Payne Building

107 E. Church Ave.
Payne Building in 2023
2023

The two-story section was built in 1920 by Lester and Blanche Payne. It was constructed soon after they purchased the Old Post Office next door. This addition was built by local carpenter S. R. Long. The one-story front section (adjoining 427) was added later.

It is built out of rusticated concrete blocks, in a Masonry Vernacular style that is typical of the boom years in Florida. The corner facing the intersection has a decorative stepped parapet accent wall. Originally there was a cantilevered sleeping porch that jutted out from the second floor over the sidewalk; however, it was removed in 1998.

The building was long known as Payne’s Hardware. The entire block was known as the Payne Block. The family operated a store out of the first floor from the 1920s until the 1960s, while living in the second floor apartment. For a time, they also had a grocery or general store. The post office itself moved from the original adjacent 1910 building to the 1920 section in 1946.

Photos