Vital piece of Jacksonville history missing for nearly two weeks found

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A historic piece of artwork from the Florida Theatre went missing for about two weeks. Four, nearly 100-year-old tapestries from the Florida Theatre were sent to New York for repairs through FedEx. Three were recovered, and one was lost.

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The Florida Theatre President Numa Saisselin says it’s a vital piece of Jacksonville’s history. This theatre was built in 1927. And the four tapestries have been hanging on the theatre’s walls since it opened.

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“They’re original artwork,” Saisselin said. “We know they were manufactured at the Michelangelo studios in Chicago in 1927.”

Saisselin says the tapestries are priceless and invaluable to the community.

“They’ve been hanging there for 96 years,” Saisselin said.

The Florida Theatre is currently involved in a four-month $8 million renovation for this 96-year-old building. The renovations included the four tapestries that have hung on the walls in this project. About two weeks ago the company sent them to Evergreen Studios in Brooklyn, New York to repair them.

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“Evergreen shipped the four tapestries to their shop in New Jersey, and three of the four packages arrived, and one of the packages disappeared.”

Since they were insured, Saisselin says they believe the label may have fallen off, but it was never confirmed.

“And we were able to track it through FedEx as far as Atlanta, where it disappeared,” Saisselin said.

But time was running out. Saisselin says they need to have them returned to Jacksonville by the end of summer. So, after two weeks of talking to FedEx with no results, they took to social media to express their frustration and to, “troll FedEX online.”

Multiple people tweeted about it. That’s when things began to turn around.

Saisselin credits Action News Jax Ben Becker for finding the solution.

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“The hero of this story is Ben Becker,” Saisselin said.

Becker sent this email to his FedEx contact -- expressing just how important these tapestries are.

Soon after, Saisselin received a phone call, saying FedEx was looking into it. A representative called Wednesday morning and told Saisselin, it was in Charlotte. So now, it’s headed back to New Jersey.

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So, the mystery was solved, and everything can go as planned. All four tapestries are expected to be restored and hung on the wall by Oct. 28 when they reopen for the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

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