Abandoned Cadillac

By Rebecca Drew

HAUNTING images show the decrepit remains of the glamourous first Nolan Cadillac dealership to open in the American Deep South to house the luxurious all-American cars.

Over one hundred years since it was first established, the collection of photographs show broken floorboards, smashed windows and crumbling brick work. Other images in the series show a once glamorous chandelier hanging from the wall and swing hanging ominously from a warehouse beam.

Exterior photographs show boarded up windows and intricate tiled flooring showing the Cadillac crest on the former showroom floor inside.

The eerie images were taken at the Nolan Cadillac Dealership, Jacksonville, Florida, USA by a photographer known only as Abandoned Southeast. To take the pictures, he used a Canon camera with a wide-angle Tamron lens.

“I noticed the building downtown and wanted to check it out. After I explored the place I decided to research the history,” said Abandoned Southeast.

“This is the first Cadillac dealership in the South and the first car dealership in Jacksonville, Florida.

“I had to crawl in a second story window to get inside.”

The Nolan Cadillac dealership was designed by Henry J. Klutho who was responsible for designing many buildings in Jacksonville after its Great Fire in 1901.

The dealership opened in 1907 and was the first in Jacksonville by Claude Nolan. The dealership moved to Southside Boulevard in 1985 where it is still in business today.

“I love discovering what is left behind and the architecture of yester year,” added Abandoned Southeast.

“I’ve always enjoyed abandoned places. I decided to start photographing my explores two years ago when many abandonments around me started to be demolished or renovated.”