The largest Santa Rosa County newspaper, the Santa Rosa Press Gazette has been around over a century and moved only once when the Milton Clarion purchased the competing paper, the Free Press. The now Santa Rosa Press Gazette, under the hand of Publisher Jim Fletcher, who has worked here in some capacity for the last 30 years is proud to announce it is moving to a new location right on Highway 90 between O’Reilly Auto Parts and Dollar Tree.
See photos from yesteryear in our PHOTO GALLERY.
The move only amounts to 100 feet, Fletcher said. “You can walk out the back door of the new office and see the roof of the old location.” However, most people, he said, don’t even know where Elva Street is. By March, the SRPG will be on one of Milton’s main thoroughfares. “It’s a better location, higher visibility,” he said. Fletcher also noted employees will have a lighted parking lot.
The SRPG sign moved Friday. Fletcher said, “What I found most interesting is a move is just as complicated if you’re moving across the country or across the street…A move is a move.”
The whole purpose of the move is to have a more visible presence. Fletcher said, “We realized, though we’ve been sitting here for 40 years, many people who regularly subscribe to the Press Gazette couldn’t tell you where the offices were located because Elva isn’t a very heavily travelled street. Since our lease was ending we took the opportunity to move from this location to a better location.”
Note: the black and white photos shown here come from the early to mid 80’s.
History:
- · The paper has been around for 110 years. It was first called the Milton Clarion and located across the courthouse on Caroline Street in downtown Milton.
- · The Milton paper bought the Free Press, a competing newspaper, in the late 70s, early 80s. The Free Press was in the building on Elva Street.
- · In the mid 80s, after the move to the Free Press building, the paper completed an office expansion, front and back, to make room for the doubled staff.
- · Freedom Communications bought the business January 1, 2007. Then Halifax purchased Freedom and recently Gatehouse Media purchased Halifax in February, 2015.
- · The printing press left the building January 25, 2008. A fire across from the courthouse destroyed the original newspaper building the in January, 2009.
- · The last working day in the building on Elva Street will be Friday, March 11 with the move taking place the next day.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: The SRPG is moving to Highway 90