Martin County Buildings, Then and Now

viewing local locations then and now the steward Chamber of Commerce building built in the early 1950s the building is still there not a chamber of commerce but repurposed right at US1 note the brick on the side it came originally from the Bessie Perkins Shepherd home that was right there at Shephard park at one time in 1949 when the house burned the bricks from that home the shepherd house were saved to use by this building the Clifton Lodge along seminal Street built by Sam Matthews for his own use in the early 1910s Matthew sold this house and built another this has become a very popular Lodge over the years it had to be moved recently Steven

Vali moved it farther down along seminal Street to preserve it The Dudley and then later the Herbert Bessie home built in 1909 along Atlanta Avenue it is now the Yacht Sales company offices located by confusion Corner kindred's groceries was there at one time now it's ocean 1 featuring individual offices in the 1950s it was King Pontiac Motors and also a golf filling station right there in the corner of Colorado later in the 60s it was Merkel moers there for years it's now been several small shops in that area along the former 7th Street which is now known as Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard in the late 50s is when a new post office went in

for Stewart now it's the supervisor of elections headquarters the railroad bridge across the St Lucy River first one was in 1895 and it was wooden metal ones were then later built the last major railroad bridge constructed across the St Lucy still in use today was built 1938 in jeten Beach there was built the brick block the ricko building it's known as and that was done in 1908 it had several different kinds of shops a post office for Jensen and Insurance offices now the building is the lovely Jensen in the corner of Jensen Beach Boulevard near the railroad crossing located on US1 and built in 1928 by the Rob up family is the robroy hotel and

restaurant by the late 1940s the new owners renamed it Rises it's a true landmark of us one now that it's been totally renovated and is used by Straton company for their headquarters it has been even inspected by descendants of the robu family and they approve of it in September 192 23 the new school building opened up it's located alongside what is today Stuart Middle School all grades one through 12 attended it was named originally the steuart high school then in late 1940s renamed Martin County High since 1964 the former School serves as the instructional Center and for the school board meetings now it will become soon the Cultural Arts Center the original 1909 Schoolhouse different

location had an addition placed in the front of it by the 1930s this would make it serve then as the courthouse by the 1990s just the courthouse in front was left standing and to serve today as the cultural art center the lovely seminal Inn located in Indiantown was built in 1927 over the decades it's been a featured great area for the hotel rooms and the restaurant super strong wide concrete walls has served as a shelter even during storms it's been owned and operated by the Wall family since the 1970s Henry and Abby su's house was at one time at the south end of souls point in the 1890s later moved along Willoughby Creek and then

most recently near Indian Riverside Park it's been restored and is doing very well it is owned by the county the su's house it has been open to the public in the past tour it along with having reenactors playing the part of Henry and Abby Su drive by to see it from the outside also St Mary's Episcopal Church on East Ocean Boulevard it was built there in 1950 it's its second church building the first one was the 1895 Community Church on Third Street the church has a very large congregation the inside is lovely plus there's a large Auditorium on the grounds in hopes sound there's St Andre store been there since the 1930s now the Posh

pineapple shop is filled with all type of gift items selling at the corner of Mars and Dixie Highway in hop sound it offers Hostess gifts home accessories jewelry art baby pet gifts and more at the end of St Lucy Avenue right along the river bill built in 1916 was the St Lucy Hotel Annex an extra building it was then later moved a few feet 1926 to the corner of seminal Street in St Lucy Avenue it has had many different businesses in that building now it's the steart boat house restaurant a great place downstairs there's outdoor seating and seating upstairs this building is over were 104 years old and still going strong in the early 1950s

the new and modern Stuart department store now it's the Stuart Visitor Center and city offices near City Hall the Sunrise Apartments on cam Avenue built in 1927 these great apartments are right in town still in today and just as popular lovely each one of the five different Apartments built so strong it has held up against many hurricanes over the decades long candom notice the original building has the marking of its name still embedded Taylor Ashley insurance and real estate office it was first downtown on Oola then they built this new office in the mid-50s always family-owned this is located along Colorado Avenue the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard by the circle traffic that

has the fountain one of the earliest businesses built out along Colorado Avenue years ago the corner of Albany Avenue and Joan Jefferson Street near US1 this house was built 1902 for the George Thomas family it survived the 1916 fire that destroyed many nearby structures the family sold it in the 1970s now having been home to many businesses over the years pure Victorian style on Soul's point on a hill is the takaho man ion built in the 1930s for the leech family from Georgia the family by the early 50s sold it to serve as a convict for nums it later becomes St Joseph College run by the nuns it was in the 1970s that it becomes

fit college but it does set sit empty for the 1990s restored by the county and returned to its glory of the 1930s overlooking the lovely Indian River it can be rented for special events such as weddings this was the future US1 back in 1909 just a dirt path later it would be named Avenue E then Alabama Avenue finally it becomes US1 by the 1920s this aerial view of US1 in 1966 and then at the ground level traffic today about 1909 this particular path with the small wooden bridge was over Frasier Creek this is the same route that would eventually be US1 a larger bridge over Fraser Creek was then put in place by the 1940s

and now you'll see an aerial view from 1966 and 67 of US1 through Stewart wheny pixie grocery store along Colorado Avenue and Fifth Street in the 1950s loveit's food store also there then later was the Badcock furniture store and then Law Offices it was Major renovation done and now it's a very popular location for a variety of stores and shops and solely Nam the 555 place Stuart Women's Club located along East Ocean Boulevard the club started originally in 1913 this would be its third Clubhouse built in the late 1950s it's been used over the years for many Community programs kept in very good condition by the club members Woodman Hall at akan Avenue in Third

Street built in 19140 for the Woodman of the world organization a meeting Hall is upstairs and the first floor was used for years by the telephone company using phone operators the building was restored in the 1990s and used by different businesses it is now owned by an insurance company who truly loves its history now to look at those historic places that no longer exist built in 1926 these apartment buildings were known as the elbit lore finest in the area in the 1930s it became the Atlantic Court under new owners eventually torn down in the late 1990s Wild Bill's Indian village featuring wild animals such as alligators located on US1 in hopan it was eventually dismantled

in the 1940s Bruce and Harry's restaurant on US1 Colorado Avenue in the 1950s property purchased by the future SE Coast Bank in 1960 Castle lumber company along Flagler Avenue and the railroad tracks near the courthouse and the water tower served the area for decades the Danforth Hotel built in 1902 along the St Lucy River it was torn down in 1920 the F EC train depot all gone the Salerno and the Jensen one the second steart train station was located across from The Lyric Theater it was built there in 1913 then we have the Indian Town station both are all gone now the Hoptown train station that was saved it was repositioned and moved Westward from

its original location now part of the Hope Sound Polo Grounds many structures were taken down to make way for other buildings or different purposes the Browning building it was selling cars in the 1920s at the corner of Flagler in East Ocean Boulevard later that building becomes part of the courthouse next Gone is the Virginia apartments on us one torn down a few years ago the Frasier home also on us one built in 1916 torn down last year 2019 and then the royal castle shop on uson opened in July of 64 hamburgers were 15 cents it was torn down about 1980 the habiscus apartments were built in the 1920s located on US1 they were torn down

in 2019 the new kendridge grocery store their second one opened in April 19 1961 Colorado Avenue and Kendrick Avenue that then in the mid 1960s it becomes a Great Value store now it's been converted those buildings into smaller shops very old here dating back to 1895 the original train stations on the left right across from the Walter kitchen store next to the freight station The Kitchen Store his first one was torn down in 1928 in 1905 boster kitchings boarding house was upstairs on the second floor yet the post office and a store were on the first floor the whole building torn down in the early 1930s structures that caught fire the former kitchening home on

the right were boser kitching and his sister Susan once lived later caught fire in the late 1930s then you have the grand Al Frisco Hotel built in the 1890s in Jensen burned to the ground in 1910 the building was first known as speedies in in the 1930s along us one north of the St Lucy River then it became the Lighthouse Restaurant very popular it burned in 1956 but was rebuilt and had to be then torn down in in 1962 for the widening of US1 downtown Stewart had the peacock arcade it was a hotel restaurant and shops built in 1926 the name did change over the years with different owners in January 1959 it was the

Commodore Hotel and it burned to the ground the Charles racy home of su's Point built in 1890 caught fire in 1921 burning to the ground the solerno Inn built in 1916 burned in 1927 there was a big fire in January 1 1916 in many portions of downtown Stewart burned to the ground was the Methodist church and then the St Joseph Church on East Ocean burned down in 1959 structures were torn down just because they were old the St Hotel built in 1891 had been added to over the years many times it was eventually torn down then in June 1966 the St Lucy Hotel built in 1913 long St Lucy Avenue also met the same fate

and torn down in September 1967 the sunrise n in Port Su was built in 1910 then rebuilt in 1919 to modernize it and then added to over the years to come it eventually becomes the Bay Harbor Club in 1972 with new owners eventually even that is torn down in 1995 the steuart department store of the 1930s served for years as it faced Flagler Avenue it was eventually torn down in the late 60s several places have been destroyed over the years by hurricanes the second Walter kitchen store constructed on First Street was built in February 1914 in August of 1926 so our hurricane destroyed it then you have the Mid Rivers yach Club in Souls Point

built in 1909 and it was destroyed in the September 1928 hurricane two separate ones then the popular St Lucy River Yacht Club filled with entertainment all the time it was located near the George Park store and built out in the St Lucy River in 198 18 it was even enlarged by 1922 it was so popular it is destroyed by the September 1928 hurricane also historical preservation now that's important not just the structures but let's make sure we save the photos the journals the documents Etc save our steart history support the steuart Heritage Museum on Flagler