Laura Street

Laura Street

view from the Bank of America Tower looking toward Hemming Park
Owner	City of Jacksonville
Maintained by	Department of Public Works
Postal code	32202, 32206
Nearest metro station	Monorail: Hemming Plaza Station Rosa Parks Transit Station
North end	12th Street in Springfield (contiguous segment)
South end	Independent Drive in Northbank

Laura Street is a north-south street in Jacksonville, Florida, United States.

The street's contiguous segment runs from 12th Street in the historic neighborhood of Springfield south through downtown, terminating at Independent Drive. South of State Street, Laura Street runs though the core of downtown's Northbank, and is one of the busiest pedestrian streets in the city. Serving as an important corridor connecting a high concentration of office blocks, the area has historically functioned as a preeminent financial and shopping district, and has remained an important economic and cultural epicenter for the region. The street is also home to Jacksonville's oldest park, Hemming Park, the Jacksonville Landing, Main Public Library, the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, and City Hall.

Laura Street was named for the daughter of Jacksonville's founder, Isaiah D. Hart. In 1856, the city's oldest public park was designated along Laura Street, occupying the entire city block bordered by Monroe, Hogan and Duval Streets. The area attracted numerous hotels, most notably the St. James Hotel, completed in 1869, and the Windsor Hotel, completed in 1875.

The Great Fire of 1901 ravaged almost the entirety of today's modern downtown core, including much of Laura Street. The street did act as a fire line between the junctions of Adams Street through to the St. Johns River. Just as in the 1871 Great Chicago Fire, the massive level of destruction left in the wake of the fire precipitated a robust period growth and a building boom the would last up until the Great Depression. The corridor between Adams Street, where a remaining portion of the business district still existed, and Hemming Park was the center of much of the more notable commercial development.

Originally the Mercantile Exchange Bank Building, one of the first buildings to be built after the fire was the Old Florida National Bank in 1902. It was designed by Edward H. Glidden in the Classical Revival style, and is now part of a group of buildings known as the Laura Street Trio. Architect Henry John Klutho designed the other two buildings, these being the Bisbee Building in 1908, and the Florida Life Building in 1911, both designed in the Chicago school of architecture. He also designed the YMCA Building in 1909, and the St. James Building in 1912. New York architecture firm Mowbray and Uffinger contributed two significant structures to the corridor during this period. In 1909, 121 Atlantic Place, originally Atlantic National Bank Building, opened as the tallest building in Florida. Barnett National Bank Building would open its doors in 1926 also breaking the state height record. Local architecture firm Marsh & Saxelbye also contributed multiple works along the route, including Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum (1921), Schultz Building (1926), Hotel George Washington (1926) and Greenleaf & Crosby Building (1928).