Johnson-Schoolcraft Building 1926

Constructed in 1926, the Johnson-Schoolcraft Building was originally owned by William D. Schoolcraft and C. Paul Johnson, principals of Johnson-Schoolcraft, Inc. Mayor Ned Worthington led the dedication ceremony, and music was provided by Antonio Lopez and his Orange Grove Orchestra. The two story building was built of hollow clay tiles with a stucco exterior at an estimated cost of $45,000.00. It was designed with five apartments on the second floor, and the apartments were leased before completion because of the limited housing market. Venice Pharmacy, Inc. was the original tenant of the first floor retail space, which featured a pink onyx soda fountain and solid mahogany store features finished in black walnut. By 1928, the Peninsula Telephone Company operated its switchboard from a rear store front, and in an emergency residents contacted the switchboard operator, who activated a red signal light on the roof to alert the Venice police to contact the operator. The Venice Company became owners of the building in 1978, and its exterior is essentially unchanged from its 1926 appearance. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Venice, Florida · United States