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Once, the Claude Nolan Cadillac building on Jacksonville's Main Street was the beating heart of the luxury car brand in the area: The only place to buy the luxurious automobiles anywhere in the South.

But 106 years since it was built, the construction - which was designed by Henry J Klutho, the mastermind behind much of the Florida city's architecture after its Great Fire of 1901 - is dilapidated, crumbling and rests on poisoned ground caused by a nearby gas plant.

But there is a strange beauty in the peeling paint, warped floorboards and smashed windows of the once glamorous building - as these fascinating pictures show. 

Decrepit: This is the Claude Nolan Cadillac Building as it stands today: A crumbling series of three constructions in Jacksonville, Florida. The letters 'HT' are from its brief period of service as a warehouse for food company EH Thompson

Heyday: This is the building as it looked in 1911, shortly after it opened. The cornices and elaborate detailing were removed or concreted over in 1948, and the windows - designed, like the rest of the building, by local architect Henry J Klutho - replaced

Overgrown: The building is overgrown on its rear side, which backs onto Hogan's Creek and Confederate Park. The building was abandoned when the company moved to other premises in Jacksonville in 1985

Abandoned: While the dealership is still going to this day, its original offices - the first to sell the then-Detroit-based Cadillac cars in the South - have been left to the elements

The eerie images of the three buildings, which was built in 1910, were taken by a photographer known only as Abandoned Southeast, who had to climb through a second-story window to enter the building.

'I noticed the building downtown and wanted to check it out,' he said. 'After I explored the place I decided to research the history.'

That history includes the remodeling - some might say defacement - of the main, three-story building in 1948, which removed Klutho's huge glass windows, took off the canopy and cornice, and covered over the intricate brickwork with concrete. 

Inside, things look equally stark, with the thick reinforced concrete ceiling of the main lobby - necessary to support the weight of the cars on the floor above - left dirty and grim.

There are glimpses of the pomp and grandeur of yesteryear, however, such as a golden chandelier, and a mosaic depiction of the original Cadillac logo. 

Lost glamour: Despite the detritus and - in the rear-left of the image, graffiti - there are still some signs of the building's former glamour, including the chandelier still hanging from the ceiling

Logo: The lobby floor of the main building still has this mosaic of the original Cadillac logo set into the tile work

Reinforced: Visible at the top of this photo is the heavy-duty concrete ceiling of the lobby, which was reinforced to take the weight of the cars above

Going up: The multi-floored buildings show that many people worked at the company, which was the first car dealership in Jacksonville, and the first Cadillac dealership in the South

Wide open: There are a few small signs that people have inhabited this space since it was abandoned again by the EH Thompson food company in the 1990s, including a swing hanging from the ceiling (center)

Driving ambition: The company sold Cadillacs such as this one, which was photographed in Tallahassee, Florida, in 1910 and so almost certainly came from Nolan's dealership

Claude Nolan, who started the company, died in 1943. As time wore on, the area around the building began to decline - dragging sales down with it.

The company moved to new offices on Southside Boulevard in 1985, where it continues to operate today, but the three buildings that comprised the original dealership remained upright, and the two largest were designated landmarks by Jacksonville’s Historic Preservation Commission in 2014. 

The building has largely remained empty since then, save for a period of time as a supplies warehouse for EH Thompson, a food company in the 1980s and 1990s. Two initials for that company - HT - can still be seen on the front of the main building.

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However, there are glimpses of life in one large room, where a swing hangs from a support beam, and a collection of cuttings from mid-2000s magazines have been stuck to a wall at one end.

Eerily, one of the pictures has had its eyes cut out - who did this, and why, remain unknown.

'I know some photographers used the building for a photoshoot but the wall was never in any of the photos I have seen from the place,' Abandoned South said. 

'It is just one of those weird things we find that we cannot quite explain.'  

Mysterious: At one end of the large room is this wall, covered with magazine pages from the mid-2000s. It's not known why. Although the space has been used for fashion shoots, the photographer says he hasn't seen the pages in any of those shots

Creepy: One of the magazine images has had its eyes cut out. Again, it's not known who did this - or why. 'It is just one of those weird things we find that we cannot quite explain,' the photographer, who calls himself Abandoned Southeast, said.

Dimly lit: Once the building had huge windows that allowed light to cascade in, but the refurbishment in 1948 saw those windows being scaled back, and the building dimmed. This is one of the better-lit rooms

Warped: The signs of decay are clear throughout the building, such as with these warped and buckled floorboards in the large warehouse room

The floorboards here are warped and buckling, and the paint flaking from the walls. But it's not hard to imagine the life and noise that once filled this place. 

'I love discovering what is left behind and the architecture of yesteryear,' said Abandoned Southeast.

'I've always enjoyed abandoned places. I decided to start photographing my explores two years ago when many abandonments around me started to be demolished or renovated.'

Renovation is on the cards for the Claude Nolan Cadillac building in the not-too-distant future, with a local developer looking to turn the building into what will likely be a series of chic lofts and apartments.

But that won't happen straight away, as pollutants from an 1880s gas plant have poisoned the soil under part of the dealership, as well as adjacent Confederate Park.

The smallest building - which was used for maintenance, but not listed as a landmark - will be demolished, and 40-foot underground wall will be erected to make removing or containing polluted soil easier.

The overhaul will cost around $17 million - but then the once-beautiful building will hopefully hum with life once more.

Relics: The building still has relics of its past use, such as this trolley - though it's not clear whether this was used by the Cadillac company, perhaps to move spare parts, or whether it belonged to the food company that briefly rented the space

Peeling: Mold and flaking paint cover the walls. The building is likely to be redeveloped into apartments by a local company, but first the area must be cleared of contaminants 

On the roof: The view of modern Jacksonville from the roof of the building. The ground around the building and the adjacent park was contaminated by a gas company in the 1800s, and is to be cleaned at a cost of $17 million

Demolished: The main building (far left) and its a joining warehouse (center) are protected, but the maintenance building (right) is set to be demolished as part of the chemical-cleaning works

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