1620-1634 Donald Street, Jacksonville. These side-by-side buildings likely date to about 1915 and may have been designed by the architectural team of Mark & Sheftall. This conclusion is based on the resemblance to the Herschel and Osceola Street apartment houses, and the presence of an almost identical building in the Springfield neighborhood that was definitely the work of Mark & Sheftall. And yes, something is missing on Donald Street!
Where is the rest of the front porch and the elaborate cross-beams that support the balcony? They were removed at some point in the past for reasons unknown. The absence of these features leaves the buildings looking a bit naked at street level. Up above, however, the cantilevered canopies that are one of the signatures of these unique buildings are intact.
Like its near twin on Osceola Street (see my January 29th entry), the upstairs and downstairs units here are both entered from the front porch. In the Herschel Street version of the building (February 5th post) only the downstairs units are entered from the porch. The upstairs apartments are reached through doors in the center of the U-shaped building, in the back of the courtyard.
I hope no one upstairs walks in their sleep and wants to go outside!
This wide view from across the street highlights the other major difference between the Donald Street location and the others. Here, there are two buildings side-by-side. Each of the buildings contain four units.
The "doubling" of the buildings on Donald Street creates a real presence in the neighborhood. These houses dominate their side of the street! I'd love to know the full history of the trio of apartment houses I've featured in this series of posts. Anyone with additional information, please weigh in!
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