Constructed in 1953, the sixteen-story steel frame Independent Life Building was incorporated into images used on marketing material distributed throughout the South until moving into the new tower in 1975. Founded in 1920, the Independent Life Insurance Company was a significant part of Jacksonville’s corporate economy until the company was sold in 1995. The older tower was designed by KBJ, an architectural firm founded by University of Florida architectural graduates that worked under, and later acquired, the practice of pioneer Jacksonville architect, Roy A. Benjamin.