Have you ever wondered what life was like in Jacksonville half a century ago? It was a different era of history, culture and politics but there are often parallels between the kind of stories that made headlines then and today. As interesting as the differences may be, so are the similarities. These are some of the top stories from this week in 1962. The items were compiled from the Jacksonville Public Library's periodical archives by Staff Writer Max Marbut.
• One of Jacksonville's most famous waterfront landmarks, the Lobster House restaurant, was heavily damaged by a two-alarm fire in the middle of the night. Much of the dining room was destroyed and equipment damaged.
The 57-year-old wooden structure was on the Southbank Downtown on the site now occupied by River City Brewing Co.
City Fire Marshal E.B. McDermon estimated damage at $65,000, but the owner of the restaurant had his own opinion.
"It was a $250,000 loss as far as I'm concerned," said Irving Glickstein after surveying the ruins and consulting with contractors.
"Although the kitchen wasn't damaged too heavily, I won't be able to operate out of it for some time. The 15 Christmas parties scheduled had to be canceled and I doubt if the restaurant will be re-opened before the first of the year, if then," he said.
Glickstein based his loss estimate on several factors.
"It was an old, wooden-framed building and I seriously doubt if the City would allow me to replace it as such under the latest building codes. The Lobster House probably will have to be rebuilt with masonry, but the concrete slab now existing wouldn't support masonry. We'll probably have to move to higher ground and start from the bottom up. Considering the loss of the building and equipment and earnings before I could re-open, it's a quarter of a million dollar loss," he said.
Damage was extensive because the building's fire sprinkler system had burst during extreme cold weather the previous week and Glickstein had not been able to repair it, McDermon said.
The structure had been a fixture on the Downtown waterfront since the early 1900s, serving as a boat repair shop and then a warehouse before Glickstein purchased it in 1944 and turned it into a restaurant.
The Lobster House was used as a backdrop in the 1954 film, "Creature from the Black Lagoon" and for years, chartered boats traversed across the river carrying paying customers.
Glickstein had a 99-year lease that included a 383-foot section of riverfront property. In addition to the restaurant, there was a cocktail lounge, a gift shop and Pier 7, a private reservation room adjoining the restaurant that wasn't damaged by the fire.
"I've turned down $400,000 for my lease, for I estimate it's worth at least half a million. Right this moment, I don't know what will happen to the Lobster House," he said.
Glickstein said it was fully insured.
• Duval County won the latest round in its legal battle for ownership of Blount Island.
The District Court of Appeals in Tallahassee affirmed a ruling in which Circuit Judge Marion Gooding threw out a claim by three Jacksonville residents that they owned part of the island.
The appellate court's decision was another setback for Pembroke Huckins, his wife and Elizabeth A. Payne. They claimed ownership of Coon Point and that the area was a 600-acre piece of the 1,500-acre island.
On Dec. 19, 1961, Gooding in effect upheld the county's claim of full ownership of the property.
Engineers had determined the island was a likely location for development of a port and industrial complex.
Asked whether he and his clients intended to pursue any further litigation, attorney Herman Ulmer Jr. said he would have to study the court's opinion and confer with his clients before making any decision.
The plaintiffs claimed ownership of Coon Point through a series of conveyances that dated back to 1816, when mainland in the area was granted to Andrew Atkinson by royal title from the king of Spain.
The grant was confirmed by Congress in 1827 and the United States in 1951 purportedly conveyed the grant to the State of Florida. The grant in turn was conveyed in 1958 to Duval County by the state.
Blount Island was carved from the mainland by dredging operations.
During hearings on the suit, County Attorney J. Henry Blount, for whom the island is named, argued the plaintiffs never had owned any part of the island. He said some of the first surveys of the area showed that Coon Point was not part of the Atkinson grant that had been conveyed to the county.
Before Gooding's ruling, the federal courts had refused to consider the merits of the Huckins-Payne claim on the basis that it was not a matter for the federal judiciary to decide.
• Two men were held on charges of homicide in connection with the fatal shooting of the 82-year-old owner of a jewelry store on West Adams Street.
John David Tittle, operator of J.D. Tittle Jewelry Co. at 528 W. Adams St., was shot in the forehead shortly after 1 p.m. Monday. He died in a local hospital at 3:20 p.m. without regaining consciousness.
Roosevelt "Bubber" Hall, 28, was being held on homicide investigation charges after he was picked out of a lineup as one of two men seen by witnesses running out of an alley soon after the shooting.
Another suspect, Augustus L. Roberts, 30, also was being held on charges of homicide investigation and of carrying a concealed weapon. He told police he was taking the pistol, which was loaded, to a pawn shop when he was taken into custody in the 600 block of Lee Street.
Hall was apprehended at Davis and Houston streets. Both were taken into custody shortly after Tittle had been shot.
"There were no signs of a struggle in the store. It could have been that Tittle refused the demands of the bandits and they shot him in cold blood," said Capt. R.B. Whittington, the detective investigating the case.
Tittle was found in the door of a partition that separated the front of his store from the rear by two employees of a nearby business. Whittington said Tittle kept a .32-caliber revolver in a desk drawer in the back of his store.
"He might have started for the weapon when he was killed," Whittington said.
Witnesses reported hearing a gunshot, and seeing two men run out of an alley behind Tittle's store.
Whittington, head of the homicide squad, was on Laura Street four blocks from the scene of the shooting when he heard a police radio dispatch that there had been a robbery at the Adams Street address. After arriving at the scene, he summoned several detectives and police cruisers.
Patrolman J.D. McCormack was one of the first at the scene. He said Tittle did not appear to be breathing when he arrived. McCormick said he removed the victim's dentures, clearing his air passage and Tittle's breathing became normal.
The next day, Joseph Montgomery was arrested at his 826 W. Adams St. residence and was being held along with Hall pending grand jury action following a hearing before a justice of the peace.
Whittington said both suspects gave full confessions and re-enacted the crime, but each claimed the other had the gun and each also denied knowing the other intended to rob Tittle. A .38-caliber revolver used in the shooting was found in a footlocker in Montgomery's room.
Whittington said the pair repeated their confessions before Justice of the Peace Sarah Bryan.
The homicide investigation charge against Roberts was dropped. He would be tried in Municipal Court only on charges of vagrancy, disorderly conduct and carrying a concealed weapon.