JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A revamped historic building in Downtown Jacksonville was unveiled with a grand opening event Friday night.
41 East Duval Street got a rebirth from Placemaking Jax with a handful of new vendors and attractions being offered inside.
This building has a rich history.
It was built in 1946 and was originally the F.O. Miller Piano Company.
But then in the 60s, it turned into Paulus Music Company, which was a prime spot for local musicians like Lynyrd Skynyrd and Molly Hatchet to visit, especially during the height of Jacksonville’s Southern Rock Scene.
“Just to be able to, one, honor my family’s legacy, and then two, show people what they did and what this space was, it’s just a big opportunity,” Nick Paulus, owner of Paulus Music Co. said. “I’m very happy to make any new connections I can, because that’s what my granddad did his whole life.”
The revamped creative space will feature five different vendors.
- The Petite: to feature seven curated mini art gallery installations
- Paulus Music Company: museum exhibition celebrating Jacksonville’s rich music history
- Hush Hush Jax: new immersive silent disco theater.
- Kollect Jax: a new vintage clothing store
- Konbini Labo: a Japanese-inspired convenience store.
Kollect Jax co-founders Keegan Jervis and Hootie said they were thankful to be a part of the progress that’s happening downtown.
“We’re super excited to be downtown. And kind of our thesis behind everything was making downtown part of, like, the cultural routine again, for Jacksonville,” Jervis said.
“We put in over like 1500 hours since the beginning of this year. So being able to see a bunch of people in this space and seeing how nice it looks and all dressed up all the way up has been very big excitement,” Hootie said.
Cory McCracken, owner of Hush Hush Headphones, had a message for visitors.
“I want Jacksonville to get used to expecting the unexpected and put weird on their radar,” McCracken said.
