Jacksonville Architecture

D-4

UNITED CIGAR STORE BUILDING
100 EAST ADAMS STREET
DATE: 1926
ARCHITECTS: Greer & Biggers
BUILDER: S. S. Jacobs

In 1925, after proclaiming that Jacksonville was destined to become the major metropolis of the South, the United Cigar Stores Company purchased twenty-six corner lots throughout the city for $1,500,000. Eight other structures similar to this one were built by Baeder Properties, a subsidiary of the cigar company, in 1926. Each building contained nine retail storefronts, with the corner space reserved for a United Cigar Store. Decorative features of the Mediterranean Revival style of architecture highlighted the exteriors including wrought-iron grilles in the arched windows, a clay-tile brow roof, and cast-stone ornaments. The unusual orientation of the facade toward the corner is the hallmark of these buildings. A wooden Indian was usually prominently displayed by the entrance. Of the nine original United Cigar buildings, most have been demolished or severely altered, leaving this as the best example of these old cigar shops.