Florence Court Apartments: The Power of Paint

[cline]

it's the Kluthlo equal of the PCT Trolley's by default

So what?  People will still live there, just like people will still ride the Trolley even though you think it looks like a PCT.

[Ocklawaha]

Sorry but I just don't think you get it. What they've done to this building (and most of the rest of the historic fabric) is an abomination. Klutho would roll over in his grave if he could see the butcher job. 30+ apartments from in a building designed for 8 apartments and 4 small shops.

I'm sick to death of my favorite city and it's citizens settling for the copy, the fake, second best, almost, could have been, should have been, blown up, torn down, bull dozed, plastic, stucco covered crap.

And YES JTA knows that's also what I feel about the "PCT Trolleys". Why should Tampa have real ones and we don't? Did you know that I was the person that brought the heritage streetcar into our City before there was a single new LRT line finished in this country?  We would have been first. Today there are 70+ systems and growing... And we have PCT's. BULL SHIT!

Not that I give a damn what anyone thinks about me or my opinion, take it or leave it.

We have the most beautiful Skyline on earth and as much potential as any other great city, but we have never raised the bar for ourselves. For example, Florence Court would be a fully restored Destination and apartment complex. It would be brick, with 4 nice shops. Main street would be lined with them. Streetcars would be rolling down the grassy landscaped median, turning on 8Th and meeting Commuter Rail and BRT over on Boulevard. People would ride them to see the Southern Fried Music Hall of Fame, Negro League Hall of Fame and to watch our all pro African American Volunteer Players dressed out as THE JACKSONVILLE RED CAPS and drafted from around the majors, play a historic game with the Yankees and Dodgers.  We'd have a Randolph Museum, Aquarium, Maritime Museum, Finished Skyway, Fantastic Fountains, and a walk score of 99.9. We wouldn't need to beg people to come into Springfield and restore homes, they'd be knocking us over to get at them. That Riverwalk would have lifesize Bronze Statues from Babe Hardy, Ray Charles to Lynyrd and the gang. The great fire monument wouldn't be 20 feet high, but seen from Georgia... and your PCT's would be contributing to our ecology as artificial reefs off our coast.






At some point we have to wonder which vehicle looks more like a Potato Chip Truck?


BTW my friends... THIS IS A TROLLEY!

Time to belly up to the bar and quit our wimpy, "We have trolleys even if you don't like them..." line of thought. Buddy if any of those PCT's are trolleys, then I must be a Big Mac.

OCKLAWAHA

[thelakelander]

To give the current owner credit, they restored half the exterior about two decades ago.  The tile roofs and the courtyard were removed in 1929.  I have a picture somewhere.  If you think its bad now, its a vast improvement over what it was in the 70s and around the time Klutho died.

Originally the storefronts had suspended metal and glass canopies over the sidewalk in front. In 1929 these canopies were removed, as were the tile pent roofs above the upper balconies facing Main Street. At this time the courtyard was enclosed. A few years later Florence Court was converted into a hotel, but the building continued to decline and was partially vacant for many years.

In 1984 the building was remodeled into apartments once again. Crowned by Klutho’s Prairie-style cross motifs atop two towering stucco piers, the courtyard was reopened and has once again become the focal point of the facade. This long-awaited restoration of the courtyard was devalued by the awkward enclosing of the storefront openings. The “remuddling” was made even more unsympathetic by covering the exterior with modern textured stucco and by packing thirty-six apartment units into this single building.

[riverside_mail]

The color is horrendous. The building still looks dead.   

[Ocklawaha]

Yeah Lake, I've got a photo too (somewhere) showing the building in (color Tint?) red brick with a streetcar on the corner.

But like I said on my first post in this thread, what they did is sweep the dirt - not fix the floor! Void of the 4 little shops and shop windows, balconys and other features it is Void of Life and looks like a prison compound. I'm just sick of second rate projects around here.

OCKLAWAHA

[thelakelander]

No, its one with a bad stucco job and all boarded up and abandoned from the 1970s.  The guys in there now restored it in the 1980s halfway by bringing back the courtyard and the tile roof.  Unfortunately, this was done at the expense of stuffing 36 apartment units into it.  On one hand we can look down on this but on the other, them using it is probably the only reason it has not been torn down like most of the vacant buildings along Main Street from that area (ex. all the surface parking lots today once had commercial buildings on them).  Given the market and their line of business, I doubt the retail will be coming back, unless an outside party purchases it from them.  Perhaps they could be encourage to bring back the canopies to enhance the look but I seriously doubt they'll ever restore it 100% to what it was between 1919 and 1929.  Hopefully, one day the use will change when the market is strong enough to make a true conversion feasible.

[Ocklawaha]

Perhaps they could be encourage to bring back the canopies to enhance the look but I seriously doubt they'll ever restore it 100% to what it was between 1919 and 1929.  Hopefully, one day the use will change when the market is strong enough to make a true conversion feasible.

AMEN and AMEN!

OCKLAWAHA

[cline]

Time to belly up to the bar and quit our wimpy, "We have trolleys even if you don't like them..." line of thought. Buddy if any of those PCT's are trolleys, then I must be a Big Mac.   

Regardless of what you think they are, people still ride them- that was my point

Sorry but I just don't think you get it. What they've done to this building (and most of the rest of the historic fabric) is an abomination. Klutho would roll over in his grave if he could see the butcher job. 30+ apartments from in a building designed for 8 apartments and 4 small shops.

I'm sick to death of my favorite city and it's citizens settling for the copy, the fake, second best, almost, could have been, should have been, blown up, torn down, bull dozed, plastic, stucco covered crap.

No, I get.  But perhaps maybe you should "belly up to the bar" and contact the owner and offer your own funds and truly restore it to what it once was.  That sort of thing costs money and lots of it.  We are in a recession right now.  I'm not saying that this is an ideal restoration project, but it looks a whole lot better than it did before and it comes at a time when many developers and property owners are doing nothing. 

[Ocklawaha]

Regardless of what you think they are, people still ride them- that was my point

It's a point well taken, they ride them because over the last 30 years our beloved city hasn't done a single stellar original thing in the way of Transit or Public Amenity's. I don't think we even have a single original and recent statue downtown. My point is to get them off the pot and TOGETHER lets recreate the city.

No, I get.  But perhaps maybe you should "belly up to the bar" and contact the owner and offer your own funds and truly restore it to what it once was.  That sort of thing costs money and lots of it.  We are in a recession right now.  I'm not saying that this is an ideal restoration project, but it looks a whole lot better than it did before and it comes at a time when many developers and property owners are doing nothing.

I'm certainly not into being a slum lord, and that's exactly what these guys have done in their "restoration" from 8 to 30+ apartments. My God, the closet in my master bedroom must be bigger then some of those cells. My point is, while it's nice to see fresh paint on North Main Street, and on a historic building at that, overall the whole use of this place is wrong. Sure it's a recession, sure the markets are tanking and nobody is doing a thing, but a quick paint job is hardly news worthy. Until we crack the whip on the slum lords; 30+ apartments with painted dirt walls will remain the norm in Jacksonville . Lakelander said it best recently - Lipstick on a Pig. Until they fix that building the way it deserves to be preserved (as a city treasure) then it's a pig.

Ya know, maybe we're not that far apart in opinion afterall.

OCKLAWAHA

[cline]

they ride them because over the last 30 years our beloved city hasn't done a single stellar original thing in the way of Transit or Public Amenity's. I don't think we even have a single original and recent statue downtown. My point is to get them off the pot and TOGETHER lets recreate the city.

That is a great point.  What I am trying to say is that it is a good first step.  Granted, they definitely are not as cool as real streetcars, but they do function and they do seem to get people moderately excited about the potential of this type of transit.  Most importantly, it shows JTA that the citizens of Jax would indeed utilize this sort of transit and gives them a reason to investigate something better- such as streetcars.   You're right though, it seems that the past administrations have given up on getting people off the pot, or status quo, and have basically given up.  We need to show our leaders that we are ready and hungry for something different.  That's why I am really excited about the Riverside Art Market that is coming up.  This will be a great event to get people downtown and show our leadership that people really are excited about the potential that downtown has.  This is the sort of thing that can cause a recreation of the city.

By the way, I don't work for JTA and I haven't agreed with many of their past decisions, but I do applaud them for their recent efforts to begin to think about studying other means of transportation- such as the commuter rail study.  No doubt these have been spurred on by some of the posts and efforts by those on this message board. 

Ya know, maybe we're not that far apart in opinion afterall.

I don't think we are.  I want this city to be the best it can be as much as you do.

[jtwestside]

Windows in the front (retail?) and something similar to those original awnings and that building would look awesome. And of course a cable car line to get me there ...

Currently it still looks drab, bland and uninviting at least it's a little cleaner!

[Karl_Pilkington]

I have to say...if I were an 'urban artist' those four front squares look very inviting 

[Jason]

^ Actually not a bad idea.  One of said "urban artists" could paint a detailed mural resembling an outside-looking-in view of the storefront that once resided there.  It would at least add some interest and the appearance of activity.

[JaxNative68]

that would be like putting whip cream on shit.

[Jason]

Which would you rather look at?