Of the dozens of brothels that lined the Ward Street Bordello District, The Court was perhaps the most famous β or, rather, the most infamous. Crane, a socialite and businesswoman, had moved back to Jacksonville shortly after both the Great Fire of and the death of her husband Stephen Crane. Crane secured funding to build The Court, which quickly became a hit. She subsequently acquired stakes in other brothels, creating a mini-empire along The Line, as it was called.
In the seedy underbelly of LaVilla, Crane reigned as queen. The Ward Street district thrived thanks to its location near the train station and a then-active stretch of nightlife. Its success was largely unimpeded by local politicians; not until , when then-mayor Van Swearingen took measures to cut down on prostitution , would there be any meaningful political movements against prostitution or the bordellos.
The raids usually consisted of Nation and her comrades showing up to bars and smashing things with hatchets. Crane lived an often-complicated life. She was married four times, and had participated in multiple high-profile affairs as well. She had actually began her relationship with Stephen Crane while still married to her second husband. Her fourth and final husband was acquitted of murder after he shot a man that he thought Crane was sleeping with.
Her death was just as complicated as her life: she died of a stroke in after pushing a stranded car out of the sand. Her signature bordello, The Court, stayed in business for years after her death, and the bordello district itself survived into the mids. The buildings that formerly housed her operations were demolished as part of the River City Renaissance plan. Maybe it was disdain for puritan morality, or maybe it was just the financial and social opportunities it afforded her in a different time.
The Coastal is a local magazine in Jacksonville, FL, founded in to bring you stories about the past, present, and future of the First Coast. All rights reserved. News All Development. All Jax Evolved. All Music Shopping. All Entertainment Health Pets. All Beer Reviews. September 14, Share on Facebook Share on Twitter. At the center of all of it was the owner, Cora Crane.
