Lost Jacksonville: The Jacksonville Shipyards

[Metro Jacksonville]

Lost Jacksonville: The Jacksonville Shipyards



Formerly referred to as the epicenter of the "Billion Dollar Mile", the shipyards has become known as a place of dead urban development dreams. Before it was a vacant waterfont parcel, the site was the home of one of Jacksonville's largest companies for more than a century.


Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2009-nov-lost-jacksonville-the-jacksonville-shipyards

[BridgeTroll]

Nice article and pics...

[fsu813]

well.




at least the sidewalk is built.

[mtraininjax]

Great article and pictures!

[civil42806]

Nice article and even better pictures, but what does this have to do with SPAR or rail?

[DarkEye]

My dad worked for JSI from 1968-1990.  He worked at the Mayport office.  After 22 years one morning he was given his pink slip and told to go home.

I worked at the data center downtown for a few months in the summer 1985.

[Overstreet]

Sooner or later something will be there.

[heights unknown]

Probably more later than sooner.  Just shows how indecisive our City is in just about everything.  We shall see (I hope).

Heights Unknown

[jeh1980]

It's not the city's fault that this shipyards land is empty. Maybe perhaps Donald Trump may one day have an interest on that land and make it better for the city!

[Dog Walker]

Aside from the military contracts, there is no shipbuilding industry left in the United States anywhere.  The fancy cruise ships and ferries are built in Finland, Germany, and Italy.  The freighters and tankers are built in Korea or Taiwan.  High speed ferries are built in Australia and New Zealand.  We didn't lose this industry in this country due to lower wages in other places, but for some other reasons.

During WWII, both sides of the river near downtown were turning out ships around the clock.  Jacksonville was a major center for the building of Liberty ships.  Bishop Kenny High School and Church of the Assumption are built on an old ship building site.

Something will be built on that site on the river.  Waterfront sites eventually get developed, but usually only after a good deal of controversy and false starts.  Queen's Harbour in Toronto and Canary Wharf in London come to mind.

[thelakelander]

Btw, Merrill Stevens is still in existance today.  They have a large yacht building facility on the Miami River.



http://www.merrillstevens.com/

[Dog Walker]

That yacht in the picture may have been at the Merrill-Stevens yard for repairs, but it was not built there.  It is a Feadship and they are built in Holland.

The Gallant Lady, the JM Enterprises yacht, that has been in Jax for the past week or so for the game is also a Feadship.

[stjr]

The shipyards and JEA sites should be considered for public riverfront megasites - big event gathering areas, esplanade, ball fields for future kids (and the young-at-heart adults) living downtown, to preserve river access and show off our greatest asset to maximum effect, etc.  If Mayor Peyton did this, it would be his greatest legacy bar none.  A great way to go out with a bang!

See more on this at:
"Proposed Super Bowl Legacy: Downtown Gathering & Event Mega-Site"
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,4434.0.html

[sandyshoes]

Very nice article and pix...I can't get enough of these looks into Jax's past. 

[fsu813]

You would like Wayne Wood's book then:

http://www.jaxhistory.com/Book-page-photography.html

and probably many others at this page:

http://www.jaxhistory.com/JHS-Bookstore.html#Family