Duval County

City demolishes abandoned Jacksonville funeral home following weekend fire

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — An abandoned funeral home in downtown Jacksonville that went up in flames over the weekend was demolished Wednesday due to safety concerns.

The Moulton & Kyle Funeral Home opened in the 1850′s and moved to its downtown building in 1914, but eventually closed in 2013. Dr. Wayne Wood, the historian at large for the Jacksonville Historical Society, said the building has sat empty ever since.

The building caught fire Saturday night closing down parts of State and Union Streets and flames completely gutted the building.

The building, now deemed a total loss, previously caught fire in the past and has a number of code enforcement violations.

City code enforcement also found some safety and structural concerns with the funeral home.

The state fire marshal is still investigating what caused the fire.