John Gorrie Junior High School at 2525 College Street in Jacksonville is of the Mediterranean Revival Style, which is an eclectic style containing architectural elements with Spanish and Italian precedents. According to a Jacksonville Historic Landmark plaque on the building, the architects were Roy A. Benjamin and Mellen C. Greeley, who were partners from 1919 to 1924. The school was constructed in 1923 and is now listed as an Historic Landmark by the Jacksonville Historic Landmarks Commission, as well as a contributing structure to the Riverside Historic District. The school is owned by the Duval County School Board; however, the building no longer serves as a school and is being utilized primarily as a teacher supply depot for the School Board.
The City of Jacksonville includes the following information about the Riverside Historic District on its website
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"The Riverside Historic District is a large, mainly residential neighborhood whose architecture spans a period from approximately 1871 to 1935. The Riverside District is located southwest of downtown Jacksonville on the west side of the St. Johns River. The District contains over 30 subdivisions and three major parks. At its widest, it is bounded on the north and east by Roosevelt Boulevard and Seaboard Coastline Railroad, on the south by the St. Johns River, and on the west by Seminole and McDuff avenues. The majority of the buildings in Riverside reflect middle and upper income taste in residential architecture during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The significant styles represented include Bungalow, Prairie School, Colonial Revival and Mediterranean."
"The neighborhood is composed of three major subdivisions and more than twenty smaller subdivisions and replats. The three major subdivisions are Riverside, Riverside Annex, and New Riverside. There are approximately 2,120 contributing buildings and 430 non-contributing buildings in the district. In addition to the residential buildings, there are three major parks, sixteen churches, four public schools, two parochial schools, two fire stations, two hospitals, and a library. Major streets in the district are Post Street (U.S. 17), Riverside Avenue (State Road 211), Park, Stockton, and King streets and McDuff Avenue. In addition to the Interstate and Expressway system, Riverside Avenue, Park and Post Streets provide access to the downtown."
"Designed landscapes and green spaces are important features of Riverside. In the southwestern corner of the district is Willow Branch, a small creek which originally was spring fed and which now forms the core of Willow Branch Park. Memorial and Riverside parks, on the eastern fringes of the district, are other highly significant landscape features of Riverside."
"Riverside Historic District is dominated by the Bungalow architectural style. Almost sixty percent of the buildings in the district display details and influences characteristic of that style. This high frequency of bungalows reflects the developmental period and income levels of the area."
"Even though precast concrete posts in the shape of columns and tapered piers were common in other Jacksonville neighborhoods, wood posts are more common in Riverside bungalows. Another interesting feature was the relatively large use of brick veneer in Bungalows in Riverside. In the relatively large comparable concentrations of bungalows in Orlando and Tampa, the use of brick was rare."
"An even more unusual material used in these bungalows was coquina block. Coquina, which is indigenous to the northeast coast of Florida, was widely used in foundations and fireplaces and, in at least 40 instances, was used to construct entire bungalows. Coquina block and rusticated concrete block had become a popular building material in south Florida as early as the 1880s. Its wide use in residential construction began in the 1910s."
"Although the Bungalow is the most common architectural style in Riverside, other styles contribute to the character of the district. Prairie School and Colonial Revival style buildings are present in significant concentrations. These buildings are concentrated along St. Johns and Riverside avenues and were generally built for wealthier clients. It is also more likely that these houses were individually designed by architects."
"Mediterranean influenced architecture is represented to a lesser extent in Riverside, although there are some fairly significant individual examples. Mediterranean architecture was much more common in the major subdivision adjoining Riverside on the west. The Mediterranean influence may be represented to a lesser degree in Riverside because of the earlier period of development."
"Many of the apartment buildings in Riverside utilize Mediterranean details and decoration. The use of unstuccoed brick is another variation on Mediterranean architecture in Riverside which is not common elsewhere in the State."
"Other architectural styles represented in Riverside include Georgian Revival, which became popular in the 1920s, Tudor Revival style, and a few isolated examples of Queen Anne architecture. In addition, frame and brick vernacular houses may be found throughout the district."
"In the 1910s and 1920s, many multi-family residential buildings began appearing in Riverside. In response to population increases, duplex and quadruplex units were designed and built. These buildings are especially prevalent in Riverside Annex. Most are either frame or masonry vernacular. The frame structures are generally two stories with drop siding. They have either one or two-story verandas and hip roofs. Gable roofs were used on some of the buildings built before 1915. The windows are generally one-over-one, double-hung sash."
"Very functional, plain brick duplexes and quadruplexes became increasingly common in the late 1920s. These buildings tended to be two stories and were highlighted by a centrally placed two-story porch. The period of low-rise apartment construction initiated in the 1920s continued until the 1950s."
"Commercial architecture in Riverside was, and is, modest. There are four concentrations of 1910s and later commercial storefront developments in the area. The most concentrated commercial development from the 1910s and 1920s is called Five Points and is located in the northeast corner of the district. This concentration is composed of one- and two-story stucco-clad buildings. All of the storefronts in the other commercial areas along King Street, Barrs Avenue, and McDuff Avenue are simple brick or stucco buildings set at the property lines with large plate-glass windows and transoms. Throughout the Riverside Historic District there are many historic churches, schools and other non-residential buildings. Typical Gridian Block with Alley in Riverside."
"These buildings generally date from between 1910 and 1930 and are of masonry construction. Riverside Baptist Church was designed in 1925 by Addison Mizner, one of Florida's most significant twentieth century architects. Other significant churches in the district include Riverside Presbyterian Church , the Church of the Good Shepherd, Riverside Avenue Christian Church, and St. Pauls' Roman Catholic Church."
"Mediterranean architecture proved to be popular for the public schools in Riverside. West Riverside Elementary, John Gorrie Junior High and Robert E. Lee High School both reflect this influence."