1890s Jacksonville, Florida Grand Union Hotel.

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Rare. A strong albumen photograph showing the Grand Union Hotel in Jacksonville, Florida on a sunny bright day.

Hotel guests and employees sit or stand on both the ground and second level porches, with the majority of them staring directly at the photographer. One woman uses her hand to shade her eyes. A small group of people, most likely hotel employees, is visible on the far left.

The hotel’s two-horse team stage coach is posed nearby, and a small Black boy is seen sitting on the ground near the horses. Signs of modernization show a single power line, almost at the height of the roof line, and a street lamp in the foreground.

In the historical record, Jacksonville’s first case of yellow fever in 1888 is speculated to have occurred at the Grand Union Hotel, brought to the city by an infected guest. During the outbreak, city officials considered condemning and raising the structure.

A brief survey yields little visual or textual information about this hotel. (Florida Memory provides an example.) It was most likely held by the same individuals who owned the famous Grand Union Hotel in Saratoga Springs, New York. That hotel grew into one of the world’s largest.

Price: $250.00