To be a proper photographer, Britt needed a decent studio and a better home. With improved finances, he converted his log cabin into a storage shed and built a simple structure that served as house and studio. It started as a plain, one-story building similar to other early Jacksonville houses. However, Britt's house differed with the innovation of a north-facing skylight that illuminated his studio. During an early remodel, Britt added decorative "gingerbread" trim, introducing the fashionably new "cottage gothic" architectural style to the still primitive frontier setting. A few years later he added more living space by building a second story and moving his studio to the top floor. Years later, in 1883, another two-story wing was added. By then, Britt's opulent home boasted spacious living quarters, a wine cellar, solarium and two sky-lit studios on the second floor.
PHOTO: SOHS 01640
