JAMES "CHARLIE EDD" CRADDOCK

Originally born in Eufaula, Alabama, African American businessman James Craddock, known locally as “Charlie Edd,” moved to Jacksonville in 1921. That same year, he opened the Blue Chip Hotel on Broad Street in the African American neighborhood of LaVilla. Craddock gained a reputation as a philanthropist. In 1929, he organized a soup kitchen to feed the needy during the Great Depression until the government took over its operation in 1931. Craddock continued to grow and expand his business holdings. He opened another hotel, the Charlie Edd Hotel, in 1935, along with a barbershop and smoke shop. On Christmas 1940, Craddock opened the Two Spot, an African American nightclub. It became an instant destination, so much so that the NAACP magazine The Crisis called it “the finest dance palace in the country owned by a Negro.” Craddock continued to acquire properties, among them a haberdashery, clothing store, music store, and a number of tenant houses. Across his various businesses, Craddock employed over 500 people. He was involved in multiple fraternal organizations in Jacksonville, including the Elks Lodge and the Masons. After his death in 1954, Craddock was interred in this Art Moderne style mausoleum.