History of Our Building

From 1962 until 2003, our building was home to Robbie Collins, a well-known community figure who helped save Jacksonville in the 1960s by initiating the fight to halt construction of a four lane highway that would have cut through our historic downtown. He spent the rest of his life helping others save their historic towns and buildings, eventually becoming vice chairman of the National Trust, which promotes historical preservation throughout the U.S.  Robbie then traveled extensively around the world helping governments identify and save their historical treasures, including such monuments as Cambodia's Angkor Wat, Singapore's Little India and Chinatown.  By showing that historic preservation has real commerical value, Robbie became a key player in promoting culturual tourism throughout the world.

Built in 1865 as the private residence of Patrick Ryan, this building went on to have more incarnations than any other in Jacksonville. Over the years it has served as a hotel, restaurant, doctor's office, butcher shop, ice cream parlor, saloon, brewery, Historic Preservation war room, tearoom, and now a tasting room.