The seven-story building at 126 W. Adams St. that’s the headquarters of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid has double significance in terms of Downtown’s history and local legal history.
Known to historians as the “Professional Building,” it was dedicated in 1914 and reflects the trend in early 20th-century skyscrapers that originated in Chicago before arriving in Jacksonville.
Known for its straightforward design and unpretentious ornamentation, it is an example of the work of architect Rutledge Holmes.
Like Henry John Klutho, Holmes came to Jacksonville soon after the Great Fire of 1901 to take advantage of the opportunity to redesign the city that had been basically destroyed.
Holmes also designed the Annie Lytle Public School in Riverside.
The sign above the door of Legal Aid’s offices identifies it as the “Major B. Harding Center for Justice.”
Major Best Harding was born in 1935 in Charlotte, N.C. He attended Wake Forest University, where he earned a law degree and later practiced in Augusta, Ga.
In 1962, he and his wife, Jane, moved to Jacksonville where Major Harding worked for County Solicitor Edward Booth.
After two years as a prosecutor, Harding entered private practice.
He was appointed judge in the Duval County Juvenile Court in 1968 and two years later was appointed to the Circuit Court.
In 1975, he was elected chief judge of the 4th Judicial Circuit by his fellow judges.
Harding was appointed to the Florida Supreme Court in 1991.
During his career on the appellate bench, he served on the Supreme Court Matrimonial Law Commission, the Gender Bias Study Commission, the Florida Court Education Council and the Judicial Council. Harding was a founding member of the Chester Bedell Inn of Court.
He served as chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court from 1998-2000.
He retired from the Supreme Court in 2002 and lives in Tallahassee.
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