Register 18 Seats Remaining
History Chat is a one hour program in which a lecturer speaks about a topic in local or national history followed by an audience Q&A session.
Carpenter Gothic Episcopal churches built in the 1800s, when Florida was still the nation’s raw southeastern frontier, breathed the romantic sensibilities of England’s stone parish churches into a new medium: wood. Together with their Carpenter Gothic counterparts elsewhere on the nation’s frontiers, they elevated the American wooden church to new heights of historicity, imagination, and beauty. Spires in the Sun author Jonathan Rich will discuss the history of the oldest surviving wood-frame Episcopal churches in Florida including those in Jacksonville.
Jonathan Rich is a retired attorney who represented publicly held companies, major banks, and economic development organizations. Currently, he is chairman of the board of a national trust company. He has served in leadership positions for several nonprofit organizations devoted to the arts, job training, and the sport of rowing. He is a third-generation Floridian, and has studied Florida human and natural history for years. Jonathan is the author of Spires in the Sun: The Carpenter Gothic Episcopal Churches of Florida, which won the Florida Historical Society‘s 2024 Charlton Tebeau Award for an outstanding work of nonfiction about Florida’s past.
A book signing will follow, with books available for sale on site.
Register to save your seat. Registration must be completed two hours prior to the start time. A library card and PIN are required for registration. If you do not have a card, click HERE to obtain one.
All registered seats will be forfeited at 6:25 PM and made available to waitlisted and walk-in attendees. Registered attendees arriving after this time will be seated if seats are available.
Pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, accommodations for persons with disabilities are available upon request. Please allow 1–2 business days to process. Last-minute requests will be accepted, but may not be possible to fulfill. Please ask for Learning Services at 255-2665 or email JPLPrograms@coj.net.
| Mon, Mar 16 | 12:00PM to 8:00PM |
| Tue, Mar 17 | 12:00PM to 8:00PM |
| Wed, Mar 18 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
| Thu, Mar 19 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
| Fri, Mar 20 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
| Sat, Mar 21 | 10:00AM to 6:00PM |
| Sun, Mar 22 | Closed |
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