Ruins of Jacksonville: The Florida Life Building

[Timkin]

It is just sickening what we allowed to be razed to be replaced by some of the (IMO) Hideous structures they were replaced by.  I remember the GW , Mayflower,  Robert Meyer ...also well remember them coming down

[gridsketch]

Albert Speer ""Hitler's architect" came up with The Ruin Value Theory ,Die Ruinenwerttheorie. It argues that buildings should be designed so that should a civilization fall, it's building will decay elegantly like the coliseum in Rome or the Parthenon in Greece. These would be buildings made of stone not iron. Our buildings today are steel, glass and aluminum. When "peak oil" comes all these glass towers will crumble because we wont be able to heat and cool them passively. When the rebar in concrete slabs get exposed to water they rust and loose their tensile strength causing floors to sag. Even if it's 80 years away we have start making buildings to last. Throw away buildings that are designed to last a few decades are a waste of our resources (big box stores, fast food joints, cheap suburban McMansions) are irresponsible to build. I could care less about aesthetic buildings. But buildings need to last long enough to justify their creation.

[stjr]

Currently, the site is occupied by the new federal court building in downtown Jacksonville.

I noted this once before about this Wikipedia artilce.  This is incorrect. (Maybe a Wikipedia expert could edit it correctly.)  The Federal courthouse sits where the Robert Meyer Hotel, Penneys, and Woolworth were.  The GW's lot is vacant (big surprise) and owned by the City as part of the 7 blocks tied to the courthouse project.  Its future use appears to be unidentified at present.  

It's the blue lot sandwiched between the Ed Ball building and the Historic Federal Courthouse in the picture below:



I remember seeing a "circus on ice" in the GW's auditorium as a kid.  Was THE place for what was going on in Jax.  Nothing like it here today.

[Timkin]

So in reality, the Hotel really did not "NEED" to come down.  How typical and unfortunate

[thelakelander]

The hotel was torn down for a parking lot.  I wasn't around then but I wonder if the demolition was a result of the owner not wanting to pay for it's upkeep or taxes associated with a structure that large?

[stjr]

The hotel was torn down for a parking lot.  I wasn't around then but I wonder if the demolition was a result of the owner not wanting to pay for it's upkeep or taxes associated with a structure that large?

I think owners are motivated, in part, to tear down buildings to avoid paying property taxes on the value of "improvements" when such improvements have little likelihood of producing returns in their then-current condition.  We need to have policies that allow owners of older structures to carry them on the tax rolls at greatly reduced values that reflect the time and money it will take to bring them back to an economically feasible structure.

Another concern for building owners could be carrying liability and property insurance on condemned structures.  The cost may be prohibitive or the insurance not available.  No property owner wants to be exposed to naked liability.  Again, it would be helpful for preservationists to find a solution to this issue as well.

Maybe MJ should do a survey of historic property owners and learn what their issues and motivations are.  The results could be instructive in how to appeal to them to restore the buildings rather than tear them down.

[Wacca Pilatka]

The GW sure was torn down in a hurry.  Out of service 1971, torn down 1973?  To think I used to get mad over the Seminole's 7-year lapse before teardown.  This one's even worse.

Anyone know if any part of the motivation for tearing down the Seminole had to do with Barnett's desire for additional parking for its employees?  That seemed to have something to do with the teardown of the Heard, Ritzwoller, and Jackson buildings.