, Charter Oil, Raymond Mason, Ivey's,
**HJPP-The History Jacksonville Preservation Project**
Show # 36 of "History Jacksonville!" Film & Broadcast Date October 17, 2015
Classic History Jacksonville Show # 5 of 22
By season #4 I had an opener for the History Jacksonville shows. In the season 4 premiere I showcased the Universal Marion Building/Charter.old JEA Hq while standing at the corner of Main and Church Streets as traffic heading down Main Street towards the bridge buzzed by at high rates of speed. I mentioned the rotating restaurant that used to be there called “The Embers”. I wave my clipboard filled of notes as I reflected on my recollections of the building and the old city shopping district I knew as I was growing up. (Ivey’s, May Cohens across the street in the St James Building ). My mother was an avid downtown and Regency Square Mall shopper in the late 70s early 80s. I admired the architecture by zooming in on it. As the show goes on, I talk about a legend named Raymond Mason and display 1970s urban redevelopment plans that never reached fruition. I discuss the dilemma JEA was facing with challenges utilizing it. The show ends with a photo montage of downtown and how JEA was using the building. Right at the end I had a fun interaction with a pedestrian-it was one of my more enjoyable moments filming on the street so I snapped a picture. . Currently, it has had 385 views since 2015 and it is not in the top 50 of most viewed shows on the channel.. In this show, I talked about a landmark that still stands and that had an illustrious past. It was definitely from it’s time and reflected a sunny optimism about the urban space that despite current circumstances seems to still shine thru due to the brilliant architecture.
George Farrar

Original Description Text (Revised)

History ‎Jacksonville‬ is back with an amazing show about the illustrious past of the JEA Headquarters at Main & Church Streets. Many years before the JEA moved in, it was the corporate headquarters for some interesting companies and also had The Ivey's Department Store. The show also talks about legendary business titan Raymond Mason. He passed away in January, 2020. Please check out all of our shows at theleftturnnetwork.com