Skinner Dairy

Skinners' Dairy was a family-run dairy that existed in and around Jacksonville, Florida from the 1950s until the mid-1990s.

The family of Samuel Benjamin "Ben" Skinner operated a dairy farm on a portion of their vast land holdings in northeast Florida beginning in the early 1950s. During the late 50s the growing influence of grocery stores made it more difficult for small, independent dairies to remain financially solvent. The decision was made to build small freestanding "milk houses" in residential neighborhoods. These stores offered milk and other dairy products and they were ideally suited to replace the declining milk home delivery service. The first store was built in 1958 and the chain peaked in 1985 with 21 stores throughout northeastern Florida (19 in Jacksonville and two in St. Augustine).

Created by the architectural firm of Hardwick & Lee, the Skinner's Milk Houses were thoughtfully designed and visually interesting structures that became an iconic presence throughout the Jacksonville area. Under their pitched "butterfly" roofs, each identical store was painted orange, grey, and white, incorporated a drive-through that could be approached from both sides, and used aluminum sliding glass doors which were a novelty at the time. The overhanging roof design also provided shelter for drive-through customers during north Florida's frequent rainstorms.

Hardwick & Lee also designed dozens of other buildings in the Jacksonville area including the Haydon Burns Library and Friendship Fountain.

Skinner Dairy transitioned to new management in the mid-1980s. Under the new management a second wave of milk house construction began in 1987. For unknown reasons the modernist Hardwick & Lee design was replaced by a new design (architect unknown) which was pedestrian and forgettable. The location and quantity of buildings of the second series is unknown, but it is estimated that between one and two dozen were built from 1987-1995. Three stores built in 1987 are in Clay County.

The relatively short lifespan of the second series combined with their bland appearance occasionally leads to locals misremembering that these stores were built in the manner of the earlier Hardwick & Lee design.

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Wikipedia