The Ghosts of Jacksonville's Past

[JaxNative68]

thanks for once more sending me into a deep descending spiral of depression.

[JaxNative68]

definately more inspiring than listening to Tom Waits music!

[downtownjaxgurl]

In my research about the Laura Trio, I came upon your website and this truly wonderful display of the city's past blended with it's sab yet tragic present.  I currently live in The Carling and love it's history and how it has been restored to it's former glory.  Since moving downtown I have been intrigued with the city's history and the history of buildings that still remain.  I read an article from jaxdailyrecord mentioning potential buyers for the Laura Trio.  It's seems to be hard to get buyers to close on a contract.  Each day I look out my 5th floor window at the Laura Trio and wonder how long will they remain standing or when will the day come when the city decides to tear them down?  Have you heard anything about restoring the Trio recently?  It would truly be sad to lose these historical and yet beautiful buildings.

[Timkin]

It is sad to think of the ignorance that has been in power in Jacksonville for so long. They have allowed the core of the city to be destroyed.

But decaying buildings with pieces falling down from above (laura trio) should be the norm? Sure they are/were great buildings, but no one uses them. Find a use, pay the rent, and use them. Allowing a building to sit empty just because it "looks cool", is a sad reason to keep a building, and a dangerous one. When you walk along the street at night, if you are one of the few, with a parking lot, you can see people coming, as opposed to the people hiding in the corridors of delapadated buildings that should have been levelled a long time ago.

I love what the Seminole Club used to be, but it has sat empty for a very long time, and while it is sad, if the City inspectors had to condemn it and demolish it, I would not mind. Same goes for the old JEA building on Julia. You can't save every building downtown, instead enjoy what is left and make do with what you have.

Living in the past is like visiting and re-visiting history hoping that the past can alter the present.

  In  a sense , I think I realize the message you are trying to convey, M-train..though your direct comments to me have been unfair...not this particular thread ,but others.. When I am one of the people out there making an effort to put these buildings back into use... ( I seriously doubt YOU can say that you are one of these people) I find it pretty insulting and nervy of you to have an opinion .. Why dont you just stick to what you know....  You obviously have no appreciation for historic buildings  and certainly no patience for those that sit empty.   You would have us turn what remains of our urban core into an even more vast void than it is now.   You want a building to tear down ? go work on the Park View inn and have fun.  Theres a building that no doubt needs to go.. Hope it doesnt fall on you.

            By the way... Nice presentation on the thread.

As I have stated in other threads and agree wholeheartedly with Stephen... I hope we will incorporate in some of our future structures some architectural features of our past.... There is no good reason we can not revitilize our urban core  and have a variety of destinations that would bring back the masses to our downtown.. at present there is so little, when you compare us to Atlanta or DC or South Beach

[DavidWilliams]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNWQDnoHbdA&feature=related

[Timkin]

not sure that i understand the relevance of the video to the thread but it was cool.

[Bill Ectric]

Awesome! Very nice, indeed.

[mtraininjax]

Why is this depressing? Without progress, we would not have newer buildings that house more people. Would it have been better to have the Jaguars come here with the tallest building capped at 12 stories? What NFL team has its tallest building at 12 stories? None.

What's done is done, we all have buildings we wish were still here. I am no different, but I'd rather tear down a building for the sake of keeping it alive for just one more idea, than to have someone tear it down and build something more ingenious and modern.
Perhaps one reason why downtown is failing is that too many people want to hold onto the past instead of letting it go and moving on to a bright new future with new buildings?

[Timkin]

Agree with you to this point M-train.. what is done is done.  but I do not agree that we should demolish the relatively few remaining Historic Landmarks that remain. OF THOSE .. Only a handful of those are in use..  So you propose to build pretty new modern buildings... FINE.. but what good are they if no one uses them?   It boils down to economics.   If we have no one coming forth to revitilize some of what exists now, where is the money coming from for these pretty new modern buildings?

PERHAPS one reason why downtown isnt falling ,, IT FELL ALREADY is because of the Moron Leaders of the past who allowed everything in frigging sight to be demolished to create "surface parking or parking garages"    Every energetic urban core you will visit has indeed , modern buildings,, but they also have a good balance of Historic buildings.   

To an extent I agree that we cannot hold on to all of the past, and in Jacksonville, Florida that has already taken place... alot of our past has been demolished for us already.. We do not have the say so ...it has already been done.   But for myself, personally, I feel the need to hold on to a few..the very few pieces  we have remaining.   I know you do not agree.. you have made it abundantly clear you dont like vacant buildings... It also seems you do not like old buildings.. thats also fine.. Some of us DO.   Some of us think it is smarter to refurbish some of these relics and bring them back to life , versus Imploding and filling our landfills with these buildings , and creating shotty , new-build structures that are not intended to last through the ages.   IMO  we live in a "VERY" throw-away world, and I personally do not like it.

[mtraininjax]

Timken - You have great passion, but I know, you can't save everything. You need to realize that it is impossible to save it all, so concentrate on the items that will have the most impact, are closest to a core of growth. The Laura Trio is in the core, along Laura, they probably will never be torn down, but FS5 has nothing around it that is historical, everything around it is NEW, the new buildings of Fidelity, the new Harden Building, new ST. Joe, let FS5 go if it cannot find a new home. You can't make lemonade with the lemon that is FS5.

Case in point, do you know where peterson's 5 and 10 stores are located? There used to be one in San Marco where the Loop is now, and one in 5points where Fuel used to be located. Instead of tearing down 2-story department stores, people worked them into the fabric of existing retail. The loop thrives, Fuel will come back, and both neighborhoods thrive. But there was a neighborhood there and retail to bring them in. There is 1 snack shop across from FS5, open 8-5, is that the retail that FS5 can contribute? There is no retail in the bottom of Harden's building. Let FS5 go. Save those that you can that are in a retail core.

[JaxNative68]

Why is this depressing? Without progress, we would not have newer buildings that house more people. Would it have been better to have the Jaguars come here with the tallest building capped at 12 stories? What NFL team has its tallest building at 12 stories? None.

What's done is done, we all have buildings we wish were still here. I am no different, but I'd rather tear down a building for the sake of keeping it alive for just one more idea, than to have someone tear it down and build something more ingenious and modern.
Perhaps one reason why downtown is failing is that too many people want to hold onto the past instead of letting it go and moving on to a bright new future with new buildings?

the redskins.  downtown dc has a height limitation based on the capital dome height.  most buidlings in the downtown area usually end up around 12 stories.

[stjr]

And, LA has tall buildings but no team.

One has nothing to do with the other.

By the way, there are plenty of NFL cities with huge historic preservation efforts.  NY, Philly, Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, etc. all have done much to preserve our past.  Maybe its our failure to do so that is hurting our chances to keep a team.  (That's sarcasm for those who want to pounce on it.)

[Timkin]

I wholeheartedly agree with you on the first two sentences of you post stjr.   The second part , I do not necessarily think our keeping our team hinges on our lack of vision for historic preservation efforts, but I think that lack has immensely helped to reduce our destinations in the downtown area, not to mention the various outlying areas... Its nothing short of amazing that the Silent Film Norman Studio in Arlington ,was refurbished....although it was nearly on the ground before it was renovated. Im sure most of what is there is a new building.  The same was true for the Ritz Theatre in LaVilla.  I think they saved the sign, and rebuilt everything else around it pretty much.. It was allowed to crumble far too long before something was done.

  I am not wanting to "pounce" particularly on any particular topic..but when it comes to our Historic buildings , I defy anyone to argue , that compared to what was here in 1930.....most of it is gone.. and it seems there is little support to save what remains.   I am only one man, and I will put everything I have into my fight for these buildings... but that is sort of like being an Army of one against an entire Military.  I can only do so much.. its pretty discouraging, that more folks do not feel as I do. 

[LTTurner]

The building in the fourth photo from the top, showing the corner of Forsyth and Main, is still there, although it has been somewhat remodeled. The company I work for now occupies the bottom floor. We moved from Baymeadows in Nov 2009. Our space is mostly open plan, exposed ductwork, brick wall, etc. Since our business is selling office furniture, we use the space as our showroom. Most every group or client that comes in likes the unique feel that we have in this 1916 building.

[Jaxson]

mtraininjax --- you support progress in our city.  that is a good thing.  after all, the empire state building replaced the historic waldorf-astoria in new york.  what disappoints me is how we tear down so many buildings and do not replace them with anything of either value or beauty.  this, i believe, is downtown jacksonville's failing. our downtown scene is a gap-toothed grin of grass-choked parking lots and crumbling buildings that could be preserved if we cared as much about downtown as much as we cared about catering to the suburbs' every need...