History Dixieland Park - Jax's "Coney Island South"

[rjp2008]

Came across a book last night about this park on the Southbank riverfront, where the large oak tree is. What a fantastic thing to bring back as an entertainment destination! Apparently this park attracted national/international tourists and the silent film industry as well. Time to reclaim that market again.



I don't know about the Islamic architecture, but the general idea of a big, exotic dance hall and surrounding promenade would be cool.

[second_pancake]

Hmm.  I really curious to know what takes the place of these structures today and what happened to them in the first place?  Were they torn down in favor of more 'modern' buildings or did they just deteriorate?

[rjp2008]

This site was where the Hilton now stands on the Southbank. The big tree and park is the only part remaining. Since it was built in the '20s as amusement attraction, I imagine it didn't survive the Great Depression.

[thelakelander]

This place was long gone by the time today's structures occupied the site.  This park was located on land that Riverplace Tower, Crowne Plaza and the Stein Mart building now occupy.

[rjp2008]

It's a shame because this is exactly the king of thing (updated to 21st century) that would attract the tourist dollar to the city.

[BridgeTroll]

Cool pix and postcards though...

[thebrokenforum]

It's a shame because this is exactly the king of thing (updated to 21st century) that would attract the tourist dollar to the city.

Agreed. What great pictures. Ma it would be so cool to bring that back to the area...style it retro even.

[Ocklawaha]

Dixieland is listed as a "Trolley Park" even though the South Jacksonville Municipal Railways (SJMUNI) would not be built until some 10+ years after its demise. How this came about is the Jacksonville Electric Company and the Main Street Railways both had access to Bay Street. Both we're forerunners of the giant Jacksonville Traction Company. At the foot of Broad Street and Newnan, were arched signs over the road announcing they were the Ferry Landings to the Dixieland Park.

Bring it back? The whole concept is beyond my wildest dreams, but something I would support and push with passion. Why not the historic Ferry a real, rather small steam powered ferry. BTW, about 1990 I was wandering in some registery of Ferry boats and lo doth I find that the oldest boat still in service in the USA was the old Dixieland Ferry. Damn if I can remember where, but it seems like somewhere impossible far off, like Seattle, or some such. No idea if its still around or if we could find it. Maritime guys... Are you watching this?

Last, the death of the park took about 4 years. Here's the story:

April of 1907 a mild rain and light breeze was forecast for the City. The clouds gathered, and it turned into one of the most violent hail storms in history. For 4 hours, hen size eggs rained down on Jacksonville. Every window, roof, City Hall, everything was smashed by the giant rocks. Dixieland was of carnival construction, so it was even less sturdy then the various civic buildings. Needless to say, Dixieland was smashed to pieces. The oak tree survived, but keep in mind, it was a tourist attraction not a historic site. Weird? Yeah, to sell tickets perhaps, the tree was the center of some one time popular novels by a local writer. "The Native and Whites signed their treatys under the great oak..." Well, so sorry, but it never happened. However the tree IS the base of the NOVEL and thus is another arrow in our ammo of great local authors.

Ocklawaha

[Timkin]

See, THIS  ( maybe built a hell of alot sturdier today ) is something Jacksonville DOES need.. A recreation of something from days gone by... This would be an attraction day or night.

[I-10east]

^^^I argee, amusement park yes. For me it doesn't hafta be located DT, because there's more room to expand away from DT then if it was in the core; I'm quite sure that many of yall disagree because many of yall think that everything gotta be DT. There's not many true urban amusement parks left anymore in the US; Denver has one (Elitch Gardens). For me, amusement park, yes; Operation S.A.D.(streetcar,aquarium,decommissioned ship) no. A new convention center is another thing that we really need.

[Timkin]

It would not have to be downtown ... There are completely void areas of Brooklyn / LaVilla. The Southside. etc.    Im sure the Convention Center will become reality one day.