In today’s Meaningful Monday post, we are highlighting The Porter House mansion.
The Klutho-designed house was built in 1902 and was located on the corner of Julia and Church Streets. The original structure had a veranda that wrapped around three sides and had a widow’s walk on the roof. These were removed when it was purchased in 1925 by The First Christian Church when it was moved to its current location.
It was purchased by KBJ Architects in 1981, and by JWB Real Estate Companies in 2020. Opus Group was brought in to renovate and bring the interior offices up to code while leaving the beautiful staircase and other existing historic features, as well as put the infrastructure in the basement for plans for a possible future restaurant.
Our Meaningful Mondays series honors the beauty and integrity of the beautiful old buildings in Downtown Jacksonville. The series will highlight a project that we’ve been involved with, are currently involved with or will be involved with.
(Much of the historic information was taken from and inspired by Wayne Wood’s newly-released book, Jacksonville’s Architectural Heritage-Landmarks for the Future, available at Jacksonville Historical Society)