The Seven Blunders of Jacksonville

[thelakelander]

A few isolated films shot here over the last 100 years can't replace the multi-billion dollar economic engine we ran off.  Accident or not, its probably the largest blunder in the history of our community.

[copperfiend]

There are other reasons the movie industry moved out west. One of the main reasons is Thomas Edison. He would sue filmmakers because he owned all of the film making patents. The move to Southern California made it nearly impossible for them to be enforced.

[Ocklawaha]

A couple of other reasons is rain... It is MUCH easier to film with created rain, then to have a sunny day film wiped out by days of rain and clouds. It's also harder to convince someone the cowboy is "Way Out West" when pine tree's and big puff clouds are all around. To make a swamp scene for Tarzan, some shots WERE done in Silver Springs. These scenes could be used in various made to TV films as well as the big screen originals. Others were believe it or not, filmed not far from my desert cabin in Cottonwood Springs California. For miles in all directions there is NOTHING but rock and bare cacti furnace. "FURNACE CREEK" isn't really all that far and it's in "Death Valley". Yet at Cottonwood back in the day was one of Disney's friends narrow gauge railroads (imported from Hawaii), a several mile track that ended in a loop at a grove of Cottonwood Trees, some non-native grasses and movie sets. The Spring produces maybe a tea cup an hour of water but it keeps the ground moist and that is all the tree's needed. Haul in a few more "bushes, or rope vines," and Abbott and Costello could hear "Africa Screams". Instant Jungle in the middle of hundreds of miles of NADA! (BTW: Cottonwood Springs was destroyed after the railroad was moved out, and RV dirt bikers and weekend shooters have reduced it a a couple of damp stumps). What brought them was near perfect weather all year in the LA basin, and access to eternal sun in hell holes like my place. Try doing a Moonscape in Jacksonville? A wild west shootout? How about a mountain rescue? Mountain lions don't look nearly as impressive when they are under a palmetto as when on top of a rock. Trust me, I'll send you a few...

Ocklawaha
Sometime resident of LANDERS, CALIFORNIA, "500 miles from no-where, 2 feet from HELL!"

[thelakelander]

There are advantages on the East Coast, as well.  We'll never know what the ultimate impacts of the industry that bought us our zoo, could have been if it had not been ran off during its infancy in 1916, before the roaring 20s.  The movie industry really took off in Hollywood during the 1920s.  Sound came online around 1929 and that industry became a good economic buffer for that community during the Great Depression.  Considering we had a pretty good boom during that same time period, if both were combined in one location, that could have resulted in a larger more compact historic urban core than what we have today.   

[Coolyfett]

Lunican
November 3, 2007, 12:08 pm
Re: The Seven Blunders of Jacksonville

Quote
Hey, I gotta another thought for the railhuggers; How bout expanding the Skyway, instead of worrying about another rail system? Away from DT (which the skyway should go), low lined track(just like any other light rail) can help cut down cost.

The Skyway is not rail, it's just a people mover (horizontal elevator) with a max speed of 35mph and a cost per mile that is much higher than traditional rail. It really isn't feasible to expand it to the outskirts of the city.

I disagree with this. The Skyway does need to be expanded. As far as outskirts I only see 2 locations as importance. The Jacksonville International Airport and The Beaches(Jacksonville/Atlantic/Neptune).....I have much to say about this matter.

[thelakelander]

The skyway is the wrong type of technology to expand to the beaches.  Something like bus rapid transit and eventually light or commuter rail would make much better sense to provide access to the beaches.

[Coolyfett]

The skyway is the wrong type of technology to expand to the beaches.  Something like bus rapid transit and eventually light or commuter rail would make much better sense to provide access to the beaches.

Whatever the situation....Some sort of people mover needs to be in place to connect downtown to the airport and to the beaches. I don't really know the difference between light rail and commuter rail. I'm checking wikipedia now.

[Steve]

We've already done the work - http://www.metrojacksonville.com/content/view/72/90/

This should give you a good understanding of the different types of Rail systems discussed.

Welcome!