It was the first of five Brick Blocks built after the great fire of 1876, which destroyed everything built on the north side of Centre Street from the waterfront to Dade Street and both sides of Second Street.
This handsome, two story building was built by two German brothers, the Seydels, in 1876. The brothers resided on the second floor with their families, in two spacious apartments overlooking the beautiful waterfront. Every room in each apartment had its own fireplace or flue, the building’s only source of heat. The back or river side of the building was adorned with two separate balconies, each surrounded by six heavy, wrought iron brackets anchored into the wall, some of which are still intact.
There were two stores on the ground floor of the Block. One was a general store and the other a millinery or notion store. Both faced Second Street, known then as Main Street.
In the late 1930’s, the Bailey-Davis Steamship agents moved their offices to the second floor, where they remained throughout World War II.
The Nassau County Leader, our then local newspaper, was owned and published by the Pruitt family on the north portion of the first floor.
The Crab Trap opened Shrimp Festival Weekend in 1979 and has since strived hard to make Second Street the Main Street for fresh seafood and steaks in the beautiful historic Fernandina Beach, Florida.
As proud owners of The Crab Trap, Richard Germano and his daughter Holly, along with our wonderful crew, would like to take this opportunity to thank you for visiting our site and hope to see you in person very soon! The Crab Trap proudly serves a variety of fresh seafood and steaks, prepared just the way you like. Our family owned and operated restaurant is located conveniently is Historic Downtown Fernandina Beach, on Amelia Island, FL. We hope you find the food superb, the atmosphere delightful, and the invitation always open to come back and visit with us anytime!