A pair of buildings that a late LaVilla folk artist turned into his eclectic version of the Smithsonian Institution would be protected as historic landmarks under legislation advancing through Jacksonville City Council.
The Whetstonian Building at 801 N. Jefferson St. and the neighboring Atlanta Life Insurance Co. Building at 821 N. Jefferson St. would be designated as city landmarks under Ordinance 2024-0771 and Ordinance 2024-0772.
The buildings were purchased in 1998 by Walter Whetstone, a Jacksonville native who rose from being a Western Union bicycle messenger in his youth to a Gulf Life Insurance Co. agent who was inducted into the company’s hall of fame.
Read the rest of this story at the Jacksonville Daily Record, a Jacksonville Today news partner.