Andrew R. Nicholas Knihy

The Jacksonville architecture of the 1920s was a marvel as it dotted the glowing skyline--which could easily be seen across the St. Johns River at that time. Jacksonville in the 1920s shows a drastically different city compared to how it looks in the 2020s. Most of the early buildings have been demolished, although a few survive, including the Barnett, the Carling, and the Florida Theatre. Beyond the urban core of Jacksonville are the neighborhoods of Springfield, Riverside Avondale, San Marco, and San Jose, which all underwent drastic changes in the 1920s. The nearby beaches are intertwined with the city in that they not only represent the beauty of that metropolis, complete with its exuberant citizens, but one of those beaches, Pablo Beach, was renamed Jacksonville Beach in the 1920s. This was also the time of the Harlem Renaissance, which impacted the local Black community.

Lake City was founded in the 1820s as Alligator--named after a Seminole town--and was made the county seat of Columbia County in 1839. The abundance of lakes and pride in the quiet, natural surroundings led to the citizens of Alligator changing the name of the town to Lake City in 1859. During the Civil War, the Battle of Olustee took place a few miles east of Lake City, forever changing the town. After the war, Lake City became an important place for education with the founding of Florida Agriculture College in 1884; the college was the predecessor of the University of Florida, and its location is now home to the Veterans Administration Hospital. In the 20th century, Lake City and Columbia County expanded the area's agriculture, education, and transportation opportunities. Lake City is centrally located in Columbia County at the intersection of Interstate 10 and Interstate 75, marking the city as the gateway to Florida.